The Women of Troy Advance in the NCAA Tournament
Morgan Andrews shines and Sammy Jo Prudhomme comes up big late in the game to get USC the victory.
On a Friday afternoon at McAllister Field, USC women’s soccer junior midfielder Morgan Andrews netted a hat trick, as she led the Women of Troy to victory in their first round match up of the NCAA tournament over Cal State Fullerton.
The Women of Troy went down 2–0 early, with the Titans scoring twice on corner kicks. But somehow USC still seemed in control. Hitting the post on three shots in the first half, plus outshooting the Titans 13–2, gave USC a slight sense of confidence even down two goals to none.
“I thought we were a little sloppy and unlucky in the first half,” said USC Head Coach Keidane McAlpine, “But offensively I thought we were doing a great job.”
The Women of Troy have been a second-half team all season, and Coach McAlpine’s message to the team was the same as it’s been all year.
“The message was to continue to be aggressive going forward, and continue to be the team we’ve been all year.”
The second half was immediately a different story, with the Women of Troy coming out with great energy and intensity. Just five minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Morgan Andrews nailed a shot into the right corner from 25 yards out, which really seemed to get the Women of Troy fired up.
With five goals over her last two games, Andrews has been extremely efficient with her chances.
“It feels good. There’s no better feeling than putting the ball in the back of the net…I was just glad I could help my team out.”
After another goal just nine minutes later off an assist from junior defender Kayla Mills, the score was tied and coaches on the sideline felt the momentum beginning to shift.
But a mistimed jump by USC goalie Sammy Jo Prudhomme led to a third goal for the Titans. Three goals is the most the Women of Troy have let up in a game all season.
“It was a difficult defensive game from us. That’s probably the worst we’ve played all season, me included,” said Prudhomme.
Andrews completed the hat trick in the 67th minute, scoring the final goal of the game and tying the match at three heading into overtime, where neither team scored.
After allowing three goals in regulation, Sammy Jo Prudhomme came up huge during penalty kicks, blocking the first attempt by the Titans, which she really felt gave the Women of Troy lots of momentum. Even with the rough start, Prudhomme knew that penalty kicks still gave them—and her—a chance to pull out a tough-fought victory.
“We knew that we had an opportunity, with PKs…we changed our mindset and knew we could get it right now,” she said.
After four USC players made their penalty shots, Prudhomme made the game-winning save as her teammates rushed to pile on in celebration.
Coach McAlpine gave lots of credit to the Titans and called it a “travesty” that the NCAA matched up two Top-25 teams in the first round of the tournament.
As far as preparation for the next game of the NCAA tournament goes, Coach McAlpine simply laughed and said, “Rest.”
