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Nov. 8, 2002

Final Stats

PULLMAN, Wash. --- Washington State won its school record fourth-straight Pac-10 match by scoring two goals in the first 5:39 against USC and putting away the Women of Troy 4-1 Friday afternoon.

Junior midfielder Kim Morgan put the Cougars on the board quickly, taking a pass from Nicole Wilcox and scoring at the 4:02 mark.

"The first goal was a great goal," WSU Head Coach Dan Tobias said. "It was a great cross by Nicole (Wilcox) and a good run by Kim (Morgan), and Kim buried it. That was a great way to start off. It was nice to be up 2-0 six minutes into the game."

Just 1:37 later, defender Mariette Boyce gave Washington State the coveted two-goal lead, heading in a corner kick by Rachel Rodrick. Boyce rose above the crowd for her second goal of the season, and fifth of her career.

The Cougars didn't rest on the two-goal advantage, however. Wilcox gave WSU a three-point cushion in the 30th minute, taking a pass from Katrina Stroh and Brownfield and beating Trojan goalkeeper Julie Peterson.

The two teams exchanged goals midway through the second half, with USC's Jessica Edwards scoring in the 61st minute and WSU's Carmen Anderson knocking in her second of the season seven minutes later.

"We put ourselves in great position for the tournament," Tobias said. "USC didn't need the victory, I think they are already in, but they are a great team. They have beaten Santa Clara and Penn State, so obviously they are very good."

The victory marked WSU's first over the Women of Troy since 1998, Tobias' inaugural season with the Cougars. It also gave the program its fifth conference win of the season, which has been done only one other time, in 2000 when Washington State went on to the NCAA Tournament.

WSU advanced to 11-5-2 on the season, and 5-1-2 in Pac-10 play. USC dropped to 10-6-2 overall, and 5-3-0 in conference. The Women of Troy are the second-consecutive ranked team the Cougars have knocked off.

"This was a big step for us as far as enhancing our postseason chances, but the Pac-10 doesn't get any easier from here," Tobias said of Sunday's match with UCLA.

The Cougars and Bruins meet Sunday at 11:00 a.m. WSU will be going for its school record sixth Pac-10 victory against the No. 3 team in the nation.