On a sweltering 100-degree day, USC forward Amy Rodriguez pounded a shot into the top of the net during an Olympic tuneup for the U.S. women's national soccer team. It was her second game-winning goal against Brazil this year. The United States is currently the world's top-ranked squad, with Brazil fourth in the FIFA standings.
Before the game, Rodriguez was interviewed about her wild ride on 101Soccer.com -- a site run by a number of USC alums, including interviewer Danny Page. Click here for the audio.
[Note: If video player doesn't appear, email adam@laist.com.]
USC's Amy Rodriguez was named to the U.S. Olympic team today. She's the first Trojan to make the Olympics in women's soccer.
The 21-year-old is one of only three forwards to make this year's squad. She's the second youngest player on the roster (average age is 26) and one of only two with college eligibility remaining.
"She offers speed, and in international games you really need speed," said U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage. "The way she's been playing and actually running at people has been very good."
Trojan John Carden played soccer for Team USA in the 1956 games. Hugo Salcedo, who got his master's degree from USC, played footie in the 1972 games. And when it comes to a discussion about USC and world-class soccer, you can't leave out Andres Cantor.
Rodriguez will be back at USC as a senior this fall to help the Trojans defend their NCAA championship. Her national team bio is after the jump.
Past, present, and future Trojans made their presence felt at last week's 710 ESPN Southern California Sports Awards. Over 18,000 online votes were cast in a dozen categories. USC and its athletes (and athletes-to-be) walked away with five of the trophies.
Sedrick Ellis was named College Male Athlete of the Year. His performance on the defensive line helped USC's football team to win honors in the College Male Team category.
USC women's soccer got the nod as the College Female Team of the Year after their Cinderella season resulted in a national championship. Goalkeeper Kristen Olsen earned recognition as top College Female Athlete for her leadership and 12 shutouts on the season.
Matt Barkley (pictured, l) of Mater Dei, a Trojan commit, was named the best High School Male Athlete. Only a junior, he became the youngest football player to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. Locally, though, he just squeaked by. His 3-vote victory was the smallest margin in any category.
The Laker's Derek Fisher was named Inspirational Athlete of the Year. In of those rare cases where everybody is a winner, the Trojans had another reason to smile. Ricky Rosas, special assistant to Pete Carroll and renowned "Gatorade bartender," earned a nomination and was invited on stage along with Corona Centennial football coach Matt Logan.
This was the second annual awards show, co-hosted by San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson (pictured, r) and 710 ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd. Former Trojan wide receiver Curtis Conway was a presenter. For a complete list of winners, pictures, and a full podcast of the show, click here.
Amy Rodriguez hit the net in international women's soccer today as the United States downed Norway, 4-0. She scored the final goal of the game in the 90th minute. From U.S. Soccer:
Stephanie Cox played a long ball down the left wing that Wambach got a light touch on, sending Rodriguez behind the defense. She raced in on goal from the left and hit a soft shot with the outside of her right foot. Somehow, the Norwegian goalkeeper misjudged the spin on the ball, dove to corral it, but instead let it roll over her body and just over the goal line before she could recover. It was Rodriguez’s third international goal.
Earlier in the game, Rodriguez had a shot on goal that was deflected by a defender.
ESPN 710 has opened voting for its Southern California Sports Awards.
You may recall that a Trojan did pretty well at the LA Sports Council Awards this year. There's also a USC athlete up for the Sullivan Award (see below).
Among USC's five nomination listings from ESPN:
College Female Team of the Year: A true Cinderella story, USC's women's soccer team finished second in the Pac-10 standings (20-3-2, 6-2-1), but first in the nation as it claimed its first ever, and the Pac-10's first-ever national nhampionship. ... Prior to this season, USC had never advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament ... Sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Olsen was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player.
College Male Team of the Year: The Trojans football team, under Pete Carroll, had another phenomenal season, finishing with a record of 11-2. That gave them the Pac-10 title, and a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they dominated Illinois, 49-17.
Inspirational Athlete of the Year: Ricky Rosas; USC ... Volunteer 'Gatorade Bartender' and office aide, Ricky Rosas has assisted the USC football office for nearly two years. Rosas enjoys working with the program and attends nearly every practice and home football game with the Trojans.
College Male Athlete of the Year: Sedrick Ellis, USC football ... Ellis played all 13 games for the Trojans and finished the season with 58 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks, seven deflections, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. He was a unanimous choice on the 2007 all Pac-10 first team. Ellis was named USC's Co-MVP.
College Female Athlete of the Year: Kristin Olsen, USC Soccer ... The USC goalkeeper collected 12 shutouts throughout the season. She was named the most outstanding defensive player of the NCAA Tournament, and she was named second team All American by Soccer Buzz and the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.
To participate in voting, click here. You will have to register for the ESPN 710 VIP Club.
USC sophomore golfer Jamie Lovemark has also picked up a big nomination -- for the Sullivan Award. The annual prize is presented to the nation's top amateur athlete. His profile in USA Today:
Lovemark, 20, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., won the NCAA individual title as a freshman at Southern California last year. He also played on the victorious U.S. Walker Cup team, finishing 3-0 in his matches. Last spring he won the Pacific-10 individual title and led the Trojans to the team title.
To vote for this year's Sullivan Award (no registration needed), click here.
In front of 3,217 fans, Los Tricolores downed the Women of Troy, 3-1, in women's soccer action at the L.A. Coliseum.
Mexico was using the match as a tuneup for Olympic qualifying. Last week, it beat ASU, 3-0, and tied UCLA, 1-1.
To put things in perspective, the Bruins had been ranked #1 for much of the 2007 season and were the last No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, falling to the Trojans in the semifinals. USC went on to take their first national championship in the sport.
USC looked a little sluggish and was outplayed by Mexico for much of the game. It was tied, 1-1, in the closing minutes, but a couple of sloppy defensive mistakes -- rare for this Trojan squad -- gave the game away.
The squads are coached by close friends Ali Khosroshahin, who led the Women of Troy to the NCAA championship last year, and Leo Cuellar, who was a popular figure as captain of the Mexican men's team before taking the women to their first Olympics and World Cup.
Their relationship goes back a long way. Khosroshahin played for Coach Cuellar at Cal State Los Angeles and eventually became his assistant coach there. He had high praise for his mentor. "He's opened a lot of doors for me. He's definitely given me an education in this sport that I think most people living here don't get." During USC's championship run, "I think I called him at least once a day."
Cuellar was equally impressed with his student, calling him a part of his family. "He's very intense, he's very convinced of his ideas. He likes to study, he likes to prepare. He's obviously trying to innovate."
