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Friendship strikes international match

The USC women's soccer team will square off against Mexico's national team.

Andrew Fischer

Media Credit: Benson Chan | Daily Trojan Home again | After winning the national championship last December in College Station, Texas, the Women of Troy return to the Coliseum for an exhibition against the Mexican national team next Friday.

The first phone call USC coach Ali Khosroshahin received after the USC women's soccer team beat West Virginia in the quarterfinals in last year's NCAA Championship run was from the head coach of the Mexican women's national soccer team.

Khosroshahin, however, was hardly surprised that his longtime friend Leonardo Cuellar was on the other end of that call.

Their paths first crossed when Khosroshahin played under Cuellar at Cal State Los Angeles, and the two later reconnected when Cuellar gave Khosroshahin his first coaching gig.

"He is my mentor," Khosroshahin said. "He gave me my break in coaching. He had so much to offer in the game and life that I was drawn to him."

Though their careers took them in different directions, the two friends have managed to stay in touch both on and off the field.

The two scheduled regular exhibition matches between their respective programs after Khosroshahin moved to Cal State Fullerton and Cuellar became the head of the Mexico national team.

With his move to USC last year, Khosroshahin hoped to continue the tradition.

"I mentioned it one day in passing to [USC athletic director] Mike Garrett and he got all excited," he said. "[Garrett] was like 'I want to promote this game' and 'What is it going to take to do it?'

"The next thing I know we are playing in the Coliseum. You know, the thing I love about this school is when they say they are going to do something, they do it first class," Khosroshahin said.

Those efforts will come to fruition Feb. 22 when USC will take to the pitch for the first time since the national championship game against the Mexican women's national soccer team under the lights of the Coliseum at 7 p.m.

Khosroshahin said he is quite familiar with the current Mexican team having coached many of its players at various levels, noting that his presence on the opposing sideline will be more than enough motivation to get them fired up.

"They are a better team than [Cuellar] has had in the past," Khosroshahin said of the Mexican team, which has risen to No. 22 in the world - its best FIFA ranking in history. "What they lack in athleticism they make up for with their intelligence and ability on the ball."

USC began workouts last week on McAlister Field in preparation for their packed offseason schedule.

"We are nowhere near sharp," Khosroshahin said. "But we are way ahead of where we were at this time last year."

The Women of Troy will be without junior forward Amy Rodriguez, who is unavailable for the match as she continues her residency stint with the U.S. women's national team in Carson, Calif.

Rodriguez, who has been a major fixture in the Women of Troy's offense the last three seasons, led the team with 10 goals on the season and was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament.

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