Aug. 27, 2012

ON THE PITCH: The University of San Diego women's soccer team (2-2-0) will hit the road this week, as they head to Los Angeles to participate in the USC Futbol Classic. The Toreros will take on the Washington State Cougars Friday at 1 p.m. and then the USC Trojans Sunday at 2 p.m. Both matches will take place at McAlister Field.

LAST TIME OUT: The University of San Diego women's soccer team (2-2-0) won two exciting non-conference home matches last week. The Toreros gave the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies (2-1-0) their first loss of the season with a 1-0 victory Wednesday evening. Junior forward Emily Dillon scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute after receiving a beautiful through ball assist from senior defender Lexi Deol. Deol also scored the game-winning goal in the second period of extra time in the Toreros 3-2 win over the University of Minnesota (3-2-0) Friday evening. The Toreros went down 2-0 in the first half, but rallied back in the second frame with a penalty-kick goal from sophomore defender Meghan O'Rourke and a clutch header from senior defender Dani Russell to send the match to extra time where they would finish off the Gophers with just 1:26 remaining on the clock.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Washington State embarks on their first road trip of the season with a perfect 3-0-0 record. The Cougars are coming off an impressive 6-0 non-conference home victory over Boise State where five different players scored goals. Junior forward Micaela Castain notched two of those goals and leads the Cougars with five on the season. The Cougars have not allowed a goal all season and sophomore goalkeeper Gurveen Clair holds the school record for fewest goals allowed per match at 0.69. USD is 0-1-0 all-time against the Cougars. Their only previous meeting was September 25, 1994 in Pullman, WA, when the Toreros fell 2-1 to the then No. 19 Cougars.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS: USC enters the week with a 2-1-0 record after losing their first match of the season to the University of Minnesota by a score of 4-1 on Sunday. Before the loss, the Trojans had earned a 3-2 road win over Cal State Fullerton and recorded a 4-1 victory at home over St. Mary's. The Trojans have scored eight goals this season with seven different players finding the back of the net. Freshman Megan Borman leads the team with two goals. USD is 5-7-1 all-time against the Trojans and has won the last three matches. USC head coach Ali Khosroshahin is entering his sixth season and has a 70-34-10 record with the Trojans and a 146-73-16 overall career record.

Lexi Deol NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: San Diego senior defender Lexi Deol was named WCC Player of the Week the conference office announced Monday morning. Deol played a major factor in both of the Toreros victories this past week. In the 1-0 win over No. 12 Texas A&M, Deol recorded the assist on the game-winning goal as she delivered a through ball from the back line to Emily Dillon, who beat the Aggie defense and sent the ball into the top left corner of the net. Deol followed up that performance by scoring the game-winning goal in Friday's 3-2 victory over Minnesota Friday evening. After Meggie Gulzynski sent a corner into a crowded goal box, Deol was able to head the ball in to the back of the net with just 1:26 remaining in the second extra time period to secure the come-from-behind victory.

FRESHMEN KEEPERS NOTCH FIRST CAREER VICTORIES: Freshman goalkeeper McKenna Tollack recorded her first career victory Wednesday evening as she shutout the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies in the Toreros 1-0 victory. Her teammate Michelle Craft followed suit by earning her first career win two nights later as the Toreros defeated Minnesota 3-2 in double overtime. Craft replaced Tollack at the beginning of the second half and held the Gophers scoreless for the remainder of the match.

THE GREENWOOD FILE: Since taking over the San Diego women's soccer program in 2003, Ada Greenwood has upheld the rich soccer tradition that San Diego is known for and continues to build a successful and nationally recognized program. Just the third coach in USD's storied 16 year history, Greenwood has compiled an overall record of 94-67-18 in his seven seasons at the helm. As San Diego's top assistant from 1998-2002, Greenwood helped USD to a 66-30-5 record and four NCAA College Cup appearances. Since taking over the reigns as head coach, Greenwood has guided the Torero to five NCAA Tournament appearances including three straight from 2007-09.

2012 GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: All San Diego women's soccer home matches can be followed via Gametracker on the Toreros athletic web site at www.usdtoreros.com. Gametracker is a service of CBS, the official web provider for San Diego athletics, and is a real time update of the action. Selected San Diego road matches are also available via Gametracker. To see if Gametracker is available for a game go to San Diego Events at the top-right of the home page. If Gametracker is available there will be a Gametracker link.

CAN YOU SEE ME?: All USD home matches, as well as select road games, will be streamed live via video on the athletics department website. Fans can watch all the action live from the comfort of their home by logging onto www.usdtoreros.com. Simply go to the women's soccer schedule page and click on the WATCH link to view that days match.