Women of Troy Sneak Past the Lady Utes
In a game that was not nearly as close as the score, the USC Women’s Soccer team defeated Utah 1–0 thanks to a penalty shot by junior defender Mandy Freeman in the 60th minute.
The Women of Troy were in control seemingly the entire game on Friday afternoon, but could not seem to punch it in, as has been a theme throughout their season. Outshooting the Utes 21–6, and completely owning possession of the ball, USC had a chance to run away with the game early, but could not convert.
Utah ran a somewhat unorthodox full-field press, putting pressure on the Women of Troy to not turn the ball over. While they were successful on that end, the pressure did take them out of their rhythm.
“They threw a formation at us we hadn’t seen a whole lot and actually played it really well. We tried to do some things that were a little more difficult than they needed to be to solve it,” said Coach Keidane McAlpine after the game.
“Once we got through that, I felt like we handled it defensively very well in the second half, which in turn, gave us more offense in the attacking third.”
The second half adjustments were not tactic-oriented as much as they were mindset-oriented. The Women of Troy were more aggressive in the second half, but at the same time, they settled down against the press and got back to “just playing soccer” as defender Kayla Mills put it afterward.
With twelve shots in the second half, USC was able to force the Utah defense into some tough spots. Kayla Mills consistently beat defenders one-on-one and was tackled in the box in the 60th minute.
Freeman took the kick for Mills, and put it in on the right side, battling nerves most of the way.
“I was kind of nervous walking up to it. PK’s have not been something I’ve been great at, but I’ve worked hard at them,” she admitted. “Just knowing that coach had enough confidence in me in place of my teammate was great going into it.”
While the Women of Troy were not efficient with their shots—only putting three on target—their strategy is to simply put up a lot of shots, knowing they will start getting through eventually.
The defense, led by goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme, shut out its opponent for the seventh time this season. Getting shutouts is one of Coach McAlpine’s favorite things, as he remarked: “I love shutouts, love shutouts,” before the the question was even finished.
Coach McAlpine knows the team needs to play better if they want to keep winning, especially when they face Colorado on Sunday.
“We gotta be better than this. Colorado’s going to bring it. They’re another team that’s struggled here and there to find the results, but they’re a quality opponent…we’re going to have to be a lot better and crisper with our passes, and communicating to lock them down on the defensive end.”
You can reach Jackson Safon here, or follow him on Twitter @JacksonSafon
