There have been women’s soccer games at Drake Stadium that have struggled to fill the small set of student-side bleachers.
USC hopes tonight’s game against UCLA will fill the Los Angeles Coliseum. Or at least 15,000 seats in it. While tonight’s crosstown rivalry matchup of two soccer powerhouses may not set the NCAA attendance record USC officials are hoping for, UCLA coach Jillian Ellis said she expects at least 4,000 fans to come out for the game.
“I’m excited,” senior midfielder Christina DiMartino said. “It will just be more fun ““ I think we’re all excited. We’re just going to play with a big smile on our face.”
Tonight’s contest will be held at the L.A. Coliseum instead of McAlister Field for the first time since 2000, when Ellis, in her second year as coach, led her Bruins to a 1-1 tie. After that game, the Bruins went on an eight-game winning streak against the Trojans that snapped when the Women of Troy topped the Bruins, 2-1, to knock them out of the 2007 College Cup.
Which brings us to tonight’s game. The No. 4 Bruins (13-0-2) will try to keep their unbeaten streak alive against a No. 10 USC team (12-2-1) that is fresh off being upset 1-0 by Arizona State. If the Bruins hope to keep pace with No. 5 Stanford, which is also unbeaten, they will need one of their best performances of the year tonight. The defending National Champion Trojans are loaded with talent. USC lost only one starter from its 2007 roster, and return players include Olympian Amy Rodriguez and All-Americans Kristin Olsen and Ashley Nick.
The Trojans are in somewhat of a precarious position with a conference loss and probably need to win tonight if they hope to contend for the Pac-10 Championships and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that comes with it.
“They’re just a very dynamic team,” Ellis said of USC. “They’ve got quality players and play with great intensity. … I think there are things that we’ve talked about that we need to get better at. Obviously, when you play a higher-level opponent, if you haven’t gotten better, they punish you for it.”
So, with the inside path to the Pac-10 Championships on the line, and the Olympic teammate square off between Rodriguez and UCLA junior forward Lauren Cheney, the 4,000-plus fans should have plenty to be excited about.
Sophomore defender Lauren Barnes summed up her thoughts about the game succinctly.
Barnes said, “It’s huge.”