University Southern California Trojans
Women's Soccer Battles Tough Schedule in 1999
August 12, 1999 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 12, 1999
LOS ANGELES - It's a good thing that the 1999 USC women's soccer team returns two of the country's top midfielders in senior Kim Clark and junior Isabelle Harvey. Especially when one considers what the team is up against.
Fifteen-time national champion North Carolina. Defending NCAA titlist Florida. Long-time championship contenders Connecticut and Portland. Atlantic Coast Conference stalwarts Duke and Maryland. Top Western programs, such as BYU and Montana.
And that's just the non-conference schedule in 1999. Throw in the always-challenging Pacific-10 Conference slate, and you have the makings of the most difficult schedule in the nation.
Lesser teams might shrink from the challenge. But USC head coach Jim Millinder believes his Women of Troy will be ready to duplicate, and surpass, last season's unprecedented success.
Now in his fourth season at Troy, Millinder has vastly improved USC each year, to the point where the 1998 team won its first-ever Pac-10 title and made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance (reaching the second round).
"I was reading a newspaper article from my first season and they asked how long it would take for USC to reach the top of the Pac-10," said Millinder, who was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1998 for the second time in three seasons. "I said three years, and in three years we've done that. We're right on course.
"But we can't get comfortable because we're not yet where we want to be. Our goal is to win a national championship. We're making progress. We just have to keep getting better and keep adding quality players."
Players like Clark and Harvey, who are both two-time All-Americans, while Harvey was also named the 1998 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year. Each has scored 29 career goals, good for a tie for second on USC's all-time list.
"Kim and Isabelle do so much for this team," Millinder said. "Not only do they have tremendous talent, but they make everyone around them better. Other players see the level that Kim and Isabelle are competing at, and they'll want to raise the level of their games to meet the standard that the two have set."
For USC to compete successfully this season, they'll need to.
"The schedule worries me, but only if I start to think about opening the season 0-8," said Millinder, who has a record of 45-15-2 in three seasons with USC. "But that won't happen. For the program to move forward, we have to play these teams. We have to go and play the top 10 teams in the country because that's where we are striving to be. The sooner we do that, the sooner we get there.
"By playing good teams, it prepares you for later in the season. Last year, we also had a tough schedule and a bad start, but we beat BYU and Baylor and went on to have a great season. A tough schedule will prepare us for the Pac-10 battles and harden us for the NCAA Tournament."
Taking on the best college teams won't be the most difficult task for some of USC's players this year. Three of them already faced the best that the world has to offer in the 1999 Women's World Cup.
Harvey (Canada), junior defender Susie Mora (Mexico) and incoming junior midfielder Barbara Almaraz (Mexico) are all members of their respective national teams, and Harvey and Mora are both starters.
"They've seen the best level there is," said Millinder, a member of various U.S. National teams from 1978-82. "They've gained confidence and they've played both with and against some great players. My hope is that they can bring what they've learned back into our training sessions and instill that into our other players."
USC returns only six starters from the 1998 team, which went 14-7-1 overall and had a Pac-10 mark of 7-2. Seven seniors departed, including such key players as defender Meghan Reppe and forward Courtney Barham (both of whom made the All-Pac-10 second team), plus midfielder Carol Hatcher. But, another strong recruiting class is expected to fill the holes nicely.
Here's a look, position-by-position, at USC's roster:
FORWARDS
Due to the graduation of Barham, USC's all-time leading goal-scorer, the Women of Troy don't return much production up front. Heading into training camp, three players -- junior Kaylee Whitfield, sophomore Christy Callier and freshman Jackie Fodor -- are expected to compete for the two starting roles.
Whitfield is coming off a pair of knee surgeries that forced her to redshirt the 1998 season. But she was USC's top forward off the bench her first two seasons and has 11 career goals. Callier came on strong the second half of last season, starting six matches and picking up three assists, though she did not score a goal. Fodor is expected to add a tremendous scoring touch to the lineup, as she was the Los Angeles City Section's top goal scorer over the last four years for Chatsworth (Calif.) High.
