"I'm very pleased with our defensive unit," said fourth-year Head Coach Jean Paul Verhees. "We've controlled the ball." Explained sophomore sweeper Clabaugh, "We just try to keep the ball wide (and) force the other team to make errors. We'll see how far we can go with the shutout streak." The relatively young defensive unit is, in fact, the most experienced group on the USF team, returning three starters from last season, junior Trisha Popovich, and sophomores Clabaugh and Kim Leavitt. Along with netminder Voiland, the defense has been dominant, frustrating their opponents by playing error-free and not allowing their opponents many open shots or penetration in the box.
Again, the Dons played a competitive game only to lack the scoring punch they possessed early in the season. "The chances we had were so close," said Verhees. "I was surprised we could not get the ball in the net." Verhees would not blame the delay at Pepperdine for the two losses. "We were a little tired but that's something you have to deal with," he said. "Adversity is not uncommon in sports or life. You just have to pull up your socks and try to win." USF took the early advantage just rwo minutes into the game, when sophomore forward Jannik Abel took a pass from sophomore defender Kim Leavitt and beat the UCLA goalkeeper with a 6-yard shot to the left corner. However, UCLA freshman Traci Arkenberg equalized in the 30th minute with a 25-yard blast that was tipped by USF keeper Wingert and deflected off the crossbar before sneaking past the plane of the goal (TheFoghorn).
