The Arizona soccer team is on the road all weekend playing in Los Angeles, California. For their first game, the Wildcats beat USC 1-0 after a second-half goal.
This is the highest-ranked win for Arizona since 2007 when they defeated the University of Texas at Austin.
The game was very back-and-forth with possession. USC is ranked No. 8 in the Pac-12 right now, so this win for Arizona is a huge upset.
The score was 0-0 at half time after a few shots on both goalies. The first shot on Hope Hisey didn’t happen until the 31st minute due to the defense’s stronghold against USC.
In the 68th minute, Arizona player Megan Chelf launched the ball into the box for Nicole Dallin to run onto. This dragged the USC goalie out of the box just enough for Dallin to tap the ball into the net.
A few honorable mentions from the first half based on performance are Gianna Christiansen, who ripped a shot on USC’s Anna Smith at the very beginning of the match. Another is Desiree Foster who had a shot on goal that was deflected by Smith in the 39th minute.
There were 12 shots on Arizona’s goal, Hisey having to save five on-target attempts. This makes it her 17th career shutout.
The game was extremely physical, resulting in 21 fouls from Arizona and 14 from USC.
The Wildcats will stay the weekend in California for their upcoming game against UCLA on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST.
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