Khosroshahin was hired by Mexico when Cuellar took over the team in 1998 and has been involved with the program ever since. Asked what his formal affiliation was, he shrugged and smiled. "Scout. Assistant Coach. Whatever [Leo] decides!" In his last job at Cal State Fullerton, he connected Cuellar with Marlene Sandoval -- now one of the top players for Mexico.
USC freshman midfielder Ashli Sandoval (no relation) hopes to be in Marlene's shoes one day. As one of four Trojans of Mexican American descent, she told reporters that she views this game as a tryout.
Expect tonight's matchup to be a good one. USC is playing at almost full strength (Amy Rodriguez is training with the U.S. national team) and Mexico, ranked 22nd internationally, traditionally gets tough matches from American schools. Last week, Mexico tied UCLA, 1-1, and beat Arizona State University, 3-0.
With Beijing trials just around the corner, Cuellar feels that these matches are a critical preparation. “To come here and play the champions, as a part of our preparation for Olympic qualifying, is a great opportunity for us."
Two USC alumni went to Rio last week for Carnival and wound up lost in a Brazilian rain forest. They hacked their way through the dense foliage for 26 hours until a rescue crew found them. Local reporters jumped on the story, eager to talk about these young men from the land of movie stars (the most outlandish articles, sadly, are available only in print).
They didn't catch any tropical diseases but maybe the media circus was contagious.
Since their return, bizarre outbreaks have been cropping up all over Troy.
USC and the Coliseum Commission tentatively agreed to keep the Trojans playing on their home field for two, 25 or 47 years. The announcement was complete with the Trojan Marching Band, an appearance by Pete Carroll, and, in the middle of everything, a surprise proposal by a private equity firm to take over the Coliseum for $700 million. If none of that works out, state lawmakers might just offload the property.
Reggie Bush was scheduled to give a deposition on the 25th in response to accusations that he called "cowardice." The case took another strange turn when Lloyd Lake stormed out of his own deposition. Allegedly, somebody accompanying Bush's legal team flashed a gun at him. Lake's attorney told ESPN, "Come on, we're lawyers. I don't threaten people, I sue them."
As ugly as it may get in civil court, things couldn't get much worse for another Trojan on the hard court. Cyberspace is running out of room to list all of Daniel Hackett's injuries. At last count, he's suffering from a fractured spine, partially torn oblique, bruised pelvis and sprained ankle. At least the broken jaw is healed. Another guard -- Marcus Simmons -- is hoping to hobble out against UCLA on his own sprained ankle to help USC's depleted roster.
OK, maybe that last one isn't a media circus -- but it should tell you something when a USC-UCLA rivalry game fades into the background of all this other news. Don't worry, O.J. Mayo is still getting ink.
At least nobody in the Trojan family has their mugshot on TM ... nevermind. Don't tase me JDB's bro!
With so much going on at USC, the Old Gray Lady found it fit to print a feature on a young blond boy. Yup, high school junior Matt Barkley's commitment to USC is even big news in the New York Times.
One of Troy's most popular figures, Will Ferrell, is stepping it into high gear to promote his latest movie. Ferrell appears in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition with Heidi Klum and can be seen on billboards for "Semi-Pro" rocking short-shorts. He spoke with Arash Markazi about his old job in USC's sports information office, where they could probably use an extra hand right about now.
The Trojans may add some more international (or at least multi-lingual) hubbub when the women's soccer team plays the Mexican women's national team next week.
If the Trojans were playing Brazil, maybe the circus could come full circle.
It's not unusual to watch Amy Rodriguez on the pitch versus a national team like Mexico.
It will be unusual when she's joined by her USC teammates.
Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., the Mexican women's national team will take on the 2007 NCAA champion Women of Troy in the Coliseum.
The Trojans will have international experience all over the field. Rodriguez (F/M) also plays for the U.S. national team. Ashley Nick (M) is with the U-23 squad and Kasey Johnson (D) and Kristin Olsen (GK) are with the U-20 team.
Mexico is preparing for the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in April. USC Coach Ali Khosroshahin served as an assistant for La Tricolor at the 1999 Women’s World Cup and continues to be an advisor to the team. He also coached one of Mexico's stars, Marlene Sandoval, at Cal State Fullerton.
Earlier this season, the USC women's basketball team took on the U.S. national team in an exhibition at the Galen Center. Although that game didn't turn out well (Team USA won, 88-64), the Trojans tend to fare well in international competition. If USC was a country, it would have the 19th highest medal count in Olympic history and would be tied for 12th in gold medals.
USC junior Amy Rodriguez will miss a few classes to start this semester. Hopefully her professors will understand. Actually, as an international relations major, maybe she should be getting extra credit.
Rodriguez is currently in Guangzhou, China, where she scored two goals and picked up an assist against Canada in the Four Nations Tournament. It was the first time she hit the back of the net for the U.S. women's national soccer team. It was also her first start (sixth cap overall), and she played the full 90 minutes. Looks like Coach Ali's emphasis on fitness is paying off.
It's been a particularly rough week in the land of Troy. From Reggie Bush to men's hoops. Feh.
Even men's volleyball got crushed by Cal State Northridge, winning the first game but dropping the next three.
To buoy Trojan spirits, here's a quick story from legendary USC football Coach John Robinson about motivation. The video was shot at this week's national football coaches convention in Anaheim, and we'll have more highlights next week.
Also, if USC fans somehow missed it, the women's basketball team scored a giant upset over #2 ranked Stanford last week (USC has a free in-house recap). Due to some bad timing the Women of Troy did not get the love they deserved on this blog, but needless to say it was a huge moment for the team and could go down as their highlight of the year.
Also, Amy Rodriguez has returned to the U.S. women's national soccer team roster, and four other players from USC made it to national squads at lower levels.
The final buzzer sounded on the Trojan's basketball game against UC Riverside Saturday night and it was over -- not just the game, but just the entire Fall sports schedule.
Spring will start quickly (using the new year as a line in the sand) with the Rose Bowl and some hoops games, so this is a logical time for top ten lists. While considering the top ten USC sports stories of Fall 2007, it was obvious that certain words kept coming up.
To give things a new twist, here are the top ten words of the Fall. These aren't here because they are the "best," but they are the most significant, dominating both headlines and public discourse.
