USC
Stanford (NCAA Second Round)
Trojans Fall 2-0 In NCAA Second Round
November 12, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 12, 2006
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. -- A second-half push by the USC women's soccer team was not enough to overcome a pair of goals by Stanford's Kelley O'Hara, as the Women of Troy closed down their 2006 season with a 2-0 loss to the Cardinal in the NCAA Second Round. USC finishes with an overall record of 11-5-5, while Stanford improves to 15-6-1 and moves into the NCAA Third Round.
It was the second straight season that the Trojans have reached the NCAA Second Round, although the Women of Troy have yet to move past that round.
"At the end of the day there's only one winner," USC head coach Jim Millinder said. "It's disappointing when your season ends, but I'm proud of our effort and proud of our result against Santa Clara. Stanford is a great team and they represent the Pac-10 well."
After a huge upset win over Santa Clara in the NCAA First Round on Friday -- in which the Trojans snapped an 11-year streak of NCAA Quarterfinal appearances by the Broncos -- USC had a slow start in its second-round match with Pac-10 foe Stanford. Stanford's speed on the flanks opened up several opportunities for the Cardinal in the first half. The Trojan defense caught the Cardinal offsides twice early before answering with a scoring opportunity when Amy Rodrigurez sent a cross that Tracy Lansing wound up for and took a solid shot that was stopped point-blank by Stanford goalkeeper Erica Holland in the 25th minute. USC got a corner kick out of it, but Holland again stopped the chance by grabbing a ball played back in by Jocelyn Hein. Stanford then struck back. In the 22nd minute of play, Lea McKinnon sent in a cross that made its way into open space on the left side of the goal, where Kelley O'Hara was able to get to it and slot a score nearside for a 1-0 Stanford lead at 21:55. Stanford was able to stay a step ahead throughout most of the first half, although both defenses remained stubborn, as Stanford edged out USC in the shot count 4-2 in the first half.
USC found a spark in the second half, but was still unable to get to the back of the net. In the 55th minute, Rodriguez busted loose on the left side and drilled a shot that went just wide. Stacey Strong later stuffed a Stanford shot attempt outside the penalty box, and then Rodriguez buzzed around and got deep in Stanford territory once again, pressuring Holland and earning another USC corner kick in the 69th minute. Janessa Currier got a head on that one, and Nini Loucks took a strong shot that went wide left.
Again, Stanford mounted a counterattack strike. Ali Riley got free on the right side of the field and avoided an offsides call to go one-on-one with a charging Veronica Simonton. Riley slipped a pass across to O'Hara, who put away the score to make it 2-0 Stanford in the 70th minute.
"I thought she was offsides, but I'm not the referee," Millinder said. "We fought like hell to get back into it."
The Trojan attack didn't let up. USC pounded out strike after strike, but nothing was able to break through the Stanford defense and Holland. USC out-shot the Cardinal 13-3 in the second half and finished ahead 15-7. Corner kicks also weighed in the Trojans' favor at 5-4. Still, USC wound up on the unfavorable end of a 2-0 decision, closing out USC's season with an 11-5-5 record in the Trojans' fifth appearance in the NCAA Second Round.
"A lot of people came out in the second half and gave everything they had," USC senior Jocelyn Hein said. "Rosa Anna Tantillo played one of the best games I've seen her play. Amy Rodriguez and Stacey Strong did everything they could to keep our season alive. I'm proud of everyone."
Stanford 2, USC 0
STAN 1 - 1 -- 2
USC 0 - 0 -- 0
SCORING:
21:55 -- STAN: Kelley O'Hara (Lea McKinnon)
69:53 -- STAN: O'Hara (Ali Riley)
SAVES:
Veronica Simonton (USC) 1, TEAM (USC) 1, Erica Holland (STAN) 7.
