USC unable to overcome No. 12 Pepperdine

It was a bittersweet weekend for the USC women’s soccer team as they concluded non-conference play with two very different results.

After netting eight goals — then a school record — against UC Riverside only  two weeks before, the No. 15 Women of Troy (6-1-2) rewrote the record books once again and scored nine goals en route to a commanding 9-0 shutout win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday. The team could not summon that goal-scoring magic two days later, however, in a 2-1 loss to No. 12 Pepperdine.

Against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, the Women of Troy delighted the home crowd with a string of goals, the first five of which came in the match’s opening 20 minutes. The team pleased head coach Keidane McAlpine and fulfilled the coaching staff’s continuing desire to always get off to quick starts.

“We put goals on the board early, which I was very, very pleased with,” McAlpine said. “More importantly we got another shutout.”

It seemed like everyone got a piece of the pie — or the net — as six USC players scored their first ever career goals.

Junior midfielder Jamie Fink and forward Katie Johnson added to their own goal totals by netting one each, while senior midfielder Alex Quincey continued her goal-scoring success and slotted in her team-high sixth of the season.

The match was a success for the Women of Troy, but their true test came against the Waves on Sunday.

Pepperdine came into the match boasting only a single loss to top-ranked UCLA. The Lady Waves were looking to get a fourth straight win and put an end to USC’s unbeaten streak, and they brought a level of physicality and aggressiveness to the match that was immediately evident.

Pepperdine’s quick attack allowed the team to take advantage of the early stages of the match and create several goal-scoring chances, but the Women of Troy weathered the early storm and began to acclimate to the match’s pace by creating scoring chances of their own.

The scoreless draw expired at the 16th minute, however, when a Pepperdine corner kick resulted in a put-back shot goal for the Lady Waves.

Aside from the two record-breaking routs, deficits and closely contested matches have become familiar for the Women of Troy. By halftime, the team had already taken back control of the game. Though they were still down a goal, they were creating scoring chances, and looked poised to equalize at any moment.

That moment arrived in the 52nd minute when a cross by freshman midfielder Sydney Sladek deflected off of Johnson and landed at the feet of senior defender Erin Owen. Owen blasted the shot into the net to tie the game at 1-1 with plenty of time to play.

Neither team wanted to give up a game-winner, but despite gaining confidence to begin the second half, the Women of Troy’s demise arrived in the 66th minute, another by-product of a dangerous set-piece.

Pepperdine forward Lynn Williams — who had five shots in the game — dropped a corner kick in towards senior goalkeeper Caroline Stanley. Stanley got a hand on the ball but could not push it out far enough, and Waves’ forward Taylor Alvarado did not hesitate to slot the loose ball home and give her team the outright lead.

Try as they might, the Women of Troy could not find that familiar equalizer that had helped them stay undefeated to that point. Despite outshooting the Lady Waves 15-4 in the second half, the all-important second goal never materialized. A late free kick taken by Johnson that sailed over the goal snuffed out the remaining hopes for a draw, and the team’s perfection was no more.

“Pepperdine did a really good job of pressuring us once we got the ball,” Owen said. “We had a good buildup, but once we got into the final third it was a little tough to get a shot on frame.”

Aside from the ability to finish, defending set pieces seemed to be the recurring — and somewhat troubling — theme for the Women of Troy in this game, and McAlpine was adamant about the team’s awareness during these plays.

“In high-level games that’s where most of the goals come from,” McAlpine said. “It’s something that you have to be dialed in and locked in on, and we just weren’t for a couple moments today.”

Stanley agreed with her coach’s sentiments.

“[When] you play a better opponent, you don’t get away with little mistakes like that, but I think we’ll clean that up this week,” Stanley said.

With their first conference match less than a week away, however, this game might have been a blessing in disguise to prepare the squad.

“It’s a game that we can grow from, it’s a game we can learn a lot from,” McAlpine said.

The Women of Troy now turn their attention to their conference opener at Arizona this Friday, before returning to McAlister Field for a five-game home stand.