University of Washington
6-10-1, 1-7-0
USC
13-3-0, 7-1-0
Despite Stellar Defense, Huskies Fall To No. 5 USC 1-0
October 23, 2016 | Women's Soccer
LOS ANGELES – Holding the opposition off the board for the first half with solid defensive play today, the Washington women's soccer team surrendered an early second half goal to fall to No. 5 USC 1-0 at McAlister Field.
"I thought we played well today and played hard," said Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore. "USC is a great, gritty and hard fighting team, and we gave them everything they could handle."
The first half was dominated by defense, with the Husky backs holding USC to only six shots in the first 45 minutes, blocking two of them. In the third minute of the match, USC was hit with their first offside call of the match, one of seven eventual calls on the Trojans due to the Huskies excellent back line play. Junior Kaylyn Smith also played an outstanding first half, pouncing on multiple passes sent into the box to prevent USC from taking any close shots. Smith would finish the match with five saves, tying her season-best.
After a 0-0 draw in the first half, USC forward Alex Anthony collected a ball right in front of the Husky goal, turning and finishing with a quick shot toward the far post to give them a 1-0 lead.
"We were collectively more organized defensively and it was unfortunate to give up an early goal in the second half," said Gallimore. "USC does a great job of holding the ball up and using their physicality and the goal was an example of that."
As Washington's offense scratched to find an equalizer and the Trojan defense attempted to hold on to the lead, the match's intensity turned up, with a yellow card being issued to both USC and UW within three minutes of each other. Of the 28 total fouls called in today's match, the whistle was blown 20 times in the second half alone.
"We had a few chances early that were dangerous, and in the second half I felt we were going to get the equalizer."
Washington's closest looks on offense came in the final 10 minutes, with Ava Lewis sending a header toward the goal in the 81st minute that just missed the top left corner. The midfielder took another shot in the 84th minute of play from the right of the goal, sending a ball toward the far post, but put just a bit too much on it as it sailed over the crossbar. In the final minute of play, Kimberly Keever made a great run down the left side of the field and sent a pass at the front of the goal, however a Trojan defender was there to boot it out of bounds for a corner kick. Senior defender Madi Kinzer was there on the corner to get a head on the ball, but it sailed just over the crossbar.
"This weekend was tough on the scoreboard and in the standings, but I'm hopeful our team learned something about themselves from a competitive standpoint," said Gallimore. "There are just little things that, in the moment, if we do better, we'll get results down the stretch."
The Huskies will return to Seattle this week for their final two home matches of the regular season, when they face Oregon this coming Thursday and Oregon State on Sunday. Sunday's 3 p.m. match will be televised by the Pac-12 Network and recognize the 2016 senior class for senior day.
Team Stats
Anthony, Alex (7)
Assisted By: Pruitt, Leah
turns defender inside six, finishes far
48:23