Sophomore Brittany Savelkoul came off the bench to play in 20 matches last season, showed outstanding athleticism and should be asked to do the same again. Freshman Jennifer Prigmore, who also plays midfielder, ranks among the top prep goal scorers ever in Oklahoma. Other options include Clark and Harvey, who will start at midfield but can also be pushed up front.
"The forward position is a little bit of a question mark, but we have a lot of options," said Millinder, who is assisted by Kit and Jorge Vela. "Losing Barham will be tough, but we've recruited several players who should provide what we need. I have a great feeling about Jackie Fodor. And when we move Kim or Isabelle to forward, we can really stretch the defense with our speed."
MIDFIELDERS
With the likes of Harvey and Clark, this position is obviously one of USC's strengths. Harvey, who starts at a wide position, scored eight goals and led the conference with 12 assists in 1998 and was an All-American second teamer. Clark, despite breaking a leg and missing the last four games (including USC's postseason run), scored 10 goals and had six assists and was named an All-American third teamer while starting at attacking midfielder.
Junior Andrea Warner, who started at defender in 1997 and midfielder in 1998, has five career goals and is likely to start alongside Clark. Junior Katie Ticehurst started at defensive midfielder last season and should do so again, though she'll be pushed by redshirt freshman Kim Abbamonto. One of USC's top recruits a year ago, Abbamonto missed last season with hip and back injuries.
Two of USC's top recruits of this year, speedy freshmen Laura Foster and Ali Fennell, will likely battle it out for the right to start at the other wide midfielder position. Both players were three-time All-CIF first teamers: Foster for The Bishop's School in La Jolla, Calif., and Fennell for Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif.
Others will have a chance to contribute as well. Two returners -- sophomores Corinne Briers and Liane Nakano -- and a host of newcomers will provide depth at the position, including juniors Almaraz and Stephanie Hoffman and freshmen Prigmore, Hillary Coffelt, Tawny Flores, Kristina Furniss and Kaley Pickett.
"Clark and Harvey are outstanding players who raise the level of play of everyone around them," Millinder said. "With Harvey on one side and either Foster or Fennell on the other, we've answered any question of speed on our flanks. We have a lot of players who can fill midfielder roles, and we're going to have to see who rises to the top."
DEFENDERS
Defense should continue to be a positive for USC, despite the loss of Reppe's leadership, tremendous ability and speed. Senior sweeper Christina Kushnir is an experienced player who will be starting for her third year. She is an outstanding player in the air who has seven career goals.
Three players -- juniors Megan Orach and Susie Mora and sophomore Erin Reed -- are competing to start at the other two spots. Orach was primarily a forward the last two seasons and has scored 11 career goals. Mora was one of USC's top reserves the last two years and her World Cup experience should give her a big boost. Reed started 20 matches as a freshman and proved to be a solid addition.
Nakano adds depth on defense, and two freshmen, Jessica Pagano and Stephanie Scholl, are well-regarded and will put in a bid for playing time.
"With the likes of Kushnir, Orach, Mora and Reed, I feel very confident about our defense," Millinder said. "The defense played very well together in the spring and I expect that to continue."
GOALKEEPERS
USC will be looking for a new starter due to the graduation of Karin Puccinelli. Fortunately for the Women of Troy, there are two excellent goalkeepers on the roster in sophomore Shaelyn Fernandes and freshman Lauren Arase. Fernandes played in five matches, starting four, and had a 1.111 goals-against average last season. Arase starred at La Canada (Calif.) High and is a member of the U.S. Under-18 National Team.
"It should be a great battle between Fernandes and Arase," Millinder said. "I think both will end up seeing a good deal of playing time. Both are big-time goalkeepers."
(The USC soccer season begins August 29 against UC Irvine at the Coliseum at 1 p.m.)
