Oct. 7, 2001
San Diego - A penalty kick midway through the second half proved to be the difference as the USC women's soccer team defeated San Diego State, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the SDSU Sports Deck.
The win extended the Trojan's current unbeaten streak to four games as they improved to 5-3-1 on the year. The loss was the fifth straight for the Aztecs, who saw their record drop to 4-7-0.
USC provided much of the offensive action early in the game and were rewarded for their efforts with a goal in the ninth minute. Midfielder Ali Fennel made a long run down the right side and drew the Aztec defense toward her. Her ensuing cross found an unmarked Brittany Savelkoul eight yards out in front of goal, and she redirected the ball into the net.
The Aztecs countered early in the second half with a spectacular long-range effort from senior Fay deLeon. After taking a pass from teammate Michele Wagner, deLeon fired a shot from 25 yards out to the left of goal that found its way into the upper right corner.
The deciding goal came as a result of a penalty kick awarded to the Trojans when Fennell was brought down in the box in the 65th minute. Forward Shannon Cross hit the penalty into the roof of the net to the right of Aztec keeper Linnea Qui?ones for the game winner.
Quinones, who was credited with four saves on the day, made a pair of diving stops late in the contest to keep the Aztecs close, but they were unable to find an equalizer. USC's Shaelyn Fernandes had to make just one save while recording her fifth win of the season.
San Diego State will now prepare for its Mountain West Conference opener scheduled for this Thursday, Oct. 11, when Utah visits the SDSU Sports Deck. Kickoff time for that contest is 3:00 p.m.
USC 2, San Diego State 1 1 2 TUSC 1 1 2SDS 0 1 1Scoring: USC - Savelkoul, (Fennell), 8:35 SDS - deLeon (Wagner), 49:23 USC - Cross (Penalty Kick), 64:53Shots: USC-12, SDS-4Saves: USC-1 (Fernandes-1), SDS-4 (Qui?ones-4)Corner Kicks: USC-8, SDS-1Fouls: USC-22, SDS-10Cautions: SDS-Garl (82:40)Ejections: NoneAttendance: 322