Injury. They happen all the time in sports and nobody is immune, but this semester had an inordinate number of setbacks for Trojan athletes. Men's basketball got thumped by Mercer without Davon Jefferson (knee) and Daniel Hackett (jaw), and still hadn't completely gelled by the time the faced their first real challenges. Women's hoops lost two of their top players before the season even began. The soccer team's defense was thinned out. Cross country couldn't field their lone NCAA championship competitor due to illness. Volleyball learned to adjust for awhile without Diana Copenhagen. What's missing? Oh yeah -- football. Early in the season, somebody inside Heritage Hall said the mounting injuries weren't unusual. A couple weeks later, newspapers were dedicating a mind-numbing number of column inches to injury reports. A healthy John David Booty or fewer chinks in the offensive line, and the Trojans might only be practicing on New Years Day.
Streak. While a couple big ones ended (top-10 rankings and home victories), the football program maintained their most sacred one: Pac-10 crowns. As Pete Carroll's pre-season goal, winning the league (or a share of it) for six straight years has also resulted in six straight BCS appearances.
In his first year coaching the Women of Troy, Ali Khosroshahin won the national championship and was named Coach of the Year by Soccer America. It's a nice start, but this is a guy who is always looking to improve. With a team that was pushed by freshmen and a philosophy that emphasizes discipline, fitness, and fun, what lays ahead?
All Things Trojan caught up with Coach K to get his perspective on a groundbreaking year and what the women's soccer team is all about.
USC isn't really known as a soccer school. You've been around Southern California your whole life. What were your impressions of the program before you came in?
Coming in you know the reputation of the University and you know the championships that are all over the department. I knew the expectations from the department would be very high. That's fine by me because I felt like the resources are there to have those expectations. Coming into it our hopes were to win a national championship. Knowing that the team was very talented (there were some very good players there) knowing that you have the resources from the administration to get whatever you want done accomplished ... we saw all the components were there.
Early in the NCAA Tournament you said, "If you woulda' told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be in
this position, I would have asked you what kind of drugs you were on!" Your team developed quickly. Even though your goal was a to win a national championship, realistically how long did you think that would take you?
Everyone keeps saying this is our first year, but you also have to remember I've been coaching in the Division 1 level now for 10 years. This is something I've been striving for and working towards. The plan that I have isn't something that's any different than what we've done anywhere else.
The Los Angeles Sports Council has opened voting to the public for the greatest moments in local sports. Each major team will have a moment honored at the Council's annual awards show.
USC has three nominees on the current ballot, but winning the 2007 Rose Bowl didn't make the cut:
Trojans Defeat Longhorns To Advance to Sweet 16 - Led by swingman Nick Young's 22 points and a stout defensive effort, the USC men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating Texas 87-68 in Spokane, Washington. The fifth-seeded Trojans' 25th win set a USC program record (March 18).
USC Beats UCLA to Clinch Rose Bowl Berth - In front of a raucous Coliseum crowd of 91,553, the Trojans secured a third straight Rose Bowl Game appearance and a record 32nd overall with a convincing 24-7 victory over crosstown rival UCLA. The Trojans (10-2, 7-2 Pac-10) won their final four regular-season games to earn an unprecedented sixth consecutive conference championship as well as a sixth straight BCS bowl berth (December 1).
USC Women's Soccer Wins First-Ever NCAA Title - The Women of Troy won their first NCAA soccer championship by defeating Florida State 2-0 in the final of the NCAA College Cup at College Station, Texas. Trojans Amy Rodriguez (forward) and Kristin Olson (goalkeeper) were named the tournament's Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Players, and the team set program records with an overall 20 victories and 15 shutouts (December 9).
To vote for your favorite, visit www.lasports.org. Polling ends January 10th, and the winners will be announced at the banquet on January 20. A panel of media experts will rank their overall Top 10 moments of the year, along with a Sportsman, Sportswoman, and Sports Executive of the Year. The show will air live on FSN.
This is just the third annual awards dinner, but the Council started honoring greatest moments back in 1995 (including a top-100 of historical moments). Recently, USC was involved in the top overall moments of 2003, 2004, and 2005. For more on the history of the awards, visit their website.
Q: What do you call a first-year coach who takes over a team that's never made it past the second round of the NCAA tournament, then wins the national championship by allowing just one goal in all six playoff games?
A: Coach of the Year.
Ali Khosroshahin won the honor from Soccer America today.
The magazine also announced first-team All-American honors for sophomore goalie Kristin Olsen and freshman defender Kasey Johnson. Freshmen midfielders Megan Ohai and Ashli Sandoval were named to the second team.
Johnson, Ohai, and Sandoval also made the All-Freshman team. Imagine how this group will look next year when they have a little more experience.
Men's Basketball - #25 USC stomped Delaware 83-54 on Monday night thanks to 68% shooting. With the margin reaching as many as 36, it was never really in question ... O.J. Mayo became the first Trojan to score in double digits in his first 10 career games ... Around halftime, Jonathan Kay of Rivals pondered whether the Trojans would call a single timeout in the game. They didn't. As the assembled press corp scratched their heads over what else was worth writing about, the band kept counting down the game clock for Delaware -- several seconds early.
Women's Volleyball - After an upset sent the Trojans to the NCAA Final Four in Sacramento, the Women of Troy fell to Stanford in the semis ... All-American Asia Kaczor was named one of four finalists for the Honda Award, presented to the nation's top player in every sport.
Women's Basketball - Following a difficult midwest trip, USC got back on track with a 55-52 victory over Pepperdine last week. Nadia Parker had 17, all in the second half ... This weekend they'll host the Women of Troy Basketball Classic, including Portland, Hawaii, and Grambling.
Women's Soccer - Rankings and awards are inconsistent in college soccer. USC ended the season without a first team All-American.
Ask anybody, and they're probably satisfied with the national
championship instead. The fact that they did it as a unit without individual standouts says
a lot about this group -- and their coach ... It would be unfair to say nobody is getting recognition. Goalkeeper Kristin Olsen, who only made the Pac-10's second team despite dominating almost every statistical category, is a finalist for her sport's Honda Award. The sophomore was already named top defensive player in the NCAA Tournament ... Ashley Nick and Kristin Olsen were named to the NSCAA All-America Second
Team.
Quarterback Debate - In order to address a previous football question on this blog, I arbitrarily asked students at the basketball game if they preferred Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain. Sanchez won in a bigger blowout than the one on the court that evening. I'll be the first to say that this doesn't really prove anything, other than Mustain's low-profile on campus. That will change come Spring camp. I doubt there'll be much more to add until then.
