A lot is going on with USC women’s soccer.

From the Trojans’ (3-0-1) transition into the Big Ten Conference to the ongoing construction of the new Rawlinson Stadium, the Jane Alukonis era has seen a lot of change over the last three years. The Daily Trojan talked with Alukonis to see how the season is shaping up and how these big changes will impact the Trojans.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Daily Trojan: What is the team’s core identity as of now? Is there a core style or component of play that stands out?

Jane Alukonis: We’re quite specific about how we want players to play in and out of possession. We try to be extremely clear and consistent with our messaging. Of course, and sometimes it sounds cliche when I say [this], but we want to keep the soccer ball. We want to maximize the time that we have on the ball, [and] we have a lot of metrics and analytics that we use in order to describe exactly what we’re looking for.

I would say [the key points are] possession style, playing very bravely, tiring out the opponent and being dangerous at our attack, making sure that we dominate the ball and we create good opportunities.

DT: How has the team responded to the strange “home field” situation as construction for Rawlinson Stadium continues?

JA: It’s no excuse, and we know that travel sometimes can put a little more load on players, so we’re doing our very best to make sure we’re recovering, we’re taking care of ourselves, we’re eating right, we’re hydrating — just really emphasizing all the small bits that you want to do anytime you travel. But obviously we’re traveling more than we have in most years, not due to the new conference but because of the construction of the stadium.

DT: The story surrounding USC this year is the transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. What are some of the big differences between the two conferences in women’s soccer?

JA: There are more teams, which I know is stating the obvious, but therefore you have potentially 17 different styles of play. You have many different climates.

And so for some sports, the size of the pitch stays the same, or the surface stays generally the same. For soccer, the size of the pitch can vary. The grass can vary. The outdoor weather can change. So certainly there’s going to be different adversities. But [there are] no excuses. [We] just do whatever we need to do to keep fighting and bringing everything that we can into every game. We are going to see a number of different styles, and some opponents that we used to play, but it’ll be an exciting new challenge for us.

DT: Is there anything that will be missed from the Pac-12? What’s the importance of keeping Stanford on the schedule?

JA: I think any [matchups] that we miss that badly we’ll just schedule in the non-conference. The fun parts about being part of a great conference is the competitiveness and everybody trying to be at their best every day to reach the common goal. Some of the benefits [are that] the Big Ten has a really good Rating Percentage Index, so just making sure all of us in the conference do our best to take care of business, and then when we go head- to- head, we do everything we can to win those games.

DT: What has been the most important factor contributing to the team’s strong start this season?

JA: Just unity and camaraderie. The group that are seniors now, they were freshmen when we got here. That’s a very, very special group to us. To include some of the transfers, or maybe fifth years, so being able to see them grow and pour into the program every day, and now knowing it’s their last year — honestly it’s a little emotional for us. The younger players want to honor those who know it’s their last year. But also the older players want to give every last bit that they have for the program before they take off for the pros or otherwise professional careers.