Women’s soccer ends season in first-round upset

The Trojans’ season ended with an upset on their home turf, losing to UC Irvine 2-0 in a gritty first round playoff match. 

The Anteaters went up 1-0 early in the first half, capitalizing on a loose ball from a long throw-in, then iced the match in the final minutes when USC pushed players forward to chase a goal.

USC entered the NCAA tournament as a 4-seed, while UCI was unseeded and qualified automatically as Big West Conference champions. The Anteaters found strong form towards the end of their season, conceding zero goals over three conference tournament matches. 

Much like they did in their Big West tournament final, UCI relied on attacking set pieces and physical defending to earn a win over the Trojans. 

USC showed promise in the opening few minutes, pressing intensely and moving the ball up the field with relative ease. After about eight minutes, UCI settled into the game and began to turn the tide against the Trojans. UCI consolidated possession and pushed up the right flank. When the ball did go to Irvine’s left, they used their prowess with the long throw to advance the ball quickly and peg the Trojans back. 

Eventually, USC collapsed under the pressure of UCI cannon of a long throw. The ball landed in a dangerous area in front of graduate goalkeeper Anna Smith, which USC failed to clear, and Irvine midfielder Destinee Manzo looped the ball to the back post from close range. Smith stumbled back to try and clear the ball off the line, but the ball trickled in.

USC upped the intensity in response, but found it difficult to create chances that resulted in many shots on goal. 

USC found some success down the left side with the interplay of sophomore forward Simone Jackson, junior midfielder Zoe Burns and graduate defender Brandi Peterson, who played at left back. Jackson threatened the UCI defense with her pace and tricky dribbling, allowing Peterson space behind her to cut inside and shoot with her right foot. Unfortunately for USC, Irvine limited Peterson’s two shots on goal to distance efforts from unlikely angles. 

With Irvine fending off the pressure, junior forward Angeles Escobar was subbed onto the field at left wing, allowing Jackson to move to the right. Despite the personnel change, USC didn’t find better shots, and the first half ended 1-0. 

Once the second half started, it became clear that Irvine wanted to shut the game down, sitting deep and defending tight to frustrate USC. Head Coach Jane Alukonis made some tactical shifts to help USC get and stay forward, pushing sophomore defender Brooklyn Courtnall, who typically plays centerback, into the midfield. Sophomore midfielder Aaliyah Farmer became the lone striker. Again, USC turned up the intensity, sending balls forward relentlessly and trying to use Farmer’s height or Jackson’s speed to unnerve Irvine’s defense. Yet, the Anteaters showed no obvious hole to exploit. 

In the 59th minute, Jackson received a pass in transition on the left flank and went on a slaloming run into Irvine’s box, but her shot was tame and Irvine’s keeper collected the ball. Senior defender Nicole Payne made a similar run from the right side about five minutes later, but her shot was saved low to the right.

With USC’s players pushing forward to chase a goal, the Anteaters flicked a ball forward into forward Alyssa Moore, who noticed that USC redshirt senior defender Kaylin Martin had stumbled and drove towards Smith’s goal. Martin, Peterson and Smith all rushed towards Moore to quell the threat, but Moore danced between them and passed the ball into the net with Smith well off her line. Irvine went up 2-0 in the 87th minute, ringing the Trojans’ death knell. 

The match ended with Irvine adding another giant killing to their gallery after beating UCLA in the first round of last year’s tournament when the Bruins were a 2-seed. 

After the match, Alukonis lamented USC’s slow start. 

“I thought we had a tough start,” Alukonis said. 

Pre-match, Alukonis had anticipated that Irvine would use their long throw to put USC on the back foot, saying it “was something we knew that they did and knew that they’ve had success with.”

“Just untidy at a moment, and I think that set us off… unfortunate result, but well played by Irvine and we wish them luck,” she said. 

As to the change that pushed Courtnall into midfield, Alukonis said they were “just trying to get more players who could be dangerous higher up on the field. She did well, it was just unfortunate [that] nothing came our way.”

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Alukonis acknowledged that the team dropped too many results against opponents they were excited to beat. 

“We strive for more consistency. It’s great to beat top teams, but to be repeatedly good, repeatedly successful and to be national champions [or] Pac-12 champions, you can’t let games slip away where we should, if we execute, be the better team,” she said. 

UC Irvine will play their second round match against Brown Friday. USC will regroup and begin anew next season.