Women's Soccer Upsets Defending National Champions
Ali Fennell scores at 84:58 in 1-0 win against No. 8 Santa Clara.

Oct. 6, 2002

Box Score

LOS ANGELES - Senior forward Ali Fennell scored the game-winning goal Sunday and the No. 18 USC Trojans upset the No. 8 Santa Clara Broncos, 1-0, in nonconference action at McAlister Field. Fennell (Santa Ana/Mater Dei HS) scored at 84:58 as she split the defense off a feed from sophomore Ashley Casas (Mission Viejo/Capistrano Valley HS) for the victory against the Broncos, the defending national champions.

USC (5-3-3) and Santa Clara (7-3-1) participated in a well-played contest with good scoring chances for both teams. The Women of Troy wore down the Broncos in the second half on a warm afternoon with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s.

Fennell scored the fifth goal in her last seven matches and tied Carol Hatcher (1996-98) for fifth place on USC's all-time scoring list with 49 points. She leads the Trojans this season in goals (five) and points (10).

"This was the biggest win in our program's history," said USC head coach Jim Millinder. "I know Santa Clara is a terrific team and felt if we didn't concede an early goal, we could grind out a result. In the second half, we did a good job of dropping back and denying service.

"Ali played a great game and did a good job of breaking away from the defense. This was the most complete game we have played this season and the team should have the belief that they can compete with anyone in the nation."

Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Peterson (Mission Viejo/Santa Margarita HS) made four saves on the afternoon to record her sixth shutout of the season, tying the school record held by three others.

USC opens Pac-10 Conference play next weekend at home against No. 1 Stanford on Friday (Oct. 11) at 3 p.m. and No. 10 California on Sunday (Oct. 13) at 1 p.m.

No. 8 Santa Clara (7-3-1) 0-0 -- 0
No. 18 USC (5-3-3) 0-1 -- 1

Shots: SCU 12, USC 10 Corners: SCU 6, USC 4 Fouls: SCU 17, USC 13
Saves: Alyssa Sobolik (SCU) 4; Julie Peterson (USC) 4
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USC Athletics Women's Soccer



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