Following their first at home loss this season last Thursday, the Trojans will face New Mexico State University at home Thursday.

This match marks the first meeting between the two schools. USC heads into the game on a one-game losing streak and an overall record of 3-2-0. Despite big victories such as their 4-0 win against Purdue and their 3-1 away win against Duke, the Trojans most recently came up short, suffering a 2-3 loss against Utah Valley. The Trojans earned five offsides calls out of six in the first half alone.

“That was a huge wake-up call for us and kind of something that we know is unacceptable as Trojans,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis  regarding the recent loss.

New Mexico State will take the pitch on a two-game losing streak. The team has a 3-4-1 record, most recently falling 2-3 against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and 1-3 against the University of New Mexico.

With the Trojans allowing three goals in their last home game, New Mexico State could find opportunities to score. Still, the Trojans have an average of two goals per game with their opponents averaging 1.60 goals per game, as opposed to the Aggies’ 1.25 goals per game and their opponents’ 2.13 goals per game. USC holds a shot-on-goal percentage of 0.571, just slightly overtaking New Mexico State’s 0.511.

Spectators could possibly see a booking Thursday, as New Mexico State has earned three yellow cards and one red card in eight games. USC is familiar with such aggressive play as its opponents have earned five yellow cards in five games. However, four of those cards came from the match against Utah Valley, so it is possible that the Trojans could struggle against a similar dangerous style of play.

USC’s offense did not see any results until the second half when junior forward/defender Kayla Colbert centered a ball into the box to freshman forward Maribel Flores for a goal. Alukonis approved of the team’s performance in the final minutes of the game.

“[In the] last 20 minutes, we switched it on,” Alukonis said. “Created the front foot, switched the point of the attack, worked together to score goals. What we executed in the last 20 minutes was decent.”

Alukonis has been making use of both veteran and new Trojan players this season, as Flores is tied with Colbert for most goals this season with two. Colbert, in her third season as a Trojan, has also contributed three assists in just five games. This is Flores’s first season with the Trojans, yet her skills have already been demonstrated on the national level. She was a vital piece in securing key victories for the Mexican national team in the 2022 U17 World Cup and the 2023 CONCACAF U20 Championship.

A key player this season for the Aggies has been junior midfielder Bianca Chacon, who has tallied four goals and three assists so far this season. Head Coach Rob Baarts enters his sixth season after a historic run for the Aggies last season. New Mexico State secured the most wins in its program’s history, winning the 2022 Western Athletic Conference Championship by defeating Utah Valley 1-0 in the final.

USC has entered Pac-12 play with a win the past three seasons. Now, heading into their final game before Pac-12 play, the Trojans look to continue that streak and set the momentum for the rest of the season.

“This will be, of course, the last time that we’re going into the Pac-12, so going in there with a positive mentality, a good result and some momentum knowing that if we perform and give it our best every single day, we have a chance of winning the Pac,” Alukonis said.

The Trojans will look to get back on track against the Aggies at McAlister Field at 3 p.m. Thursday.