Soccer Falls 1-0 To No. 17 Southern Cal

Friday, September 1

Tempe, Ariz.

TBA

Colorado

0-2-0

Southern California

2-0-0

Southern California

Colorado

September 01, 2000 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Lindsay Lew, Assistant Director

TEMPE, Ariz. - The University of Colorado women's soccer team (0-2) was unable to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit, falling to No. 17 Southern California (2-0) by a score of 1-0 in the first game of the Arizona State Sun Devil Soccer Classic here Friday evening.

"I told the team at halftime that they needed to come out of their comfort zone and take some risks," said head coach Austin Daniels. "They did that in the second half, but obviously it was not enough. It was the best half of soccer we have played so far this season, we have just got to get better and have that kind of commitment every time we step on the field."

The Buffs got a strong game from junior goalkeeper Danielle Bassett who in her first match of the season pulled in 12 saves in the losing effort. She came off her line and stopped several Trojan one vs. one chances. Also playing well were senior forward Melissa Cartmell and junior midfielder Heather Zonker.

Southern Cal got the only goal of the game in the first half, when junior forward Brittany Savelkoul raced down the left sideline, crossing a perfect ball into the Buff penalty box. Miller came through the middle and knocked the ball in the back of the net at the 34:48 mark. USC outshot Colorado 12-2 in the first half, with Bassett pulling in five saves.

Colorado came out of the break firing, notching three unanswered shots in the first five minutes. The Buffs best opportunity came at the 53:42 mark, when Zonker hit a screaming shot from 15 yards out, which hit the crossbar and bounced out. Just minutes later, senior Andrea Matassa played a corner kick to the far post, which sophomore Ashley Honig shot, hitting the post. The ball came off the post and was corralled by Trojan keeper Lauren Arase.

The second half saw USC outshoot the Buffs 17-7, with Bassett grabbing seven saves to Arase's two. Colorado almost tied the match as time ran out, when Cartmell ripped a shot from the left edge of the USC penalty box. Arase made a tough save, smothering the ball as the half ended.

Despite the end result, Cartmell says the Buffs gained a lot of confidence in the game. "Even though we lost this game, I think we got a lot of confidence that we can play with teams that are at this level," said Cartmell. "We came out a little timid in the first half, but we reached a point when we realized they're just 11 players on the field just like us, and then we really started to play with them. We have a lot of things to be happy about, but now we have to focus on putting our chances in the back of the net."

Colorado are now 1-18-1 all-time against ranked teams, and are 0-4 against the No. 17 team in the nation. Honig earned her first career start and made it count, leading the Buffaloes with three shots. Cartmell and Zonker had two shots apiece in the match.

The Buffs will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 3, when they face host Arizona State in an 8:00 p.m. MDT kickoff. USC will play Michigan in the first match on Sunday evening. Colorado will open their home slate on Friday, Sept. 8 when they take on Cornell at 4:00 p.m. at Pleasant View Soccer Complex.