USC's Unlikely Adventure
The USC women’s soccer team had a little bus trouble today to as they were heading from the airport to College Station, Texas and the NCAA 2007 Women’s College Cup. They made a pit stop to get something to eat and wound up “somewhere in Texas” waiting for a lift after their bus sprung an oil leak. It apparently is not the first logistical hiccup for the Trojans during the NCAA Tournament.
“That has been the story for us since the NCAA tournament has started. Everything that could go wrong with buses and hotels, we’ve experienced,” said Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin.
If things have been going haywire off the field for the Trojans, they have certainly been clicking on the field. USC enters the College Cup as the only team that has not conceded a goal in the tournament.
This is uncharted territory for the Women of Troy as it marks the first time that they have advanced past the tournament’s second round in the program’s history. Even Khosroshahin is a little surprised at what his team has been able to accomplish in his first year with the program.
“If someone would have told me in January or February when we were getting started that we were going to be in the Final Four, I would have asked them what they were taking,” he said.
He credits a commitment to team defense, a solid back four and an exceptional goalkeeper, Kristin Olsen, for the Trojan’s successful run in the tournament and the shut out streak.
The Trojans will face their cross-town rivals, UCLA, in a semi-final on Friday. They lost to the Bruins, 2-0, in a regular season match, which Khosroshahin sees as a positive.
“I think we learned a great deal about ourselves in that match. It was the first time that we were really just beaten. It exposed some things that we needed to improve on and I think we’ve improved on those things,” he said.
UCLA is an offensive powerhouse with a long list of players like Danesha Adams, Christina DiMartino, Lauren Cheney and Kara Lang that can create scoring opportunities. Khosroshahin thinks that if his team can take care of the ball, then their possession game can limit UCLA’s chances.
He also thinks that the pressure is all on UCLA.
“UCLA’s been here five years in a row now. They are the only number one seed that’s left in the tournament. They’re supposed to win this whole thing,” he said. “Our goal when we started the tournament was to play some very good soccer and to see where that would take us. We haven’t been worried about winning or losing.”
It seems to be working so far. We’ll find out Friday if it is enough to take them to the championship game.
Check back tomorrow to get to know USC goalkeeper Kristin Olsen.
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