Women's Volleyball - It took an upset over the Longhorns to pave the way to Cow Town. The 5th- seeded Trojans knocked off 4th-seeded Texas in a three-game sweep to advance to the NCAA final four in Sacramento. USC was led by senior star Asia Kaczor with 17 kills. Kaczor was named MVP of the regional tournament. Dianne Copenhagen (13 kills against Texas) and Jessica Gysin joined Kaczor on the All-Regional team ... This marks the fourth time in six years that the Trojans have advanced to the semifinals, where they will face Stanford on Thursday. The other semifinal will pit Penn State against Cal, who shocked top-ranked Nebraska in the last round. The two winners will play for the national title on Saturday.
Men's Basketball - USC's 65-44 loss to Fresno Pacific gets relegated to the roundup, not because it was an ugly loss to a poorly regarded opponent, but because it was an exhibition. In fact, Coach TIm Floyd kept his top five scorers on the bench for the entire game knowing the result wouldn't count toward anything. It was a great opportunity to test out some backups and show them how much they needed to improve. It was not, as Conquest Chronicles points out, a reason for USC fans to boo. Tsk, tsk.
Women's Basketball - A Midwest swing was more of a miss for the Women of Troy, who fell to Nebraska, 87-69, and Michigan, 82-61. USC dropped to 4-4 on the season. It will take on Pepperdine at home at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Women's Soccer - Maybe you missed it, but the USC women's soccer team is the greatest college team in the nation. We're pretty sure nobody saw that coming a couple of months ago.
This year, USC became the first school in history to have a team reach the NCAA championship game in men's water polo and women's soccer, the NCAA Final Four in women's volleyball and a BCS bowl in football, all in the same calendar year.
Here are some more factoids heading into the Women of Troy's first appearance in the NCAA soccer final tomorrow against Florida State:
USC has outscored opponents, 45-13, this season.
45 goals in a season ranks 3rd in program history.
13 goals against in a season ranks 1st in program history.
USC has outscored NCAA tournament opponents, 8-1.
Ali Khosroshahin is the second coach to ever lead a team to the championship game in his first year.
USC's semifinal victory was its first over UCLA since 1998 (11 games).
USC has played Florida State three times. The Trojans won, 2-1, in Tallahassee in 2003, lost, 2-1, in Tallahassee in 2004, and lost, 4-0, in Los Angeles in 2005.
The Women of Troy pulled off a huge upset in the semifinals of the NCAA women's soccer tournament, downing the nation's top squad by a score of 2-1.
USC hadn't beaten UCLA in 11 games, but overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit thanks to a couple of clutch goals by Amy Rodriguez. The Bruins out-shot the Trojans, 19-8, but ultimately that wouldn't matter. Final score: Trojans 2, Bruins 1.
USC will take on Florida State for the national championship on Sunday.
We can only imagine what Pete Arbogast is saying about this result.
If there's any sport that's under-appreciated at USC this year, it's women's soccer. The Women of Troy just set a school record with 17 wins on the season. They finished the regular season as a unanimous top 10 pick in the various national polls, despite not even making the top 25 in some eyes before the season.
Right now the Women of Troy are in the finest accommodations available in West Virginia (whatever that means). They're gearing up to play in the Elite Eight on Friday against the Mountaineers, a team seeded two spots lower than the second-seeded Trojans.
USC might have hosted the quarterfinals in their alternate home -- the L.A. Coliseum -- but that facility needs to be ready for a football game a few hours later. It's only a regular season game against UCLA, but the way some people are acting, you'd think it's the last time they'll ever play there or something.
Meanwhile, the Women of Troy are invading Morgantown without a goal scored against them in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament. You probably don't know Kristin Olsen. She wears number 0. She's allowed that many goals in 13 games this season, despite standing in the net behind a defense that was ravaged by injuries early in the year.
You probably can't pronounce Ali Khosroshahin. Don't worry, Mike Garrett struggled with it, too. But you should know that the first-year coach came from Cal State Fullerton and found a way to create harmony. When asked about that process, he acknowledged, "You bring a new coach into a program, a new coaching staff ... the kids didn't pick you, you didn't pick them. It takes some time to build some chemistry and some trust with one another."
"If you woulda' told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be in this position, I would have asked you what kind of drugs you were on. We just weren't a very cohesive unit in the beginning. There were a lot of people with their own ideas of how things should be."
There's a chance you've heard of Amy Rodriguez. She came to USC a couple of years ago as the national high school player of the year. She's stood out this year along with Ashley Nick (#16, pictured), who made All-Pac-10 and Janessa Currier, who garnered an honorable mention for the Top Drawer Soccer All-American team.
You might want to learn the names Megan Ohai, Alyssa Dávila, Ashli Sandoval, Kasey Johnson, Karter Haug. These freshmen headline a promising class that came up clutch for USC all season and provide the foundation for a strong future.
The Trojans won't play at USC again this year. If they make the final four, all the remaining games will be played in College Station, Texas. It's a shame if you missed them. The experience of a game at McAlister Field is unique. Athletes from other sports make an impressive showing. The field is intimate, and good-natured hecklers can be seen making referees laugh.
There's only one #1 seed among the eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament -- UCLA. The cross-town rivalry could potentially be renewed in the semifinals. USC lost this season in Westwood, 2-0, after the Bruins buried two far-post shots and the Trojans seemed to lose a step against the nation's top team. After the Florida game, Khosroshahin was asked about the team's improved fitness and said, "We ran 'em, and we ran 'em, and we ran 'em. We had three days off right before conference. We brought 'em into the Coliseum and they ran the stairs ... Fitness is key. You run so much in this sport that if you're not in shape, it makes the game extremely difficult. If you ask me, our fitness level still isn't very good, but it's a lot better than it was."
Nobody expected the Trojans to last this long. Now, they hope to be fit enough for just three more games.
Women's Soccer - The soccer team is the big news on campus (even Pete Carroll was raving about it in his weekly press conference). The Women of Troy made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament for this first time in the program's history, and will host Florida at the Coliseum at 7 p.m. Saturday.
USC played its first two rounds at Missouri, smoking Creighton, 3-0, before edging Mizzou, 1-0. Ashley Nick had a huge week, scoring the winning header against Missouri in double overtime. She connected off of a flip throw-in by Megan Ohai (pictured left). We don't have video of the play, but this is what the rare move looks like.
Besides netting the first game-winner of her career, Nick was named to this year's All-Pac-10 first team. Amy Rodriguez (M/F) and Kristin Olsen (GK) earned second team honors, while freshmen Kasey Johnson (D) and Megan Ohai (M) each garnered an honorable mention. Ashli Sandoval (M) joined Johnson and Ohai on the All-Freshman Team. Janessa Currier, who did not get any league awards, got national recognition with an honorable mention by Top Drawer Soccer.
