D8 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS
Friday’s women’s soccer
game between UCLA and
USC had a playoff feel to it —
which is a good thing since
the next match for both
teams will be in the playoffs.
So UCLA’s 4-2 win before
a sellout crowd of 2,366 at
Wallis Annenberg Stadium
was as much a dress rehears-
al for next week’s NCAA
tournament as it was the fi-
nal game of the Pac-12 sea-
son. Sure, there was more
than just bragging rights at
stake: The schools came in
tied for second in the confer-
ence and with the win, No. 14
UCLA (14-4-1, 8-3-0) will take
a head of steam and a
slightly better seed into that
tournament.
“Momentum’s huge going
into the postseason,” UCLA
coach Amanda Cromwell
said. That may be the end of
the advantages, though.
With both schools ranked in
the top 14 in the coaches’ poll
and the top eight in the na-
tion in RPI, both are likely tobe home for their first post-
season games. And neither
is a stranger to that tourna-
ment: USC won the title in
2016 and UCLA lost to Stan-
ford in the final a year later.
“This is the best series in
college soccer,” Cromwell
said. “This game is always a
marquee game.”
USC’s Keidane McAlpine
agreed.
“These are the games
that prepare you to play in
the tournament,” he said.
“You’ve got a lot of quality
players on both teams. And
the environment’s fantastic
every time we play.”
The winning goal came
from Viviana Villacorta, who
pushed a low shot throughtraffic in the 75th minute af-
ter USC keeper Kaylie
Collins had lifted a ball off
the crossbar. Lucy Parker
added an insurance goal on a
header three minutes later,
securing UCLA’s fourth
straight win over its
crosstown rival.
Ashley Sanchez picked
up her second assist of the
night on Parker’s goal, giv-
ing her 39 for her career to
break Iris Mora’s 14-year-old
school record.
Ninth-ranked USC (14-
4-1, 7-4-0), meanwhile, found
its own bright spots in the
loss, which came with Tara
McKeown — whose 14 goals
is tied for second on the
school’s single-season scor-ing list — and captain Jalen
Woodward resting injuries.
“This is a rivalry game.
You want to win,” McAlpine
said. “[But] I got great per-
formances from some peo-
ple who played more min-
utes than they probably
should. That’s a win for me.”
The Trojans struck first,
with Natalie Jacobs knock-
ing home a low Alea Hyatt
cross from the center of the
penalty area in the fifth min-
ute. It was just the second
goal the Bruins have allowed
since mid-October but it
wouldn’t be the last.
After scores from Chloe
Castaneda, in the 22nd min-
ute, and Mia Fishel six min-
utes later put UCLA in front,USC sophomore Penelope
Hocking tied the score just
before the first half ended.
But the second half was
all UCLA, with the Bruins
outshooting USC 12-0 — and
27-4 on the night.
Still, McAlpine saw
mostly silver linings. Four
years ago his team ended its
regular season with a loss to
UCLA, then rebounded to
win the national title in San
Jose’s Avaya Stadium. The
NCAA final will be returning
there next month.
“It started here,” he said
of the 2016 championship
run. “Our senior class were
the freshmen of that group.
They know what it takes and
they know it’s still possible.”UCLA grabs momentum for postseason with win over USC
Villacorta nets key
goal as Bruin women
ramp up for NCAA
soccer tournament.
UCLA 4
USC 2
By Kevin Baxter
They had all three of their
timeouts left as they took pos-
session with 62 seconds re-
maining.
When the Chargers relin-
quished the ball — and the
ballgame — 42 seconds later,
they still had all of their time-
outs left.
Despite the circumstances
giving them every possible
play-call option, the Chargers
never attempted a run during
their disastrous final series
Thursday in a 26-24 loss at
Oakland.
“When you get into a flow
on offense moving the ball
down the field, yeah, you can
work a run play in there,”
coach Anthony Lynnsaid
Friday. “But, I think where we
started out, trying to get a
quick completion just to get
the drive started and, hell, we
never got the drive started. We
never completed a pass.”
