Often, it’s the upsets that make the world of sports so interesting.

On any given afternoon, the entire course of a team’s season can be changed.

For the ASU soccer squad, that change came Sunday at home with a 1-0 win against defending national champion No. 7 USC.

“We had nothing to lose,” junior goalkeeper Briana Silvestri said. “No one expect[ed] us to win except for ourselves, so we just came out and played as hard as we could [and] got an early goal and held on.”

Sunday’s win came at a crucial time for the Sun Devils (7-4-3, 1-2-0 Pac-10), marking not only their first win of the season against a top 25 team, but also their first Pac-10 Conference victory.

“[USC is] a very, very good team,” ASU coach Kevin Boyd said. “To pull that win off and for us to feel good about what we can do and beat a team like that means we can beat anybody on any given day.”

For the first time this season, the Trojans (12-2-1, 2-1-1 Pac-10) were unable to makeup a first-half deficit, ending their 11-game unbeaten streak.

“This game was far bigger than what we could ask for,” Boyd said. “I preach it to [the team] all the time, ‘there’s no such thing as a big game, they’re all the same’ but this carried far more ramifications for us.”

Sophomore forward Karin Volpe scored the lone goal, increasing her team-leading goal count to seven.

“It was pretty frustrating the first couple of [conference] games because I couldn’t put the ball away,” Volpe said. “It felt really good to put this one in the back of the net to help us win the game.”

“It was a good team effort. We all played together really well and didn’t give up.”

Sophomore midfielder Jill Shoquist set up Volpe for the first-half goal. The score represented a rapid turnaround for ASU, which lost, 3-0, to No. 4 UCLA on Friday.

“We didn’t think we’d get very many chances [against USC], sort of like Friday against UCLA,” Boyd said. “We figured our chances would be limited, and if we got a chance we needed to be productive.

“Good things happen if you can get that first goal.”

Sunday’s win came despite junior midfielder Carly Kallas sitting out the entire game due to a possibly broken jaw.

ASU also had to worry about Silvestri, who has been suffering from a dislocated shoulder. Sunday, Silvestri was hit twice near the net.

“I think the injury is getting out a little bit and they’re coming after me,” she said. “Which is part of their job, [they] can’t help it. I’m just trying to get through the rest of the season.”

Silvestri had nine saves against USC, and six Friday against UCLA.

“The biggest thing I was saying to the team is that we’ve had character all year,” Boyd said. “We needed to play like a team, and we needed to play our game plan the entire time and we did that.”

The upset victory gives the Sun Devils a jolt as it continues Pac-10 play. The team returns to action Friday when it hits the road to counter Cal.

“It’s a good win for us,” Volpe said. “It definitely helps us have more confidence that we might need.”

Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.