The Trojans’ time in the desert did not go as planned. After falling to the Arizona State Sun Devils Thursday, a match they failed to score in, they drew Sunday afternoon against the University of Arizona Wildcats. This marks USC’s second draw of the season, including the second in the last three matches.

USC (9-3-2, 5-1-2 Pac-12) applied pressure to Arizona’s (4-7-5, 1-5-2) defense early, finding openings and positioning themselves for scoring opportunities. However, with Arizona’s defense standing firm and USC missing many chances on the pitch, the game remained scoreless for over half of the first period.

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“I would say usually the hardest part is creating [opportunities],” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We did get ourselves in a lot of good spots but were a bit unlucky. It’s a little frustrating for all of us.”

Arizona struggled to create scoring opportunities. However, they capitalized on their few chances. This was capped off by a 31st-minute goal from sophomore defender Ella Hatteberg, her first of the year, which excited the home crowd. The goal came after a brilliant save by Trojan sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson, with the ball rebounding off the post right to Hatteberg for the score.

“I mean, obviously, you never want to concede a goal” Alukonis said. “We feel like all goals are for the most part stoppable. It kind of came from some of our errors. And, they followed it up and were able to put it in.”

As the first half wound down, USC was still seeking its first goal despite having seven shots compared to Arizona’s three. They found themselves trailing by one going into the half.

“We felt like we had strong momentum in the beginning of the first half but lost it a bit and ended up punished by a goal,” Alukonis said.

In the second half, it was more of the same as the Trojans continued to dominate possession but struggled to capitalize.

The scoring drought for USC ended in the 57th minute when substitute freshman forward Maribel Flores scored her fifth goal of the year, a left-footed, off-balance shot that beat the goalkeeper and went to the far post.

“I think that makes her really special, and it was a really difficult finish.” Alukonis said. “I’m not quite sure how she did it. Practice pays off, and it was great that she came through for us in a tough moment.”

The remainder of the match saw the Trojans on the offensive, much like the start of the match. USC had prime opportunities with junior forward Simone Jackson and junior midfielder Helena Sampaio, but neither could put USC ahead.

Jackson and Sampaio had two shots each, contributing to USC’s final total of 14 shots. Wildcats’ graduate goalkeeper Hope Hisey finished the match with an impressive six saves, conceding only one goal. Arizona closed out the game defensively, desperately holding onto a tie.

The Wildcats ended the match with eight shots to USC’s 14, along with the Trojans’ six corners to the Wildcats’ three. The Trojans will return home to McAlister Field to face two familiar Northern California clubs.

“For us, ties feel like losses, Alukonis said. So, we’re disappointed. We need to go home, recover, and get our heads right. We need to keep a strong mindset, knowing we have three great opportunities at the end of the season and then hopefully move past that.”

USC begins its last stretch of games Thursday when they host Stanford at 2 p.m.