University Southern California Trojans
Soccer's Stellar Seniors
September 13, 2018 | Women's Soccer, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Ally Prisock has started every game of her USC career so far. Seventy-five, to be exact.Tomorrow, the co-captain will be one of five Trojans celebrating their Senior Day before No. 3 USC's game against Long Beach State.
"I feel like I'm going to be happy, but also really sad — it's bittersweet," said Prisock of her feelings heading into Senior Day.
Prisock grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., about an hour away from campus, and committed to USC because it "felt like home."
Since then, the defender has become a key part of a Trojan team that's made several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, including winning it all when she was a sophomore in 2016.
Outside of delivering the program's second national championship, Prisock says her favorite moments from her time at USC include meeting some of her closest friends.
Two of those friends, Kayla Mills and Mandy Freeman, were former team captains who now play in the National Women's Soccer League.
"Those are my best friends but also role models for me," Prisock said. "They taught me how to lead the right way."
Prisock, now a team captain herself, said that "the right way" includes learning "how to talk to different people, knowing what motivates certain people and what doesn't motivate certain people."
Throughout Prisock's growth over the last four years, Hailey Hite has been by her side. The forward from Coto de Caza, Calif., who roomed with Prisock during their freshman season, will also be honored during Senior Day tomorrow.
"She's gotten a lot more confident from first being here to now," said Prisock of Hite. "She got hurt [in 2016] and seeing her come back from that was really cool."
Hite and Prisock are the only remaining members of the 2015 recruiting class at USC. But the senior class gained another valuable member in 2016 when forward Leah Pruitt transferred from San Diego State. Since arriving at USC, Pruitt has appeared in nearly every game, scored 14Â goals and has worked her way up to eighth on the Trojans' career assist list with 15.
"You just know that when you pass it to Leah, she's going to get there, someway, somehow," Prisock said. "I don't even think of her as being a transfer. she's always been such a big part of the team and has put in so much effort all the time."
USC will honor two more Trojans who transferred at Senior Day tomorrow: defender Jessie Holmes and midfielder Megan McCashland. Holmes graduate transferred to USC this year from Florida, while McCashland graduate transferred from Notre Dame.
The five honorees along with the rest of the Trojans still have a long way to go this year, with 12 more regular-season games. Prisock thinks the team, which currently sits at 6-0-1 on the season, has the tools to do something special.
"I definitely think we can do something," she said. "It's fun, it's competitive, and I feel like if we keep progressing and getting better, we'll go pretty far.
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