SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Midway through the first half of Sundays national championship game at Avaya Stadium, USCs Kayla Mills took a West Virginia shot flush in the face from no more than a few yards away. It felt, well, unpleasant. A ball to the nose will feel that way.I wanted to cry, Mills said after the game. I wanted to stop, but I was like Oh my gosh, the ball is still in our half. I cannot let them score, because I did not get hit in the face for nothing. And so, I was just trying to get myself sorted out. I didnt want to take that for nothing.It hurt, and I wanted to cry a little bit. But nothing came out, so were good.It just didnt hurt as much as missing the NCAA tournament, which she experienced in a freshman season that went very wrong.Three years later, a senior, Mills was on the field when the final whistle brought the college season to an end. And after No. 2 USCs 3-1 win over No. 1 West Virginia, she stayed there to celebrate a national championship with her teammates. So, no, it wasnt for nothing.Put aside for a moment the pair of goals from USCs Katie Johnson that first put her team ahead and later allowed them to breathe easy for the final few minutes. Put aside goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhommes championship-preserving saves. Leave all of that for later.USC won the title while outscoring its six opponents by a total of seven goals. That is the smallest goal differential of any champion since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 2001. USC survived a shootout in the second round, the earliest an eventual champion ever partook in that lottery during the same time span. It won three consecutive 1-0 games to reach Sundays final. It was outshot in each of its final three games, including 21-8 by the Mountaineers on Sunday.The Trojans didnt dominate the tournament. That isnt the objective. It is to be there at the end. The Trojans had a plan for that.To understand what transpired, as USC broke down one of the stingiest defenses in recent College Cup memory to become just the fourth program to win multiple titles, start with a ball to the face. A group of players -- for whom the start of their college experience was like a ball to the face -- did over four seasons just what Mills did on this night. They played on.Six seniors played major minutes. Four transfers played major minutes.They accounted for all three goals and two of the assists. Oh yes, and eight saves.Those were courtesy of Prudhomme, who played against USC in her first two college seasons at Oregon State. Back in the bad old days. After winning a title in 2007, USC fell off the map. The nadir was a losing record and missed tournament in 2013.It just didnt seem to be working out, like they were just a little underachieving, and we didnt understand why, Prudhomme said of her view from the other goal. But I knew how good those players were.Keidane McAlpine arrived prior to the 2014 season and talked of a plan to contend for a title. Mills said it seemed the coaches saw things in the players that even the players didnt see at that point, which made it a difficult sell.Theres no way, from where we are right now, Mandy Freeman recalled thinking, that we could get a natty champ by my senior year.But that is exactly what they did.USC did what no one else in the NCAA tournament could when it took the lead against West Virginia. No worse than tied in its five previous games, the Mountaineers trailed after just 82 seconds in the final. The set-piece goal, Savannah Levin heading a corner kick deep into the box to set up Morgan Andrews for a headed finish, wasnt the fastest in the history of the final, but it was a lightning bolt. Undaunted, West Virginia piled up possession and shots until Ashley Lawrence tied the game with a 66th-minute strike. Still, the Mountaineers pressed on.But USC was outshot 41-25 in its final three games. Defending wasnt uncomfortable territory. And when Andrews launched a quick counterattack with a long pass that Leah Pruitt, another transfer, turned into an assist on the first of Johnsons two goals, USC had the lead back at 2-1.Weve talked about our team defending, day one, McAlpine said. Im big on defending. But we always talk about we defend so we can attack. Weve been able to create chances. I said it the other day, weve always been able to create chances and been very opportunistic all year. Weve got a quality group of forwards. And today was no different. We had to stay unified in what we were doing, disciplined in what we were doing. ... I thought our individual defending, especially in the box with crosses coming in, was fantastic.And we knew we had a solid netminder. Shes good; shots from distance she can take care of. Not to mention the special saves, which I think she made a handful today as well.Yes, Prudhomme did. None of them better than with 10 minutes remaining and USC still leading by a single goal. In a game in which West Virginia showed off the skill worthy of a team