17th-Ranked USC Tops Highlanders, 8-1

Friday, September 5

Los Angeles, CA

4:00 pm

UC Riverside

2-1-1

USC (#17)

4-0-1

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Riverside	1	0	1
USC	4	4	8

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

9/5/2014 6:06:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Los Angeles, CA—The USC Trojans showed why they are the 17th-ranked Women's Soccer team in the nation Friday afternoon as they beat visiting UC Riverside, 8-1, handing the Highlanders their first loss of the season in the process.

UCR traveled to Los Angeles in hopes of collecting their first win against top-25 competition since the 2006 campaign. The score was tied at one midway through the first, following Tyler Cunningham's third goal of the year, but the Trojans regrouped and scored seven unanswered goals to close out the match.

Megan Borman put USC up early with just 11:04 gone off the clock, looping a ball over UCR keeper Elizabeth Silas's outstretched arms from 35 yards out.

The Highlanders fought back, though, and in the 20th minute, Tyler Cunningham dented the back of the net off of a cross by Celina Valencia.

USC's Jamie Fink scored a pair of goals before the intermission, and former Highlander, Alex Quincey ended the first half scoring by collecting a loose ball at the top of the UC Riverside box and placing it in the lower left-hand corner.

After being outshot 11-2 in the first 45 minutes, the Highlanders were able to even the field of play throughout much of the second as the Trojans outshot UCR by just a 6-4 margin over the next 40 minutes. Two of those shots found their mark, however, as Kayla Mills recorded her first score of the season in the 69th minute, and Fink picked up the hat trick with 14:18 to go.

The final two shots of the match were taken by Quincey who scored on both of them to close out the scoring.

The Highlanders return home this Sunday for the team's home opener against Northern Iowa. Kick off is slated for 12:00 pm PT at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium.