UCLA defeats USC in women’s soccer before record crowd
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A record crowd of 3,114 came to UCLA’s Drake Stadium on Saturday night to watch UCLA defeat USC, 1-0, in an NCAA Round of 16 women’s soccer playoff game.
It was largest crowd to attend a women’s playoff match in Southern California. It was a festive atmosphere, with both schools’ bands in attendance.
What created strong interest was a match between the defending NCAA champion Trojans (16-5-2) and a Bruins (21-0-2) team that has made it to the College Cup five consecutive years. It also helped that both schools’ football teams had open dates this week.
Kristina Larsen scored the only goal 12 minutes 20 seconds into the game. It came off a corner kick.
UCLA advances to the quarterfinals and will play Duke, a 2-0 winner over Virginia, next Saturday at Drake Stadium.
It was a school-record 19th shutout for the Bruins, who have given up just four goals all season. UCLA dominated from the outset, getting 12 shots in the first half compared to three for USC.
-- Eric Sondheimer