Philip Riversthrew eight
consecutive times, the first
seven attempts falling incom-
plete before the final one was
intercepted to seal the Char-
gers’ fate.
A defensive holding penal-
ty on their first fourth-down
play nullified an incompletion
and gave Rivers a first down.
But he still failed to advance
the offense one yard when a
field goal was all the Chargers
needed.
“It’s easy to second-guess
quarterbacks the day after
the game when you’re not out
there under that pressure
making those decisions,”
Lynn said. “But we didn’t get
it done as a team. I wouldn’t
put all of that on Philip.”
Because of injuries, Rivers
was operating behind an of-
fensive line that spent most of
Thursday night with only two
projected starters still
playing. He was sacked five
times and hit on five other oc-
casions.
He also was working with a
young play-caller in his sec-
ond week on the job. Shane
Steichentook over after Ken
Whisenhunt was fired as of-
fensive coordinator on Oct. 28.
“I had no problem with
those plays that were called,
none at all,” Lynn said. “We
tried to put our playmakers in
position to make plays, and I
thought we did. It’s unfortu-
nate we didn’t execute. But I
don’t think it had anything to
do with Shane’s inexperience
calling plays.”
Six of the eight passes Riv-
ers attempted traveled at
least 15 yards, the Chargers
going for bigger chunks rather
than taking a more measured
approach in attempting to
move into field-goal position.
Lynn said Rivers was sim-
ply trying to exploit what the
Raiders defense was giving
him, noting that one of the
longer attempts would have
resulted in a big play had the
ball not been overthrown.
Six of those final eight
passes were intended for wide
receivers — including three
that went to Andre Patton
andJason Moore, neither of
whom had a catch in the game
— and the other two were
thrown in the direction of
tight end Hunter Henry.
“If you watch the film and
you look at those plays, you
have short routes, you have in-
termediate routes, you have
long routes,” Lynn said. “We
had options there. We didn’t
have to throw the ball downthe field.”
But that’s what the Char-
gers did and the decision left
their offense stalled, just like
their season, which sits at 4-6.Interceptions hurt
Along with his three inter-
ceptions, Rivers had the only
fumble that right guard
Michael Schofieldrecovered
for the Chargers. Rivers’ first
two interceptions led to 10
Oakland points, putting the
Chargers in another first-
quarter hole.
“He made some good
plays, and he made some bad
decisions,” Lynn said. “A 16-
year veteran, he knows that.”
Rivers has thrown 10 inter-
ceptions after finishing the
past two seasons with 10 and
12, respectively.
The Chargers are minus-
six in turnover differential.
Only six teams in the league
are worse and those six have
combined to win just seven
times.
“We have to figure out a
way to get better,” Lynn said.
“We know we can’t win turning
the football over. It’s been a
problem this year.”
Rivers will turn 38 in De-
cember. He is unsigned be-
yond this year, both he and the
team deciding to shelve exten-
sion talks until after the sea-
son. He has said he wants to
play at least into 2020, when
the Chargers will move intotheir new home, SoFi Sta-
dium.
Given the way this season
has turned after beginning
with high expectations, there
has been mounting specu-
lation that the Chargers
might be better off moving on
from Rivers.
“I don’t have the luxury
right now to look beyond this
season,” Lynn said. “Right
now, it’s one week at a time for
me. Philip is our starting
quarterback. I’m trying to fig-
ure out how to win the next
game with him.”Injury updates
Right tackle Sam Tevi
underwent surgery Friday to
repair a meniscus problem in
his knee. Lynn called the pro-
cedure “nothing serious” and
said Tevi’s season isn’t over.
Left tackle Russell
Okung suffered a strained
groin in the first quarter
Thursday, Lynn labeling him
as “questionable” moving into
next week.
“It’s better news than what
I thought,” Lynn said. “I’ll
take it.”Etc.