with so many players experienced at the international level, nothing was more impressive than the first-touch pass that Lawrence slid through a gap and the incredible control of Heather Kaleiohi to spin away from a defender as she gathered in the ball and faced no one but Prudhomme. That level of execution at the college level leads to goals almost every time.But only almost. Sliding to her right as Kaleiohi spun that direction, Prudhomme reached back across her momentum and pawed away the shot headed toward the far post. Johnson capped the scoring with a deft long-range finish on another counter with barely three minutes left.Like Andrews, the Notre Dame transfer so instrumental in two of the three goals, Prudhomme was a late but invaluable addition to USCs rebuilding effort.Transferring within the Pac-12 meant that Prudhomme had to sit out a season, a penalty most transfers dont pay in sports other than football and basketball. But that was a small price to pay for what she found in Los Angeles.I came from a situation where it was very intense and very upsetting and you didnt feel comfortable playing, Prudhomme said. You didnt feel like you did anything right, and you felt kind of worthless. We came here, and they made me confident again. I was actually getting to the point where I wanted to quit, because thats how much I hated soccer. And it wasnt because I actually hated the game. ...I think this coaching staff did an amazing job bringing these players that came from a similar situation that I did and bringing them back to a place mentally where they believe theyre good players. Because they are good players.All of that would have been true no matter the outcome in the final. For a group of players and coaches so open about not only their soccer experiences, but their conversations about matters of cultural significance and the roles they hope to play in the wider world, Sundays result didnt really define them any more than the loss defined a brilliant West Virginia team.But they are also good players who earned the trophy they held aloft.And if youre going to get hit in the face, well, its nice to know it wasnt for nothing. Cheap Shoes Ireland . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Cheap Running Shoes Ireland . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. http://www.clearancerunningshoesireland.com/ . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Running Shoes Ireland Online ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Clearance Running Shoes Ireland . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. HOUSTON -- Houstons DeAndre Hopkins was among three NFL players to receive the first pairs of low-top Kanye West-designed Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 cleats on Friday.It was a surprise to me, Hopkins told The Associated Press. It wasnt really nothing thought of or something we talked about. Last night they texted me and were like: `We have a surprise for you coming. And thats what it was.As Hopkins talked, the pair of shoes in the popular turtle dove color sat at his feet near the cleats he wore for practice.The special delivery from West went to Adidas athletes Hopkins, Minnesotas Adrian Peterson and Buffalos Sammy Watkins. They were sent a day after Denvers Von Miller wore Yeezy 750s , which are high top and look more like a boot, in Thursday nights game against Carolina that opened the NFL regular season.Hes a big guy, he kind of needs that ankle support, Hopkins said of Millers shoes. These are more my cleats and what I wear is the same as the Adidas cleats, and they just kind of put the Yeezy cover on it. I like Vons, but I prefer these.Hopkins has tried the shoes on and said they feel just the same as my (regular) cleats if not a little bit better.The star receiver, who was second in the NFL with a career-high 11,521 yards receiving last season, wants to wear them on Sunday when Houston opens the season against the Bears.dddddddddddd But he is worried that the color, which unlike Millers pair is not a solid tone, wont be NFL approved.Hopefully somebody doesnt tell me I cant wear them, he said. Im going to still wear them if they do.Then he thought about it for a minute and waffled a little on his plan when asked again if hed wear them even if it would earn him a fine.I dont know, he said. It depends on how much the fine is.Hopkins posted a pic of the cleats on Instagram that quickly received thousands of likes.Just posting a picture, the whole world loves `em, he said. So you can just imagine what would happen if I wear them in in the game.Hopkins is perhaps the most fashion-conscious player in Houstons locker room and is always looking for new ways to push the envelope on his style. This, he said, is simply another way to do that.Youve got to be yourself on the field and I think this is a way of being yourself, he said.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
Usually I never comment on forum but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job Man,Keep it up