USC’s Katie Johnson sank West Virginia’s national championship hopes with two goals in the final 15 minutes.
The senior turned an innocent-looking counterattack into the go-ahead goal before adding an insurance score in the 87th minute as the Trojans won 3-1 College Cup final Sunday in San Jose, Calif.
“This group was a special group from Day 1. They just didn’t know it yet,” said USC coach Keidane McAlpine.
Johnson’s strikes stunned the Mountaineers (23-2-2), who had allowed only nine goals all season.
“I’m not going to lie — it’s pretty disappointing because we haven’t conceded a lot of goals this year,” said sophomore defender Bianca St. Georges.
Johnson, who played for the Mexican national team in the 2016 Rio Games, helped USC (19-4-2) win its second national title. Her goal Friday was the game-winner in the 1-0 semifinal victory over Georgetown.
The Mountaineers, after yielding Morgan Andrews’ goal off a corner kick in the second minute, scored the equalizer on Ashley Lawrence’s 18-yard right-foot blast in the second half.
West Virginia kept attacking only to see its momentum wiped away nine minutes later when USC’s Leah Pruitt took a long pass up the left sideline. She maneuvered past defender Easther Mayi Kith and delivered a precise cross to the wide-open Johnson, who flicked an easy shot past goalkeeper Rylee Foster.
“I felt like the goal against us was kind of my fault. I turned a ball over in the middle,” said Johnson. “I felt like I had to make up for that.”
Despite outshooting the Trojans 21-9 and holding a 9-1 edge in corner kicks, West Virginia saw its 17-match unbeaten streak end.
“First, I’d like to congratulate USC on being the national champions. It was an incredible game, and their team obviously battled,” said West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “I’m so proud of the way my team put together a great performance after going down a goal early. I thought we did a great job battling back and creating opportunities.
“This sport is cruel, and I thought we created some great opportunities. At the end of the day, we didn’t finish, and USC did. “
USC capitalized on the first corner kick just 82 seconds into the match. After the ball bounced to the top of the box. Savannah Levin played it forward, and Andrews headed it toward the left post, away from goalkeeper Rylee Foster.
After a flurry of unsuccessful point-blank chances, Lawrence’s fourth of the season tie the game at 1-1 in the 66th minute. The senior dribbled to the edge of the box near the left corner, where she connected just inside the left post.
Foster made two saves, while USC’s Sammy Prudhomme stopped eight shots.
“Obviously, Sammy Jo did her job tonight, with us creating 21 shots, nine on-goal, and nine corner kicks,” Izzo-Brown said. “You got to really praise what she was able to do. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go to the back of the net. I thought we should have had three or four (goals). Lots of credit to Sammy.”
USC’s McAlpine praised his team for withstanding WVU’s assault.
“A lot of credit to West Virginia. I thought they were absolutely amazing and for a large part of the game they were on top of us,” he said. “But in the same vein I want to give credit to our team to have the fortitude to stick it through, to stay together, to stay unified with what we were trying to do and find a way to win. What a game.”
Lawrence, Sh’Nia Gordon and Foster were named to the all-tournament team while Kadeisha Buchanan was named the tournament’s defensive MVP.