University Southern California Trojans
Women's Soccer Falls to San Diego State, 1-0
June 21, 1999 | Women's Soccer
November 15, 1998
SAN DIEGO - The USC women's soccer team lost a tough one in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling at San Diego State, 1-0, in the third overtime on junior forward Lori LaCoursiere's penalty kick on Sunday.
USC ends the 1998 season with a 14-7-1 record. SDSU (19-2-1) moves on to the third round to face Portland.
It was a defensive struggle for both teams, though the Aztecs had a 19-6 shot advantage.
"Our defense was awesome," USC Coach Jim Millinder said. "We did a great job absorbing the San Diego State attack. It's unfortunate that it came down to a penalty kick. Both teams went as hard as they could from the first whistle to the final penalty kick.
"We had a great season. We accomplished some of the things that we wanted -- we won the Pacific-10 Conference and we got into the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever."
LaCoursiere's penalty kick came at 124:37 after teammate Catherine McGuire was knocked down from behind in the box going for the ball. USC senior goalkeeper Karin Puccinelli, who had an excellent game with eight saves, just missed on LaCoursiere's attempt.
This was USC's third straight overtime game. The Trojans beat Arizona, 2-1, in one overtime to clinch the Pac-10 crown, then beat Washington, 2-1, in two overtimes in a first-round NCAA Tournament game. This was USC's first overtime loss in 10 games dating back to 1994 (5-1-4 in that span).
The loss also ended USC's school-record eight-match winning streak. San Diego State also beat the Women of Troy in the season opener, 2-0, on Sept. 4.
"This team has come a long way in my four years," USC senior defender Meghan Reppe said. "This is a sad way to finish, but I'm very proud of this team. I've never been with a group of girls that worked harder."
SDSU 0-0-0-0-1---1
USC 0-0-0-0-0---0
Scoring: LaCoursiere, SDSU, 124:37.
Shots: USC 6, SDSU 19
Saves: USC 8, SDSU 1
Offsides: USC 2, SDSU 0
Fouls: USC 22, SDSU 14
Corners: USC 4, SDSU 7
Attendance: 1,061
