Thursday night, the Trojans were ousted from the NCAA Tournament. Despite outshooting the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation, they lost 1-0 at Brigham Young University to end their season.

No. 6 BYU (18-2-3, 7-0-3 Big 12) is the top-seeded team in its region, thereby hosting the remainder of its matches leading up to the College Cup. The sell-out stands of South Field swelled with royal blue pom-pom beanies and parkas as 4,176 BYU fans cheered in a clump to overcome the sub-50 degree temperatures.

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The narrative of the first half was uniform across the field. It was a game of keep away as each kick bounced off the heads and knees of Trojans and Cougars in no particular succession. A quarter of the match in, neither team had found its rhythm nor a method of elongating possessions — it was bound to be a defensive battle.

In the 24th minute, Head Coach Jane Alukonis substituted junior midfielder Aaliyah Farmer in for junior forward Izzy Kimberly. With fewer strikers on the field and a killer offside trap, junior midfielder Simi Awujo constructed a forcefield around the penalty box. 

From that point on, the Trojans’ game plan to match and overcome the Cougar defense was simple: keep BYU outside the box and acquire a quick score off of a long ball.

It took more than 28 minutes for the Trojans to find their first scoring opportunity. Awujo sprinted down the middle of the field alongside the ball carrier, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year forward Maribel Flores. Flores dished the ball to Awujo as she approached the outside of the top right of the penalty box, and Awujo delivered a promising strike that skimmed the top of the net.

Because of the Cougars’ stifling defense, the Trojans took most of their shots off of breaks and at the top of the penalty box to prevent the BYU defense from getting set. Regardless, they weren’t able to get an early score on the board.

When the first half came to an end, it was an even contest across the statsheet. Both USC and BYU tallied eight shots, four shots on goal and a whopping zero goals. 

At halftime, BYU sent literal flares throughout the field in hopes of igniting offensive production and when the smoke cleared for the final 45 minutes of season-defining play, the fiery performance paid off.

BYU sophomore midfielder/defender Izzi Stratton trucked sophomore defender Brooklyn Courtnall in the 54th minute and Stratton received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Cougars’ increased physicality on defense and in transition, as evidenced by that play, sent the Trojans in a daze that lasted the majority of the half. 

In the 58th minute, the game took a tragic turn for the Trojans. Two defenders rushed senior forward/midfielder Brecken Mozingo, who sent a through ball to senior forward Bella Folino. Folino stood right in front of the goal with plenty of time to pick a spot and send a shot inches from the left hand of Dickinson and into the upper left corner of the net. 

Entering the 69th minute, the Trojans hadn’t posted a shot or corner kick in the second half. They were looking for any kind of offensive movement. After a weak shot by Courtnall, junior forward Simone Jackson booted a low skipper that was easily scooped up by freshman goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez. 

The Trojans spent the remainder of the game struggling in their attacking third. They couldn’t get around defenders and each of their touches were rushed, but they almost squeaked out the equalizer.

With under a minute left, USC sent a corner kick into the center of the penalty box with nobody on the receiving end. The Cougars were unable to clear the ball and Duran connected with Farmer. Farmer’s strike momentarily sent USC fans’ heart rates into a spike until their hopes plummeted into an abyss as the ball nailed the crossbar and cleared the top of the goal.

Ultimately, luck just wasn’t on the Trojans’ side. USC hasn’t escaped the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Although losing to the top seed is more favorable than last year’s upset against UC Irvine, a second-round exit doesn’t live up to Alukonis’ College Cup aspirations.