The Trojans return home Thursday after two games on the road to face No. 4 Stanford.

This week’s matchup could be a challenge for USC (9-3-2, 5-1-2 Pac-12), whose momentum has clearly slowed down after beginning Pac-12 play with five wins.

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The Trojans have not secured a victory in the past three games, most recently drawing 1-1 against Arizona (4-7-5, 1-5-2), which has dropped them out of the Top 16 rankings. On the other hand, Stanford (14-0-2, 7-0-1) comes off a 2-0 victory against Oregon (0-14-2, 0-8-0) and currently sits second in the Pac-12.

“We know we got to just work super hard on these last three games and do the very best that we can,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Hopefully moving past [the season], we can have a really good run in the post.”

Thursday’s match marks the final meeting between USC and Stanford in the Pac-12. The Trojans last faced the Cardinal on Sep. 23, 2022, securing the victory 2-1. USC is just 3-10 at home against Stanford and 4-14-2 overall, but the Trojans are currently holding a two-game win streak against the Cardinal.

Both teams have a relatively clean style of play this season, having received no red cards and only five yellow cards. However, Stanford’s offensive stats are better than USC’s. The Cardinal averaged 2.31 goals on 20.8 shots per game, whereas the Trojans averaged 2.07 goals on 13.9 shots per game.

USC’s offense has seen significant contributions from junior forward Kayla Colbert, junior midfielder Helena Sampaio and junior forward Simone Jackson, who all have three goals in Pac-12 play. Key playmakers senior defender Zoe Burns and junior forward Izzy Kimberly each have five assists in conference games. However, Burns was the only one who contributed to a scoring play Sunday, assisting freshman forward Maribel Flores in the second half.

“On both sides [of the field], we have really good players,” Alukonis said. “We were hoping to be able to win the ball higher and be able to punish in the attack, but it was kind of a tough day.”

Stanford also has many players with scoring ability, with about 63% of their goals in Pac-12 play coming from different players. Sophomore midfielder Jasmine Aikey and graduate midfielder Maya Doms are possible dangers behind the ball, both scoring three goals in conference matches. Another offensive threat is redshirt sophomore forward Andrea Kitahata, who has five assists in the Pac-12 so far.

Defensively, the Cardinal also seems to have the upper hand as it allows an average of 0.50 goals per game compared to the Trojans’ 0.86 goals per game. Teams USC has played have also seen an increase in shot-on-goal percentage in the last three games. The Trojans’ opponents have an average of 40% shots on goal per game, but within the last three matches, the average has increased to about 55%. In USC’s previous match against Arizona, the defense was an important point of focus.

“[Arizona] were doing a good job and sometimes winning more first and second balls than we would have liked, so we said, first and foremost, an effort to win the first and second balls is going to be paramount,” Alukonis said. “We just asked for defensive work all over the field.”

USC looks to secure the upset in its final match against Stanford at McAlister Field Thursday at 2 p.m.