Florida, who also went to double OT in its last game (actually beyond -- into a shoot-out), will be USC's first opponent in the Coliseum since 2001. It's the third time USC has hosted the tournament there, where they have a 26-5-3 record overall. USC normally plays on McAlister Field (which doesn't have lighting for night games). Tickets can be purchased on game day at Gate 4. It's $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 12.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans sunk the UC Irvine Anteaters at home last weekend and finished the season with a perfect record at home. They haven't lost at McDonald Swim Stadium since 2004 ... USC will be a #2 seed in Berkeley this weekend for the MPSF league championships and will start off against #7 UCSB. Women's Basketball - The Women of Troy got back on track last weekend with their first victory of the season. Brynn Cameron led the way with 16 points and Camille LeNoir returned from injury to score 9 in a 70-57 win over Colorado ... USC is currently heading to the Bahamas to play in the Junkanoo Jam. For more on Thanksgiving tournaments, check out this article by Lara Boyko (who regularly covers USC sports). Women's Volleyball - After beating #5 Washington and unranked Washington State, the Trojans took over the Huskies' ranking in the polls. They'll head to the desert this weekend to finish up the regular season against Arizona and Arizona State, then wait for NCAA Tournament brackets to be announced on Sunday ... Asia Kaczor was named Pac-10 Player of the Week. She set school and conference records with 44 kills and 100 attempts against Washington. This is the fifth time she's been given the honor.
Women's Swimming and Diving - USC beat Ohio State in a dual meet and multiple swimmers hit NCAA qualifying times.
After closing out the season on the road with a 2-1 loss to Washington State and 2-1 victory over Washington, USC finished 2nd in the Pac-10 (it last won in 1998). The Trojans wrap up the regular season ranked 8th nationally by Soccer Buzz, 9th by NSCAA, and 10th by Soccer America.
As a reward for their 14-3-2 record, the Women of Troy have earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament starting this weekend at the University of Missouri. USC will kick off against Creighton at 4 p.m. on Friday. If it wins, it will move on to face either Mizzou or Southeast Missouri State on Sunday.
Women's Volleyball - USC took down UCLA over the weekend to even the season series. The Women of Troy are still undefeated at home since the opening match loss last year and are 3rd in the Pac-10 and ranked 6th nationally ... The win was coach Mick Haley's 700th as a D-1 women's coach and 100th in the Pac-10 (all league wins have been at USC).
Men's Tennis - The team of Robert Farah and Kaes Van't Hof were runners up in ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to top seed Virginia in the finals. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak. The pair is 13-3 on the year.
Women's Soccer - The Trojans beat Arizona, 3-1, and Arizona State, 1-0, at home this weekend. They're #4 nationally and #2 in the Pac-10, finishing undefeated at home for first time since 1995.
Baseball - The Cardinal and Gold series was extended to three games last week. The squad is now off until February ... Eric Chavez of the A's won a Gold Glove. He was a USC commit several years ago, but turned pro at the 11th hour.
Men's Golf - After two days USC was tied for 2nd overall, 10 shots overall behind UCLA, at CordeValle. Rory Hie fell from 7th to 2nd. Play continues Wednesday ... Jamie Lovemark is struggling due to illness.
Swimming and Diving - USC hosted the Trojan Diving Invitational over the weekend. Four divers qualified for Zone Championships pre-qualifier for nationals.
Women's Tennis - Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu made it to the consolation quarter finals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships. The team is done until January.
Lexus Gauntlet - The USC-UCLA rivalry series is tied, 12.5-12.5, thanks to the women's volleyball victory -- and despite a couple rough outings against the Bruins the weekend before by women's soccer and men's water polo.
Three different sports are on a philanthropic roll this month ...
Women's soccer is making efforts to provided clean drinking water and save lives in Africa. Spearheaded by recent transfer Amy Massey, the program will collect water bottles and donate the proceeds from recycling to Water Wells for Africa. Bins are at all soccer home games and in the lobby of Heritage Hall. If you can support the effort in other ways (ex: large donations of recyclables), e-mail Massey at aemassey@usc.edu.
Women's volleyball is having a canned-food drive to support victims of the Southern California wildfires. This Friday when USC hosts UCLA at the Galen Center, each person who donates at least one can of food will receive $3 off of general admission. It should be a good crowd, as this is the first time USC has hosted the Bruins in the new facility, combined with homecoming weekend and Alumni Night.
Last Sunday, the men's basketball team held Dribble For The Cure. The event, involving basketball-related games and activities, awarded prizes to participants who raised the most money for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
It was a rough weekend in Troy, with a few bright spots sprinkled in ...
Women's Volleyball - The Women of Troy provided some of the best results for USC this weekend, taking down #9 Cal and #3 Stanford. USC surprised the Cardinal with a come-from-behind victory at the Galen Center ... Asia Kaczor was named the national player of the week, with a combined 52 kills and 30 digs against the NorCal schools. It's the first time a Trojan has earned the honor since November 2003, and 5th time in the program's history ... USC is riding a 20-match winning streak at home, and are undefeated in the Galen Center since dropping the first match played in the facility against Stanford ... Friday is alumni night, with about 25 former players scheduled to attend (including Leslie Nelson, flying all the way from Paris).
Men's Water Polo - UCLA's Chay Lapin would fail an underwater fire-prevention class. The Bruins' goalie was on fire in the pool on Sunday, stopping 15 shots (including two penalties) to break the Trojans' 13-game winning streak. The 9-5 loss is USC's worst since falling to Stanford by the same score in 1997 ... There was something very idyllic about the game: palm trees, a pool, temps in the mid-80s, and a packed house working on their collective tan. Very SoCal.
Women's Soccer - USC lost, 2-0, on Friday to UCLA. Amy Rodriguez showed some of her international-level skills by trying to sell the ref on a penalty kick. After a hard tackle she remained face-down in the box for several seconds and tossed her arms in the air. She got the whistle, but the kick was placed just outside the 18. It was a good metaphor for the Trojans -- so close, yet so far. USC played tough, but UCLA put away two far-post goals in the second half. You can read more notes on the game in this post.
Women's Cross Country - The Women of Troy finished 8th in the Pac-10 championships -- a marked improvement from last year (10th) but still falling short of expectations for the promising young squad. Despite this weekend's result, USC will be sending six runners to NCAA regionals ... Sarah Cocco was the top finisher for USC and second among freshmen in the Pac-10.
Women's Swimming and Diving - In a meet where each team was restricted to 8 participants, USC came in fourth at the SMU Swimming and Diving Classic. Rebecca Soni was named Swimmer of the Meet, winning three individual events and one relay ... Both the men and women have the Trojan Invitational this weekend.
