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PROVO, Utah (Nov. 15, 2008) - A determined BYU women's soccer club put together a strong effort to defeat the defending national champion USC Trojans but fell just short as the Trojans walked away with a 2-1 victory in an overtime shootout.
The Trojans made four goals to the Cougars' two in the shootout as former Alta High School player Megan Ohai clinched the victory for the Trojans. Katie Larkin made the first shot for the Cougars, but USC goalkeeper Kristen Olsen managed to block Alyssa Vander Veur's and Katie Hodgkiss' shot attempts and sealed the win for USC. BYU's Nicole Urry made her shot, but it was too late as Ohai slipped it past BYU goalie McKinzie Olson.
Two 10-minute overtime periods resulted in close opportunities for the Cougars to come out with a win, but in the end it was to no avail. A Lauren Cook shot sailed through the hands of USC's Olsen and hit the left post, but after a mad scramble the Trojans were able to kick it out.
"I'm proud of my team," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "I think this is the best team our program has ever had. We thought going into this game that we could pull it off."
A defensive first half allowed USC to control the ball on the BYU side of the field too often as the Trojans outshot the Cougars 8-3.
The Cougars took advantage of their limited opportunities to score in the first half as a shot by Alyssa Vander Veur sailed wide left. On another attempt, a header by Kassidy Christensen landed in USC goalie Kristen Olsen's arms.
A dominant USC offense led the Cougars in shots on goal in the first half five to one. BYU goalkeeper Olson kept busy on her way to four impressive saves.
USC's leading scorer, Amy Rodriguez, managed three shots on goal with Ashli Sandoval and Ashley Nick attempting shots as well. On one possession, forward Brittany Kerridge took the ball outside the Cougar box and passed forward to Nick, who headed the ball past a diving Olson for a 1-0 Trojan lead at the 28-minute mark of the first half.
BYU came out quickly in the second half, reversing the trend and keeping the Trojans on the defensive.
Alyssa Vander Veur put a corner kick into the center of the Trojan box where the ball was loose in the box before BYU defender Andrea Willis got a hip on it to nudge it into the left corner of the net to tie the score at 1-1. Kelsea Kakadelas was one of the Cougars who got a foot on the ball during the frenzy.
The Cougars won the shots-on-goal category in the second half with six to the Trojans' four. Senior Katie Hodgkiss had two shots, while Larkin also got a shot off. At the end of the match, the Cougars nearly matched the Trojan shots with 13 to USC's 14.
"At halftime, I told the girls to settle down a little bit," Rockwood said. "I think they came out and moved the ball around better and showed more confidence."
BYU keeper Olson had seven saves total to USC's Olsen's three. USC will move on to play the winner of UCLA and San Diego in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
"USC is a good team and we wish them the best," Rockwood said.
