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Mountaineers stand in the way of USC and the Final Four

The 2-seed Women of Troy are the favorite but must play at West Virginia; a possible meeting with UCLA awaits.

Kevin Gasendo

Media Credit: Alix Drawec | Daily Trojan Footloose | Freshman Megan Ohai and the Women of Troy's run through the NCAA Tournament has been nothing but good times - a win over West Virginia will likely pit them against UCLA in the semis.

The junior class has finally delivered on expectations, the freshman class has exceeded its, and in a season of milestones, the 2-seed USC women's soccer team finds itself one game away from the NCAA Final Four.

The Women of Troy (17-3-2) visit the 4-seed West Virginia Mountaineers (18-4-2) today at 4 p.m. in the national quarterfinals needing to prove they can win a big match on the road.

The team is in the midst of their finest season in program history, going further into the playoffs than ever before, its most notable performances have been at home.

All three of USC's losses came on the road, and even its biggest road win (a second-round NCAA Tournament win at Missouri) could have easily been a defeat. USC midfielder Ashley Nick scored a diving header in the second overtime of that match. Had she not, the game likely would have gone to penalty kicks, where chance decides victory as much as skill.

West Virginia, who finished the season ranked No. 12, will certainly make life difficult for USC.

The Mountaineers have been nearly unbeatable at home this year. They've gone 13-1-1 on their own turf, with their last match a victory over No. 11 Notre Dame that earned the team their first Big East Championship.

USC coach Ali Khosroshahin believes that his squad can neutralize West Virginia's home-field advantage.

"We're going to try and set the tone early and apply some pressure," he said. "They'll also feel more pressure because they're going to have to play well in front of a huge crowd."

The Mountaineers will have more weapons than home support. They'll have forward Ashley Banks, a senior who won Big East Offensive Player of the Year. Banks has scored 15 goals and recorded eight assists this season.

Khosroshahin says USC isn't fazed by the prospect of playing against someone like Banks.

"We don't ever worry about a particular player," he said.

"Hopefully, our offense will be making her come back to defend, where she won't be as effective."

USC's offense needs to be on top of its game as well tonight.

The Women of Troy wasted multiple opportunities to finish off the Florida Gators in their previous match and settled for a 1-0 win. They can't afford to do the same against a West Virginia defense that is giving up only 0.73 goals a game and has shut out all of its opponents in the NCAA Tournament.

Khosroshahin said that his team practiced its goal scoring a lot this week.

"We put players in various situations in front of the goal and worked on it repeatedly," he said.

If USC can come away with a victory tonight, it will have a chance of playing top-ranked UCLA in the Final Four.

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