Women's Rowing - USC owned the water at the Head of the American Regatta in Sacramento, featuring mostly West Coast competition (including Cal and Stanford). The Trojans won every event, including 10 of the top 11 in pairs (Cal had a team in 8th).
Football Watch Lists - Several players were named to semifinalist lists for postseason honors ... Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers are among 17 players up for the Lott Trophy, awarded to the defensive player with the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field ... Rivers is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's premier linebacker ... Sam Baker is one of just four offensive players among the 12 Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalists, given to the top lineman in the nation.
Actually, it's almost noon -- but it's hard for people on a college campus to wake up on Saturdays for an away game (especially when you're a three-point 'dog).
In case you're wondering, Trojan country doesn't seem to follow the same odds as Vegas. USC seems to be an 18+ point favorite around here (our waitress pegged the final score at 35-16). If you want to win some cash, this is the place to be.
This is a good opportunity to catch up on the other USC football team. The Women of Troy hopped a bus over to Westwood last night to take on the nation's consensus #1 soccer squad. Neither team had lost in their last 10 games, and USC had recently surged to #2 in one of the major polls.
USC held the momentum early, but couldn't produce anything on the scoreboard. It looked like this rivalry could be headed for a fourth straight overtime result after a scoreless first half. Instead, UCLA found the net shortly after the restart, and buried a second far-post shot in the 65th minute. It was the first time the Trojans had allowed more than one goal in regulation this season.
USC made a couple more runs at the Bruins' defense, but UCLA's keeper, Valarie Henderson, handled all five legit shots during the game for a 2-0 shutout. At least around USC this morning, people seem blissfully unaware of the result.
Attendance was listed at an impressive 3,345 (many times what USC gets at home games), but I'm skeptical that many stuck around for the women's game. The Bruins had a double-header, with the men's match delaying the start of the women's. You may remember the UCLA men suffered such a giant upset in last year's NCAA title game that students at UCSB stole their own goal and threw it off a cliff onto the beach.
Women's Soccer - Amy Rodriguez is tougher than you. After cracking her head into another player in a 3-0 win over Cal last week, a doctor stapled an inch-long gash back together so she could continue playing. Not stitched. Stapled. Two days later, she scored a header in the final minutes to tie top-ranked Stanford, 1-1, in Palo Alto ... The Trojans' big weekend earned them a #2 ranking in Soccer Buzz, and #5 in Soccer Times and Soccer America (which didn't even have USC ranked to start the season) ... Lauren Brown was named to the SoccerBuzz
Elite Team of the Week ... The Women of Troy invade Westwood on Friday to take on UCLA. The crosstown showdown could be one of the best games of the year. The Bruins are now ranked #1 in all four major polls, and the last three games betweens these teams went into overtime.
Women's Volleyball - USC earned a split on the road last week, beating Washington State, 3-1, but getting swept by Washington. At 17-3 (6-3 in conference), the Trojans are two games behind the Huskies and Stanford in the Pac-10. They fell from 4th to 6th in the national rankings (Washington was 5th) ... There are nine games left in the Pac-10 season. The next three will be at home.
Men's Water Polo - USC continued to roll, though allowed more scoring than usual. Last week they took down UC Santa Barbara by a score of 14-10, the first time the Trojans have allowed double digits since Oct. 7, 2006. The Trojans also continued to spread their own scoring around, with 10 different players hitting the back of the net ... The top-ranked and undefeated Trojans jump in the pool with UCLA on Sunday. USC has a four-game winning streak against their crosstown rival, each by a single goal.
Men's Golf - USC placed third in a field of 18 at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational in Florida, which wrapped on Tuesday. Sophomore Jamie Lovemark was second overall.
Women's Swimming and Diving - Football wasn't the only sport with a good weekend in South Bend. The #13 Women of Troy sunk #17 Notre Dame in the water. They were led by Golden Goggle nominee Rebecca Soni, who won three races and broke two pool records.
Men's Swimming and Diving - The 15th ranked men's team got in the pool for the first time this year and had no problem dispatching #22 Notre Dame. Vanni Mangoni won three events and the Trojans had multiple 1-2-3 finishes.
Women's Cross Country - Senior captain Laura Meyers was the fastest woman at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, leading USC to a second place finish overall. It was the fourth consecutive first place by a Trojan ... Several of USC's top runners sat out in preparation for the Pac-10 Championships being held this weekend at Oregon State.
Women's Tennis - In a successful ITA West Regionals, USC's Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu took home the doubles title, qualifying them for the national indoor championships in November. Fink also made the semifinals in individual play.
Men's Tennis - Call it a double-double. The men also took the ITA West Regional doubles title this weekend with the tandem of Robert Farah and Kae Van't Hof.
Baseball - This season's schedule is out. Two of the games are against Irvine. The Anteaters are coached by former Trojan skipper Mike Gillespie, who also happens to be the father-in-law of current USC coach Chad Kreuter. That's almost as awkward as the whole Brady Quinn's sister thing.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy earned their highest ranking ever, landing at 3rd in Soccer Buzz and 6th in Soccer America ... After taking a week off, the Women of Troy got back in action last week by defeating Oregon, 1-0, and Oregon State, 5-0 ... With the two complete-game shutouts, Kristen Olsen was named Pac-10 player of the week. She's the first Trojan to win that honor in two years ... Nini Loucks suffered a knee injury and had an MRI today. She could be the fourth defender lost for the season. USC leads the league in shutouts even without the services of Meagan Holmes, Kat Stolpa and Laura McKee.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans piled up four wins this weekend to take the SoCal Championship for 5th straight year, just weeks after capturing another NorCal Championship. They're now 12-0 and a unanimous #1 in the nation ... Shae Buckner was named the MPSF player of the week thanks to his 8 goals (including 2 in the semifinal over UCLA and 4 in the final against Stanford).
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Women of Troy also swept the Oregon schools on the hardcourt last week. They breezed to 3-0 victories over both Oregon and Oregon State, including a season-high 16 blocks against the Ducks ... Diana Copenhagen is still week-to-week ... Setter Taylor Carico's shots to the opposing left sideline (instead of setting and different than a sneak or dump) have been dubbed "310 Kills" after her Manhattan Beach area code.
Women's Swimming and Diving - The 14th-ranked Trojans easily took down Oregon State in the first dual meet of the season ... Both the men's and women's teams travel to Notre Dame this Friday. If you happen to be in South Bend early, you can cheer them on.
Baseball - Rehashing a note from last week ... Don't think you can get anything for free at a Mercedes dealership? Head Coach Chad Kreuter will be speaking at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by Oct. 30 to (213) 740-2733.
