morning session, Lancashire looked to prey on any

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. Wholesale Jerseys . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Wholesale Jerseys USA . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysfreeshipping.com/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Wholesale Jerseys China . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Middlesex 419 for 5 (Gubbins 201*, Eskinazi 106) trail Lancashire 513 by 78 runsScorecard Today was about a tale of Nick Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi - two who have made their way up the youth ranks at Middlesex together and spent the best part of their Tuesday creating the sorts of memories that best friends never tire of reliving. Gubbins will no doubt lead the reminiscing: a double hundred to savour as he led his side out of Lancashires huge first innings shadow. But Eskinazi, as he did today, will interject with his side of the story - an accomplished maiden first class century in his second match in the format.Together, they put on 208 in 361 balls for the third wicket, their time in the middle a welcome treat for Middlesex and Gubbins: Its probably the most time Ive spent with Eski since he got a girlfriend. It was nice that he took time out of his day to spend it with me.Ah, Gubbins, the proto-Strauss starting to enhance his own name. For many Middlesex fans, the Gubbins-Strauss comparison is tiresome. While the similarities are evident and valid - Radley College alumni, a carbon copy game square of the wicket, identical slack jaw smile and general clumsiness - the annoyance for them is that some use the comparison to extrapolate what Gubbins might achieve rather than lauding what he is achieving right now.At 22 years of age, he has a Division One double hundred at Lords. Thats now two centuries and, at the time of walking off when bad light stopped play after tea, 570 runs in his first full season of Championship cricket. Only Sam Robson has enjoyed a more fruitful red ball summer than him. In case you were wondering, Strauss was 34 when he made it past 200 for the first time.His time at the crease is approaching eight hours, having begun this innings 12 overs before lunch on day two. Starting again on 71 on the third morning, he made the most of Kyle Jarvis pace on the ball to drive across a fast outfield. He waited for the bad balls, sure, but he also scored off the good deliveries, too: soft hands guiding any balls that left him to third man and firm wrists pushing anything at him into midwicket and mid on. It was only when he went from 89 to 95 in one strike that trepidation entered his game.Scores in the nineties hang over any batsmen: each a sizeable nugget in your conscience that reminds of you of opportunities missed. Comparable to the person at the bar you couldnt summon the courage to talk to or that spare ticket you fobbed off to what turned out to be the gig of a lifetime. Or that time you were on a flat one at Lords and failed to make it count. And Gubbins had three of them before breaching three figures for the first time against Somerset in his previous match at Lords. He very nearly added a fourth.On 96 and looking to cut into a vacant backward point, he edged Jordan Clark to Steven Croft, only for the Lancashire skipper to shell what would have been a smart, diving take to his left. After some calming words from Eskinazi, he decided to get there in singles.There was no such hesitancy in the 190s which he admitted were a bit of a blur, aided by a nick through third man and then a powerful pull shot off Jarvis which pinged off the advertising boards of the Grandstand. When Eskinazi was asked what his hundred felt like,, he used up most of his time lauding the feat of Gubbins double.ddddddddddddhen they werent singing each others praises, they were joshing - Gubbins scoffing at Eskinazis assertion that he was as British as my friend Nick Gubbins; Eskinazi at Gubbins insistence that the slog sweep for six to take him to three figures was pretty rogue.At lunch, Eskinazi, on 91, had an inbox full of encouragement from his friends and family. As joke, he messaged his brother to ask whether or not he should sweep the leg-spinner, Matt Parkinson, for six to bring up his 100. Absolutely not, not a chance, please dont! came the reply from brother, mum, dad, three uncles and two cousins. When he eventually departed for 106, edging Kyle Jarvis to Tom Smith at second slip, came the follow-up texts: You absolutely cowboy!This is Eskinazis fourth year at the club and is three years away from qualifying fully for England. Born in Johannesburg, raised in Western Australia where he turned out for the states Under-17 and 19 sides, while also spending 10 years in England as a kid (his mother was born here). As a wicket-keeper batsman, his first team opportunities had been limited, but he was never far from the lips of the Middlesex members.Like most diehard county fans, any lament of an underperforming first XI brings a stream of 2nd XI names that should be given a chance to do better. In the last few years, Adam Rossington and Andy Balbirnie were names that have echoed around the ground or off the metal finished bar of the Tavern pub: players who have wiped the floor with 2nd XI attacks but whose opportunities further up were limited. Both have moved on. Last season, Stevie Eskinazi began to make an appearance as words of outstanding knocks for the 2s or big runs for Stanmore spread like fantasy folklore. On this day, you saw it for yourself.He could not have asked for a better pitch for only his third first-class knock. Even so, every defensive shot came out of the middle, as he lined up behind every full or short ball. Near the end of the morning session, Lancashire looked to prey on any nerves he might have while Eskinazi was on his maiden first class voyage in the nineties. Parkinson bowled around the wicket into the right-armers footmarks at the Pavilion End, with a two slips and a leg slip for company. He ignored it all, leaving a handful of deliveries across him and pushing the ball out in front before waiting for his mate to go for lunch.Like all Bromance movies, there is a key message here: Middlesexs investment in youth is starting to pay dividends. While previously it had been senior men steered the team out of trouble, here were two 22-year-olds doing so with all the comfort of a long overdue catch-up.In keeping, Lancashire looked very much like patrons unable to get on with their own plans over the raucous bonhomie on the next table. But rather than lose their will and ask to be moved, they got on with matters. A mini-collapse of 42 for 3 with the new ball brought them some relief.A fourth Lords stalemate is in the offing. For all the revelry of the regulars, Lancashire can take solace from the fact that they dont come here often. ' ' '