The Chargers won’t return
to practice until Tuesday in
Colorado Springs. They are
traveling there to train at alti-
tude in preparation for their
next game, Nov. 18 against
Kansas City in Mexico City.QUARTERBACKPhilip Rivers, right, walks off the field after throwing his third
and final interception against the Oakland Raiders, sealing the Chargers’ fate.Ezra ShawGetty ImagesCHARGERS REPORT
Rivers
doesn’t
deserve
all the
blame
By Jeff Miller
Patrick Mahomes will
start for the Kansas City
Chiefs against the Tennes-
see Titans on Sunday at Nis-
san Stadium in Nashville,
just over two weeks after the
quarterback’s season was
jeopardized by a dislocated
kneecap.
Mahomes never missed a
practice after hurting his
knee on a Thursday night
against Denver, even though
some thought the serious-
ness of the injury could side-
line the league MVP for
months.
But it turned out there
was no structural damage,
and it became a waiting
game to see when Mahomes
would return. He practiced
on a limited basis the first
week before being ruled out
against Green Bay, then was
limited again last week be-
fore being inactive against
Minnesota.
“We knew how we’ve been
doing the whole process of
the injury,” Mahomes said
after Friday’s practice. “I
knew I had a chance once I
talked to all those doctors,
and they said that as long as
I was functioning well, mov-
ing well, that I could play this
week.”
Matt Moorestarted the
past two games for Kansas
City. The journeyman had
been coaching high school
football when the Chiefs lost
backup Chad Henneto a
broken ankle in the pre-
season and gave him a call.
Moore wound up playing sol-
idly in losing to the Packers
and beating the Vikings.
His performances, along
with improved play from the
defense, helped to keep the
Chiefs (6-3) atop the AFC
West and in the hunt for a
first-round playoff bye while
Mahomes was out.
“Unless something hap-
pens here, he’ll be the guy
that plays,” Chiefs coach
Andy Reidsaid of Mahomes,
who had been eager to play.
“You can go whatever direc-
tion you want to go with it.
I’m going to see after this
practice, but right now,
that’s what it looks like.”Ryan set to play
Quarterback Matt Ryan
was removed from the At-
lanta Falcons injury report
and appears set to play
against the New Orleans
Saints.
Ryan had only limited
participation in Friday’s
practice. But that was
enough for coach Dan
Quinnto say the veteran
quarterback was ready for
Sunday’s game.
A bye week helped Ryan
recover after a sprained
right ankle forced him to
miss his first game since
2009 in the Falcons’ loss to
Seattle two weeks ago.Etc.
The Baltimore Ravens
signed inside linebacker L.J.
Fortto a two-year extension
through 2021. Fort was
signed to Baltimore’s 53-
man roster in late Septem-
ber after being released by
Philadelphia. ... The New
York Jets expect Le’Veon
Bellto be in the backfield
when they square off against
the Giants. Sam Darnold
(USC) and the offense could
also have tight end Chris
Herndonon the field for the
first time this season. Hern-
don was suspended for the
first four games for violating
the NFL’s substance abuse
policy. ... The Vikings ruled
out wide receiver Adam
Thielenfor the game at Dal-
las, increasing the possibil-
ity the two-time Pro Bowl
pick will rest his injured
thigh for the remainder of
the month. ... The Titans
won’t have starting defen-
sive tackle Jurrell Casey
(USC) or linebacker Jayon
Brown(UCLA) when they
face Kansas City. The Titans
announced that Casey
(shoulder) and Brown
(groin) won’t play against
the Chiefs. ... Baltimore
Ravens quarterback Lamar
Jackson(illness) is ques-
tionable for Sunday’s road
matchup against the Cincin-
nati Bengals. ... Cowboys
linebacker Leighton Vander
Eschis set to return against
Minnesota after missing the
first game of his career with a
neck injury.NFL NOTES
Mahomes set
to start Sunday
against Titans
wire reportsagainst the Atlanta Falcons.
Ramsey mostly neutralized
star Julio Jones while con-
ducting a running commen-
tary.
He also played well
against the winless Cincin-
nati Bengals.