Basketball - Both the men and women started regular practice this week ... Gary Parrish ranked the men 17th headed into the season and had some pointed comments about Mayo and Hackett ... ESPN's Insider looks at the men's team in their free preview.
Now that we're settling into the fall, I'm going to make a concerted effort to schedule certain features more regularly. I'll be shooting for Weekend Roundups (like you see below) to run on Monday night/Tuesday morning. That will allow the dust to settle (injury reports, ranking announcements, etc.) while keeping everybody up to date with results that probably won't be on Sports Center. This edition is late in the week, so there are a couple nods to the coming weekend. I may also experiment with separate posting on weekend previews. Let me know if there's anything you want (or don't want) to see.
I'll exclude football and men's basketball from roundups, since those tend to be covered ad nauseum. If you need to know who won the football game, I've got a feeling you didn't start your search here. That said, I haven't covered hoops very much. That will change quickly.
Of course, special articles and announcements can happen here at any time.
Women's Volleyball - The USC-UCLA rivalry draws first blood of the school year tonight at 7 when the Women of Troy invade Westwood ... After losing its first game of the year to Stanford last Thursday, USC rebounded with victories over Cal on Sunday and UC Irvine on Tuesday ... Jessica Gysin helped lead the Trojans in a come-from-behind against the Anteaters. She's seeing more time due to an abdominal strain suffered by Diana Copenhagen.
Men's Water Polo -The #1 Trojans struggled against #7 Long Beach State last weekend, coming back to win, 9-8, and maintaining their home winning streak. Tommy Corcoran had a career-high four goals ... USC will face an even bigger test on Saturday when it puts its perfect record on the line against #3 Stanford at home.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy are enjoying a week off after a big surge last week. They had a fifth consecutive shutout on Friday at Long Beach, then took down Portland, one of the nation's top teams, at home on Sunday ... Amy Rodriguez was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week after getting an assist against Long Beach and the game-winning goal against Portland. Freshman Megan Ohai earned her first national honors by making the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week. She scored against Long Beach and assisted on both goals against Portland ... The women's soccer top 25 rankings shifted almost as much as that "other" football sport. In Soccer Buzz, the Trojans went from 14th to 7th while Portland fell from 3rd to 8th. USC was unranked by Soccer America but jumped to 10th (Cal made a similar jump from unranked to 12th). Top Drawer only upped USC from 24th to 23rd, but smacked Portland from 1st to 10th. NSCAA has the Trojans at 13th. Confused yet?
Baseball - USC announced a number of events this week. The annual golf tournament fundraiser will be at Dove Canyon Country Club on Nov. 19 (for more information or to register, click here) ... Scout Day is Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. ... Fall practice will conclude with the Cardinal and Gold Series at Dedeaux Field at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 ... The Alumni Game is Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. (213-740-5762 for more info) ... Check out the posts just before and after this one for more info on the new Rod Dedeaux Research for Baseball Institute.
Women's Tennis - Doubles pair Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu have advanced to the second round of the main drawat the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships. They face Clemson today and could be pitted against UCLA if they make it to Saturday ... In singles action, the nation's #2 seed Lindsey Nelson withdrew due to injury after losing her first set on Thursday. #10 Sarah Fansler lost her match.
Men's Tennis - After three matches on Thursday, Robert Farah is the only Trojan left standing. He advanced in singles play to the third round of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men’s All-American. Kaes Van't Hof lost his singles matchup. The two paired up in doubles action, failling to Alabama.
Women's Golf - Overlooked from last week, #4 USC lost by one stroke to Duke in the NCAA Preview tournament.
#14 USC took down #2 Portland, 2-1, in women's soccer on Sunday. One service had the Pilots ranked as high as #1 coming into the match, though they also lost, 2-1, at UCLA on Friday.
This was the Trojans' biggest victory since knocking off third-seeded Santa Clara in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last season, but Coach Ali Khosroshahin was quick to put the win in perspective.
"It's early in the year still. [Portland] had some injuries on their side, and they're still trying to find themselves. It's a good win, but I don't want to put it up on a pedestal yet because we still have work to do. We shouldn't be really satisfied. There are some things that we did poorly today that we need to address in this next week of training."
Specifically, Khosroshahin said USC needed to get "better with our possession." From the stands, it was easy to agree with his assessment. The Women of Troy weren't checking to the ball on set plays in the second half, struggled to apply consistent pressure on Portland's defense, and gave up the ball on some sloppy passes.
On the bright side, Kristin Olsen had another solid performance in the net, making some clutch saves and falling just short of a sixth consecutive shutout. Alyssa Davila came off the bench for her fourth goal of the season, and Amy Rodriguez notched the seventh game-winner of her USC career.
The Women of Troy have nearly two weeks until their next game. Though there are no specific injuries on the team, Khosroshahin is glad to give his players an opportunity to overcome fatigue. "Our season is so condensed that it's nice to have a little bit of a break to give their legs a chance to recover."
The next match will be at home against Oregon on Oct. 12. Looking forward to league play, Khosroshahin repeated a familiar refrain in USC athletics. "We just want to take it one game at a time and hope to improve each day."
A crowd of 665 enjoyed what may be the best-kept secret of USC spectator sports. Athletes from other USC teams tend to come out (swimmers and football players were in attendance today) and enjoy the sunshine. The furthest seats at McAlister Field are a short throw-in from the touch line. The crowd is usually spirited, and players, referees and other fans are known to engage in good-natured heckling.
Unlike larger venues, rowdy spectators don't get drowned out. After one Portland booster futilely screamed at the referee for a card, a Trojan supporter turned around and yelled for everyone to hear, "It's not Mother's Day!"
If you think college football rankings are debatable, what about a sport that doesn't have the exposure of regular network TV coverage?
The USC women's soccer team is having a pretty good year so far. At 6-1-1, they've had a start that many people think is worthy of a top 25 ranking. Where in the top 25 is another story. From today's USC Sports Information Department press release:
The Trojans jumped four slots to rank highest at No. 14 according to SoccerBuzz. Meanwhile, USC rose to No. 18 in the NSCAA/Adidas poll, No. 19 in SoccerTimes and to No. 22 according to TopDrawer.
But that leaves out one well known publication -- Soccer America. They don't have the Women of Troy listed in the top 25, which is compiled by their editorial staff. To find out why, check out the explanation I got from Managing Editor Paul Kennedy (after the jump).
