USC Trojans Win NCAA College Cup Championship
Morgan Andrews scores in 2nd minute of College Cup final (@NCAASoccer/Twitter)
San Jose, CA - The University of Southern California earned its second NCAA national championship in program history defeating West Virginia University, 3-1 in the College Cup finals on Sunday.
It was a long and turbulent road for the Trojans, starting the season 0-2 with losses to Santa Clara and Long Beach State. Head coach, Keidane McAlpine knew he had a talented team and used the heartbreaking loss to Long Beach State to turn around the season.
“Tonight was a heartbreaker,” said McAlpine after the loss. “I thought we did a lot of things really, really well. We had one moment where we lost concentration, but I give a lot of credit to Long Beach and their coaching staff on tactically doing some great things tonight.”
Following the loss, the Trojans stung together a school record win streak of 10 games that saw the team outscore its opponents 28-2. Sammy Jo Prudhomme found her comfort in net for USC and shutdown the likes of Auburn, North Carolina and a 3-0 shutout of Stanford.
USC moved up the rankings and looked well on its way to competing for a Pac-12 Championship and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Trojans fell in the very next game to California in a tough 1-0 contest. The Golden Bears scored in the 86th minute to steal the win and snap the Trojans win streak.
Morgan Andrews and Alex Anthony become one of the nations top duo scoring threats finishing the season with a combined 49 points with both players scoring 10 goals a piece. USC got back to its winning ways going 4-0-1 in their next five games with wins against Arizona State, Washington State, Washington and Colorado. That set the stage for UCLA vs. USC at the StubHub Center to close out the season and the Trojans a chance to tie or win the Pac-12 championship. Unfortunately, it was the Bruins walking away the victors with a 1-0 win. "First of all, what a game, what an atmosphere. It was some really high-level soccer. I thought the women played a fantastic game. The energy of the fans was unbelievable and as both teams prepare for postseason, I think it gets us ready for that. As much as I am disappointed with the loss, I am really excited for what it has done for women's soccer within the city, getting to play in this venue, it prepares us to represent the Pac-12 in NCAAs," said head coach, Keidane McAlpine
The Trojans finished the regular season with a record of 14-4-1 (8-2-1 Pac-12) and earned a No.2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The highest seed in program history since USC earned a two seed in 2007, the same year they went on to win their first national championship.
Prudhomme was awarded Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year, the senior played in every game of the season and tallied a regular season high 11 shutout victories. Along with great goalkeeping the Trojans, Mandy Freeman was awarded Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year helping that back line be so successful this season.
Andrews was named to the conference first team for the second consecutive season and was also named a MAC Hermann Trophy Award semifinalist.
USC started the tournament with a big, 3-1 win over Eastern Washington, but had to escape a penalty kick showdown with Texas A&M. Alex Anthony found the back of the net to send the Trojans to a 4-3 win in penalties and set up a Pac-12 matchup in the third round against Utah.
Leah Pruitt had a spectacular finish to get USC past Utah in a very tough win for the Trojans. The victory set up a rematch with Auburn; USC had beaten the Tigers 2-0 in the Auburn Classic earlier in the year. In another close contest, the Trojans advance with another 1-0 victory for a spot in the College Cup.
Katie Johnson came on strong in her final season with the Trojans; the third leading scorer on the team saved her best performance for last. In the College Cup semifinals against Georgetown, Johnson scored the game winning goal to advance the Trojans into their second ever College Cup finals.
Johnson wasn’t done yet; in the National championship after Morgan Andrews early score was dismissed by an equalizer from WVU. Johnson scored two consecutive goals in the second half to lift USC to their second ever-national championship in program history, also the 126th National championship in school history for USC.
The 19 wins are the second-most in program history just behind the 2007 national championship team that finished with 20 wins. In his third season at the helm, McAlpine becomes the first African American head coach to win an NCAA Division I Women’s college soccer title.