The matchup against
Smith-Schuster would have
been a much more difficult as-
signment if Steelers quarter-
back Ben Roethlisberger had
not suffered an elbow injury in
the second game of the sea-
son.
Mason Rudolph has been
serviceable for a team that re-
bounded from a 1-4 start to
win three games in a row, but
he is no Roethlisberger, a six-
time Pro Bowl selection.
Smith-Schuster, who will
turn 23 on Nov. 22, has made
the Steelers look smart for se-
lecting him in the second
round of the 2017 draft with
the 62nd overall pick. As a
rookie, he caught 58 passes
for 917 yards and seven touch-
downs. Last season, he had a
team-best 111 catches for 1,426
yards and seven touchdowns,
and was voted to the Pro
Bowl.
But when the Steelerstraded Brown to the Oakland
Raiders, Smith-Schuster no
longer had the luxury of
playing alongside a Hall of
Fame talent. And the injury
suffered by Roethlisberger
has stunted the Steelers of-
fense.
Smith-Schuster has 33
catches for 459 yards and
three touchdowns. On Friday,
he popped up on the Steelers
injury report as a limited par-
ticipant in practice because of
a foot injury. He is listed as
questionable for Sunday.
If he plays, he will find
Ramsey waiting.
“He’s a great player and
having an opportunity to go
against him sharpens my
craft and his craft so it will be
fun,” Smith-Schuster told
Pittsburgh reporters this
week.
What makes him so good?
“His name is Jalen Ram-
sey, that’s why,” Smith-
Schuster said.
Smith-Schuster worked
out for the Rams in Thousand
Oaks before the 2017 NFL
draft. Coach Sean McVay said
this week that Smith-Schus-
ter showed maturity for a
player so young. And he said
the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Smith-Schuster is deceptively fast.
“You feel like, ‘All right, he
might not be that burner, but
he runs away from every-
body,’” McVay said. “He’s got
great game speed and it’s
really just a challenge for our
defense as a whole to know
where he is at all times and
make sure that he’s ac-
counted for.
“Because as soon as you
just slip up a little bit, he
makes you pay and makes a
big play that ends up chang-
ing the narrative of the game.”
Rams cornerback Nickell
Robey-Coleman left USC for
the NFL after the 2012 season.
Smith-Schuster arrived at
the school in 2014. Robey-
Coleman said some observers
mistakenly think that Smith-
Schuster is slow. But that is
only because he is measured
against NFL receivers such as
T.Y. Hilton, Tyreek Hill, De-
Sean Jackson and the Rams’
Brandin Cooks.
“You got people that got
jet packs, literally on their
back,” Robey-Coleman said.
“He’s a fast receiver, and he’s
faster when you underesti-
mate his speed.”
Ramsey said he was focus-
ing on his own preparation ashe continues to get more com-
fortable in the Rams’ system.
But he respects Smith-
Schuster’s skills.
“I like his style of play,” he
said. “He plays very physical.
He plays strong, aggressive
through the catch, so I’ve got
to be on my [game] really.
“I look forward to it.”Etc.
Cooks practiced for the
first time since suffering his
second concussion of the sea-
son on Oct. 27 against the Cin-
cinnati Bengals in London.
Cooks traveled to Pittsburgh
twice in the last two weeks to
meet with a concussion spe-
cialist. He will not play Sun-
day and remains in the con-
cussion protocol. “Part of the
advice is just keep a normal
rhythm and routine for him,
staying active, avoiding some
of those collision-type
things,” McVay said. “It’s part
of the plan to hopefully get-
ting him back on the field.”...
Running back Malcolm
Brown (ankle) will play Sun-
day, McVay said. ... Steelers
running back James Conner
will not play because of a
shoulder injury, according to
the Steelers injury report.Cornering the market on coverage
[Ramsey,from D1]THE FALCONS’Julio Jones is unable to haul in a
catch in front of Jalen Ramsey on Oct. 20 in Atlanta.
Carmen MandatoGetty Images