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans started league action this weekend, taking down #5 Pepperdine to extend their home winning streak to 24. They should be #1 in the polls for the fourth week in a row ... When people say USC is deep, they're not talking about the pool. Coach Jovan Vavic has so much talent on his hands that he subs six players at once like an ice hockey line. They're making sure to spread the wealth, too. In each game so far, the team has had a different scoring leader. Eighteen of 22 field players to get in the water have hit the back of the net, and nobody has more than seven goals. One of those players to get on the scoreboard this season is highly touted Trevor Clark, who missed the last two years with injuries. ... Sometimes the stiffest competition is in your own backyard. All of the top 10 schools in men's water polo are in California.
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Trojans took down both Arizona schools last week to open Pac-10 play. They've started the season 12-0 for the 7th time in team history (four of those seasons ended in a national championship). ... Freshman Geena Urengo (libero) is leading the Pac-10 with 0.52 service aces per game. ... Like men's water polo, women's volleyball is best in the West. All of the Pac-10 had a winning record prior to league play, and the top seven teams are a combined 73-5. ... USC will be honoring two former players this year. Paula Weishoff, a three-time Olympian and MVP of the 1992 Olympic squad, led the Trojans to their third national championship in 1980. She will get special recognition at the match against Oregon State on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy had a pair of 2-0 wins over the weekend to improve to 6-1-1. Ranked as high as #14, they host the nation's top program (Portland) on Saturday at 1 p.m. ... USC had a heralded recruiting class a couple years ago, but this year's crop may rival them in productivity. The winning goal in all six victories has come from a freshman. ... Three players have played every minute so far: Kristin Olsen, Janessa Currier and Karter Haug. Olsen, the starting goalkeeper, has recorded four consecutive shutouts.
Women's Cross Country - Freshman Sarah Cocco has run in two meets this year -- and won both. The team placed third overall at the Pepperdine Invitational this weekend.
Women's Basketball - The offseason news has been more bitter than sweet for women's hoops. The top recruit in 2006, Jacki Gemelos, missed last season with a knee injury. She reinjured it this month and may miss another year. She'll have it scoped next week. ... Adding insult injury to injury, 2007's top recruit, Stefanie Gilbreath, is also out with an ACL problem. ... These two injuries are compounded by the loss of last season's top three scorers. Jamie Hagiya, Chloe Kerr and Shay Murphy are all headed overseas to play professionally in Greece. Murphy is also one of six Trojans in the WNBA.
Baseball - Former Trojan coach Mike Gillespie is going to coach at UC Irvine. So much for retirement. ... With MLB's regular season wrapping up, Trojan Brian Bannister (now with the Kansas City Royals) is a dark horse for AL Rookie of the Year. He was AL Rookie of the Month in August.
Golf - USC's men finished third at the Fall Preview tournament this weekend. Women's play will end on Wednesday.
The holiday weekend is over. While you were busy watching TV or playing dodgeball at the beach, the men and women of Troy were busy with all sorts of action. There's probably no need to touch on football, so here's everything else:
Women's Volleyball -- The fourth-ranked Trojans swept their own tournament, the 2007 USC Classic, taking home the hardware by beating Cal State Northridge, 3-0; #14 Duke, 3-2; and Mercer, 3-0.
Women's Soccer -- The Women of Troy notched two victories, first over Weber State (5-1) and then at UC Santa Barbara (2-0). Freshman Megan Ohai had two goals in the first contest and one in the second. They got caught in traffic on their way to Santa Barbara, but that was nothing compared with ...
Men's Basketball -- Yes, USC hoops was south of the border for some early action against bona fide pro teams. Sorta. Due to leftover hurricane damage, they could only play one of four scheduled contests in Mexico. They beat Caliacan, 102-82, after falling behind early on. Freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson each scored 29 points. Despite some intense travel, they got in their fair share of recreation.
Women's Cross Country -- In its first meet of the year, USC came in 6th at the Cal State Fullerton Season Opener. For a PDF of the results, click here. You actually might be interested if you run 5Ks.
Men's Water Polo -- The team scrimmaged with UC Irvine and Long Beach State.
Elsewhere -- Anybody wondering what "USC's best kept secret" was according to an ad on the student wristbands for Saturday's game? They provided a link to an on-campus coffeehouse called Ground Zero ... Maybe Todd McNair could use some help from Matt Leinart's spin doctors ... USC alum Ian Kennedy pitched his first game in the big leagues. He needed seven innings for his first win as a New York Yankee, allowing just one earned run and hitting 96 mph on his first pitch ... San Diego Padre Jack Cassel also had his first Major League start this weekend. The brother of former Trojan and current New England Patriot Matt Cassell got knocked out after three innings and two runs. Jack played at Pierce College in the Valley ... Cal fans were extra rowdy against Tennessee because somebody gave them 50,000 megaphones ... The USC Triathlon Team starts practice this morning and has an open meeting for signups on Wednesday at 8 p.m., location TBA (probably at the Lyon Center).
The Women of Troy had an easy tune-up against Weber State on Friday afternoon thanks to strong performances from their newest additions. "I was really impressed with our freshmen today," raved one of those new faces -- recently hired Coach Ali Khosroshahin. He started five of them in the match.
USC had their way with Weber, firing 22 shots compared with just five for the Wildcats. With little doubt about the outcome, the laid-back crowd had some fun in the hot afternoon sun. A rowdy contingent from USC's swimming team even got the referee to laugh. "I love it," chuckled junior Amy Rodriguez. "The SC atmosphere and the SC attitude is to come together and be one as a family. Having those people support us on the sides is awesome. It gives me a great adrenaline rush."
Freshman Megan Ohai, known as a scorer during her high school days in Utah, netted the first two goals of the match. "In that position, that's what she's supposed to do. She's our finisher," Khosroshahin said.
Rodriguez, a former Gatorade High School Player of the Year, came in as a substitute and was clearly a step quicker than the players marking her. In response, Weber was very physical on defense. When asked about the rough play, Rodriguez shrugged it off. "I don't pay attention to it that much."
Asked if she might have any distractions this season (like last year when she missed several games while playing for the national team), Rodriguez indicated that it was smooth sailing ahead. "In early January this past year I was invited to camp, but I told Greg Ryans (the national team coach) that I was going to take the semester off to focus on school and focus on a little bit of me time. Throughout the summer and the fall, my focus has been 'SC soccer and trying to take us to a championship."
USC junior Amy Rodriguez will miss a few classes to start this semester. Hopefully her professors will understand. Actually, as an international relations major, maybe she should be getting extra credit.
In his first year coaching the Women of Troy, Ali Khosroshahin won the national championship and was named Coach of the Year by 
The Los Angeles Sports Council has opened voting to the public for the greatest moments in local sports. Each major team will have a moment honored at the Council's annual awards show.
