BERKELEY – For more than 90 minutes, the Cal women's soccer team went toe-to-toe with the second-ranked team in the nation. Yet in the 94^th minute, it was No. 2 USC (9-0-1, 2-0-0 Pac-12) who managed to score the game's lone goal, beating the Golden Bears (4-5-1, 0-2-0 Pac-12), 1-0, in overtime on Thursday afternoon at Edwards Stadium.

"I'm very proud of our team, first and foremost," said Cal head coach Neil McGuire. "It was important that our players learned what it takes to compete at the highest level. With such a young squad, there had been some uncertainty in that regard. But to come out and compete like they did today against a very, very talented USC squad, our players deserve a great deal of credit. It's an unfortunate way to end with an overtime loss, but it always comes down to one special moment. They had theirs, and we didn't have ours. We just have to continue to try to learn and grow from this."

The decisive moment in the match came less than four minutes into overtime when USC midfielder Alea Hyatt played a high cross into the box. Cal goalkeeper Amanda Zodikoff went up to collect but was challenged midair by Trojans forward Penelope Hocking. The ball came loose and fell to Plumptre, who was waiting on the back post for the easy tap-in.

The fourth consecutive meeting between Cal and USC to be decided by a 1-0 scoreline, Thursday's contest was hard-fought by both sides from the opening whistle. Looking to bounce back from last weekend's 2-1 loss to Arizona State, Cal opened the match with energy in the attacking third, earning the first two corner kicks of the match. Yet as the half progress USC's high-powered offense began creating more opportunities, outshooting the Bears, 13-1, in the opening stanza. The Trojans looked primed to open the scoring in the 26^th minute when Hocking had a header from inside the six-yard box, but Zodikoff was there to make the point-blank save.

The freshman from Concord, California, finished the match with four saves while her USC counterpart, Kaylie Collins, made one stop.

Scoreless after the first 45 minutes, the second half saw both teams pressing for the go-ahead goal yet unable to connect on the final pass. Cal striker Abi Kim got endline in the 55^th minute after a nice combination play in the midfield by Kayla Fong and Luca Deza, but her attempt went off the post. The Trojans had a dangerous opportunity in the 80^th minute, earning a free kick just outside the box. However, Cal's defense once again proved to be up to the task, blocking the ensuing shot.

Overall, USC outshot Cal, 35-4, on the afternoon, but held just a 5-1 advantage in shots on frame.

The Bears will now look to build upon the many positives from Thursdays match when they host No. 16 UCLA (5-2-1, 0-1-0 Pac-12) at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday.  

"We have to take advantage of the way we played today in terms of our ability to keep the ball," said McGuire. "And we need to finish our chances. UCLA is talented team and they will have opportunities. We'll need to make sure that we capitalize on the opportunities that are presented to us because it will be a similar battle. Cal-UCLA, Cal-USC, they're always great games."

The Bruins enter the weekend looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss at home to Washington State in their Pac-12 opener. UCLA squares off against top-ranked Stanford at 8 p.m. PT on Thursday on the Farm before heading to Berkeley for Sunday's match.

For more information and updates on the Golden Bears throughout the year, follow the team on Twitter (@CalWSoc), Instagram (@CalWSoc), and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWSoc).