On Sunday, No. 24 USC hosted Wisconsin at its temporary home field, Dignity Health Sports Park, in Carson, California. The Trojans were hoping to get their first home Big Ten win after a 2-2 draw with Minnesota on Thursday during their conference home opener. USC also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at Sunday’s game.

USC (8-1-2, 4-0-1 Big Ten) last faced Wisconsin (5-3-3, 1-2-2) on Aug. 30, 2002, in its first and only meeting until Sunday’s matchup. The Badgers beat the Trojans 1-0 in their first showdown, but on Sunday, the Trojans got their revenge, emphatically beating the Badgers 3-0. The star of the match was senior midfielder Maria Alagoa, who had both an assist and a goal, her third of the season.

The Trojans came out firing from the first whistle, with their first big chance coming just two minutes into the match. USC dominated possession and the pace of the game. When the Trojans wanted to slow the game down and pass the ball around their back line, they were able to do so with little pressure from Wisconsin.

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When it was ready to transition, USC would pick up the pace of the game and launch an offensive attack, looking to score off a well-timed through ball to one of its talented forwards. While the Trojans clearly controlled the game, Wisconsin had a few good opportunities in the first half, mostly coming off corner kicks.

But the Trojans were unable to score before the break.

“I didn’t love our first half,” Head Coach Jane Alukonis said. “But, we were honest and forward with them at halftime about that, and I felt that they took it very, very well and executed.”

The possession in the second half was more evenly distributed, with the Badgers responding immediately to each of USC’s shots. In the first five minutes of the second half, the Trojans had a great effort by senior forward Maile Hayes punched over the net by Wisconsin junior goalkeeper Drew Stover. Wisconsin immediately responded with an attack of its own, which nearly broke the deadlock as freshman forward Jenna Baumann’s shot narrowly sailed over the crossbar.

The Trojans would finally get on the board when senior forward Simone Jackson scored a beautiful header in the 54th minute. The header would come after a beautiful lofted free kick by Alagoa, who sent a perfectly arching pass into the 18-yard box, allowing Jackson to put the ball in the back of the net.

The second goal would come after an incredible through ball from senior midfielder Helena Sampaio to Alagoa, allowing the latter to put a great shot past Stover and into the back of the net. USC had been attempting line-breaking through balls throughout the first half, and its efforts paid off, leading to a magnificent second goal.

“So a crazy story was that this morning, I live with [Sampaio]. She assisted me, and the first interaction of the day was me showing her that pass she did to me in the Stanford game,” Alagoa said. “It was like the exact same pass. And so now we were just joking because it was a funny coincidence.”

The Badgers were simply unable to make a comeback after the second goal by the Trojans, as they quickly lost steam. Wisconsin would have one more opportunity to score, but the shot hit the crossbar, a big relief for graduate goalkeeper Laurence Gladu and the Trojans.

On the ensuing Trojan counterattack, freshman forward Jaiden Anderson would be fouled inside of the box, leading to a yellow card for Wisconsin sophomore midfielder Erin Connolly and a penalty kick for Anderson, who would convert from the penalty spot, scoring the first goal of her collegiate career to extend the Trojan lead on the day to 3-0.

With both a win and a draw this weekend, the Trojans have yet to lose at home in their new conference. Alukonis and her squad hope that this great first weekend at home will set the tone, not only for this season but to help establish them as a team to beat in their new conference.

The Trojans will be back in action on Saturday, hosting the Oregon Ducks (5-7-0, 1-4-0) at noon at Dignity Health Sports Park.