On Thursday, No. 19 USC faced off against Illinois under the Demirjian Park lights and Sunday, it faced Northwestern at Martin Stadium. This marked the Trojans’ third meeting with Illinois of all time and their first meeting with Northwestern. Despite the unfamiliarity of these matchups, USC departed The Prairie State still undefeated in the Big Ten after notching a 3-2 win over Illinois and a 2-1 win over Northwestern. 

In its first game of the weekend, USC (11-1-2, 7-0-1 Big Ten) came out strong against Illinois (6-7-2, 2-5-1), having clear control of the game from the first whistle. 

Senior midfielder Maria Alagoa set the tone for the game when she scored a beautiful goal within the first 10 minutes of the match. The goal came off of a combination play by senior forward Kayla Colbert, who fed a through ball to senior forward Maile Hayes, and Hayes, who sent the ball across the six-yard box for Alagoa to put in the back of the net. 

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Alagoa became one of the stars of the weekend, posting a goal and an assist against Illinois and a goal against Northwestern. The Florida State transfer has become one of the top scorers for USC this season, trailing its top scorer, Hayes, by only 2 goals. Hayes scored her seventh goal of the season just 30 seconds into the second half against Illinois. 

That goal came after Colbert ripped a shot off from the top of the box that was deflected by an Illinois defender. Hayes was right there ready to finish the job off the deflection. The Trojans continued to control the pace of the game and slowed the pace to drain the clock as they pulled ahead 2-0 over Illinois. 

The third goal of the match arrived in the 72nd minute. Freshman forward Faith George got the points when Alagoa sent her a ball at the top of the six-yard box, allowing George to boot the ball into the back of the net. 

The game didn’t end there though — Illinois made a good effort to tie up the game in the last 17 minutes of the match. Illinois came back hard at USC after the third goal, stealing the ball from graduate goalkeeper Laurence Gladu and completing the score. Gladu was tackled outside the box and lost the ball. Gladu’s first touch after the tackle got away from her, and fifth-year midfielder Kennedy Berschel lofted the ball from 20-yards for a goal. 

The game was beginning to look like it had in the Trojans’ previous two meetings with Illinois when they won 3-1, but then, Illinois struck again. 

Illinois senior defender Angie Galo played a corner kick to freshman midfielder Lauren Seppi, who was outside the 18-yard box on the near corner. Seppi lofted a shot over Gladu and into the back of the net. USC wasn’t just fraying at the seams, it was falling apart as Illinois nearly tied up the game. Luckily for the Trojans, time was up, and they pulled it together to secure the 3-2 win over the Illini. 

USC faced Northwestern (5-8-3, 0-6-2) in its next match, and it went on to defeat the Wildcats 2-1. The first goal of the night came off Alagoa’s foot in the 15th minute after senior forward Simone Jackson sent a cross to Alagoa, who fired a shot that was deflected off a Wildcat defender, sending it over the goal line. This was Alagoa’s second goal of the weekend, making her the top scorer for USC during their Illinois tour. 

The Trojans stayed ahead of Northwestern 1-0 until the second half when the Wildcats scored their first goal to temporarily tie the game. In the 53rd minute, junior midfielder Caterina Regazzoni sent a freekick into the box where senior defender Emma Phillips slid, getting a foot on the ball and putting it into the goal. Now tied 1-1, the Trojans’ victory over the worst team in the Big Ten was at risk.

But six minutes later, in the 59th minute, freshman midfielder Ines Derrien was taken out in the box by a Northwestern player. The referee called a penalty and Derrien stepped up to take the shot. It was a beautiful penalty, ripped to the upper 90 on the left-hand side. Northwestern’s goalkeeper never had a chance to save her penalty, and Derrien secured the first goal of her collegiate career. 

The Trojans held onto the lead through the rest of the game, concluding the matchup with a 2-1 victory over Northwestern. The final whistle marked the end to another successful weekend for the Trojans, who are currently number one in the Big Ten. UCLA is close behind in the standings, but the rivals will not meet until Oct. 27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Prior to that highly anticipated matchup, USC will have to get through a couple other Big Ten foes. It faces Ohio State Thursday at 6 p.m. at BMO Stadium and Penn State Oct. 20 at noon at Dignity Health Sports Park.