Sept. 19, 2004
Box Score
(San Diego, CA) - An extremely competitive match at Torero Stadium Sunday afternoon resulted in a 2-0 victory for the visiting Trojans of USC. Senior forward Shannon Cross broke a scoreless tie in the 64th minute and the Trojans added an open net goal as the final horn expired to account for the two-goal differential. The meeting between San Diego (4-4) and USC (4-3-1) was the fourth in as many years, with USC avenging a 1-0 road loss to the Toreros in 2001.
Midway through the first half San Diego's Amy Epsten broke free from the USC defense only to be taken down from behind in the penalty area. To the dismay of the San Diego sideline, and the home crowd, the play did not prompt a whistle from Sunday's head referee. The Toreros went on to fight off pressure from the USC offense in the latter stages of the first half, and the game remained scoreless through 45 minutes of play.
Cross initiated the scoring at 64:42 when she beat USD keeper Karen Cook from 15 yards out. Trailing 1-0 San Diego continued to trade opportunities with USC throughout the second half. The Trojans managed to outshoot the Toreros 17-5, however San Diego threatened to score on a trio of corner kicks after the 80:00 minute mark. An unassisted goal by Trojan Tracy Lansing trickled into the net as time expired to push the final score to 2-0.
The loss for USD was its first at home this season and snapped a two-match winning streak. San Diego defeated Long Beach State 6-0 Friday and will continue its current four-game home stand Tuesday when the Highlanders of UC Riverside pay a visit at 7pm.
