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Soccer loses exhibition game with Mexico

Megan Ohai scored the Women of Troy's only goal in the 3-1 loss to Mexico.

Dan Greenspan

Media Credit: Avi Kushlan | Daily Trojan Lone scorer | USC freshman forward Megan Ohai scored the Women of Troy's only goal against the Mexico National Team in the 61st minute Friday night. Mexico had two late goals for the 3-1 victory.

After basking in two months of adulation from winning the national championship, USC coach Ali Khosroshahin had one message he wanted his team to take away from Friday night's exhibition against the Mexican National Team.

That was then, this is now.

"When you've come off the high that we came off of, it's very important to learn a lesson," Khosroshahin said.

"The pressure is on us now," forward Megan Ohai said. "Every team is going to come against us as hard as they can. We set ourselves up for that. Everyone's going to say, 'Oh, they are the national champions,' and play their hardest."

Stepping on the pitch for the first time since December, uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns led to a pair of late goals as the USC women's soccer team lost to Mexico, 3-1, before a crowd of 3,217 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Leticia Villapando notched the winner off a rebound the Women of Troy were unable to clear in the 80th minute, driving the ball past All-American goalkeeper Kristin Olsen from 10 meters.

Forward Iris Mora put the game out of reach two minutes later, splitting a pair of USC defenders to collect Evelyn Lopez' entry pass and score on a high arcing shot.

"USC is very strong, very physical and they have some excellent aspects to their game," Mexico coach Leonardo Cuellar said. "For us, it was about keeping order, staying composed and waiting for our chances. We have fast players and we took advantage of space in the second half."

Ohai had the lone goal for USC, scoring in the 61st minute to tie the game on a header set up by midfielder Ashli Sandoval's corner kick.

Moments later, sophomore midfielder Marihelen Tomer was poised to give the Women of Troy the lead, but her shot from just inside the box curled out of bounds.

"In the second half we were moving the ball, but made some bad moves and had to pay for it," Khosroshahin said.

USC came out sluggish early in the game, relying instead on sharp play by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Massro, who had three saves.

"It took us a little bit to find our legs," Khosroshahin said. "This was the first time we played since the final, the first time we played 11 versus 11."

The Women of Troy had only four shots in the first half, finishing with 10 total.

USC's offense was also limited by the absence of forward Amy Rodriguez, who is playing for the U.S. National Team.

Named Most Outstanding

Offensive Player of the NCAA Tournament, Rodriguez scored 10 goals last season.

"She's not here. We had to make some adjustments, but we're not making any excuses," Khosroshahin said.

Lupita Worbis had the other goal for Mexico, ranked No. 22 in the world by FIFA, which is preparing for April's Confederation of North American, Central American and Caribbean Association Football's Olympic qualification tournament with a six-game American tour.

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