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Oct. 22, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - In front of a record-setting crowd at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the USC women's soccer team served up a long-awaited Pac-10 win over crosstown rival UCLA on Friday night. The Trojans and Bruins hauled 8,527 fans to the Coliseum to set a new NCAA regular-season attendance record, and the Women of Troy topped it off in the 86th minute of play with the game-winning goal from Autumn Altamirano for a 1-0 victory. That lifted USC to its first regular-season win over UCLA since 1998, and improved the Trojans to 9-4-3 overall and 2-2-1 in Pac-10 play. UCLA goes to 9-6-1, 2-3 with the loss.
The last time USC and UCLA clashed in the Coliseum, a crowd of 7,204 was in attendance, ranking No. 2 in the NCAA record books for a regular-season women's soccer game behind a 2006 crowd in College Station, Texas, for a Texas A&M-North Carolina match. Tonight's crowd of 8,527 eclipsed that top mark, and put the Trojans and the Bruins on a historic stage for this year's Pac-10 showdown.
Although the Trojans maintain the biggest bragging rights with their 2007 win over UCLA in the NCAA Semifinals on the way to the Trojans' NCAA championship, the all-time record between the two rival has slanted heavily toward the Bruins. Since that 2007 win by USC, UCLA had claimed three more wins - all one-goal decisions - to enter tonight's game with a 19-3-1 all-time record against the Trojans. That NCAA victory over the Bruins notwithstanding, the Trojans last beat UCLA back in 1998 in a 5-4 Pac-10 victory also held at the Coliseum. Tonight, however, the years of coming up short of the Bruins were shrugged off by the Women of Troy.
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UCLA came out as the early aggressor, holding off USC shot opportunities while getting a set of looks on the Trojan goal. But USC held its ground and worked out some solid shots from Ashley Freyer, Carly Butcher and Alyssa Davila to push back against the Bruins in the first half.
The second half also was entrenched in physicality and action on both ends. Still scoreless with time draining quickly, USC followed up a dangerous UCLA corner kick chance with a push the other direction. Karter Haug lofted the ball deep for Autumn Altamirano - who had checked into the game just over a minute earlier - and Altamirano took full advantage of her chance. Open on the left side, the freshman saw the top corner of the goal and rocketed her shot to the upper back of the net to catapult her Women of Troy ahead of the Bruins 1-0 at the 85:11 mark of the game. Haug's assist was her third of the season, matching Altamirano's third goal and second game-winner of the year. Credited with the shutout was USC freshman goalkeeper Shelby Church, who was supported by a stingy and sharp defensive effort from her back line of Haug, Mia Bruno, Morgan Morrow and Claire Schloemer.
USC's next competition takes the Trojans back to McAlister Field for their final regular-season home games of the year. USC will host Washington State at 3 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 29) and then faces Washington at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Oct. 31) in a game that will be preceded by a Senior Day ceremony to honor the Trojan senior class.
Friday, Oct. 22 - Los Angeles Coliseum
Attendance: 8,527 (NCAA regular-season record)
#23 USC 1, #19 UCLA 0
USC 0 - 1 = 1
UCLA 0 - 0 = 0
SCORING:
85:11 - USC: Autumn Altamirano (Karter Haug)
SAVES: Shelby Church (USC) 3, Chante' Sandiford (UCLA) 3
SHOTS: USC 11, UCLA 11
CORNER KICKS: USC 2, UCLA 3
FOULS: USC 10, UCLA 7
