Soccer will complete its regular season at UCLA
USC looks to beat the Bruins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in its history.
By LEILA MACKENZIE
The Trojans’ final Pac-12 regular season will culminate Friday when they look to defeat No. 4 UCLA for the second consecutive year.
Last season, following her four-year tenure as a Bruin, Head Coach Jane Alukonis inherited a USC team that hadn’t overcome UCLA since 2015.
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In her inaugural season, Alukonis beckoned a new era of USC soccer when the Trojans’ 2-0 shutout victory spoiled their cross-town rival’s hopes for the Pac-12 Championship.
Despite the loss, UCLA went on to win the 2022 College Cup, and its success steeped into this season, as it’s already secured the 2023 Pac-12 Championship. The Bruins (15-1-1, 9-0-1 Pac-12) have shut out opponents in 12 of their 17 games, and they’ve yet to suffer a loss in Pac-12 play this season.
USC (10-3-3, 6-1-3 Pac-12) has run a successful gambit this year, too, and has ostensibly punched a ticket to the national tournament. Its only stake in this match is the satisfaction of stalling the Bruins’ momentum and a small boost to its national seeding.
“It’s a really good opportunity for us because good teams poke holes in what you need to improve on,” Alukonis said. “We feel like we’re in good positioning, so [we] don’t feel a ton of pressure, just positivity.”
Shaking the Bruins will not be an easy feat. USC is 1-10-1 overall when playing on UCLA’s home turf, and the atmosphere will diverge from what the Trojans are accustomed to. USC’s McAlister Field averages 666 fans per game, whereas Friday’s match is expected to attract over 2,700.
“Our players, I imagine, love playing in front of crowds, especially young female players,” Alukonis said. “There will probably be more blue shirts than Cardinal … but it’s a really cool opportunity for all of the women to showcase who they are and how hard they can play.”
The Trojan defense will face a forceful UCLA offensive attack. The Bruins have acquired four Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week Awards this season and lead the conference with 48 goals and 2.82 goals per game. Senior forward Reilyn Turner is second in the Pac-12 with 10 goals and graduate forward Ally Cook is fourth in the Pac-12 with eight goals.
“We always respect the opponent … but we don’t over-respect to a point where we don’t play up to our potential,” Alukonis said. “It’s going to be a matter of there’s 11 players on the pitch: Do we have six players that outshine their six?”
Offensively, in the last five games, the Trojans have converted four goals and allowed three despite outshooting opponents 78 to 34. Their shots-on-goal percentage has dipped from 47% to 33%.
These struggles dissipated Sunday against UC Berkeley (7-5-6, 4-2-4), when many of the Trojans’ star strikers returned to the box score. Standout freshman forward Maribel Flores notched her sixth goal of the season and senior midfielder Zoe Burns, who scored a crucial penalty kick against UCLA last year, acquired her sixth assist of the season.
Bruin’s junior defender Quincy McMahon will test the Trojans’ revitalized offense. McMahon has won four Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week Awards and is the first player to claim that title in one season.
“Sometimes, when you play good teams, it comes down to how well the wing-backs do against each other,” Alukonis said. “We’re going to make sure our wing-backs don’t get stuck into the ones and try to deny crosses and shots as much as possible from their wingers and wing-backs.”
The Trojans will pile onto the pitch Friday against UCLA at 7 p.m. at Annenberg Stadium.
