Women’s soccer solidifies Big Ten legacy
The Trojans secure its first-ever outright conference title in program history.
The Trojans secure its first-ever outright conference title in program history.
Earlier this year, the Daily Trojan’s season preview for soccer closed out with this statement: “With this season being USC’s inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Trojans have a chance of cementing themselves as the team to beat in their new conference.”
On Sunday, the Trojans — after beating UCLA 1-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park — did just that. USC not only secured a Big Ten conference title, but this historic win became the program’s first-ever outright conference win and the program’s most-winning regular season.
The Battle of Los Angeles saw No. 6 USC (14-1-2, 10-0-1 Big Ten) beat No. 8 UCLA (13-3-3, 8-1-2) at the iconic home of MLS’ LA Galaxy. The match was USC’s best of the season. The players and crowd brought high energy and the feeling in the stadium was electric.
The USC vs. UCLA rivalry is a fiery one during a typical game, but with the conference title on the line, this battle was particularly intense. The Trojans and the Bruins both came into the match hard from the first whistle.
While USC and UCLA were closely matched, it was clear the Trojans had an edge over the Bruins early in the match. USC attacked hard in the first half, levying unrelenting attacks on UCLA.
But the Bruins held their own and even unleashed a few attempts at counterattacks. The Trojans, however, had been prepared for UCLA’s explosive counterattacks and were able to quell them by getting tight and compact behind the ball when defending.
In the 36th minute, star player and senior forward Maile Hayes scored the game-winning goal. Senior midfielder Helena Sampaio fed Hayes a beautiful ball at the top of the 6-yard box, where Hayes one touched the ball, nutmegging UCLA’s goalkeeper and putting the ball in the back of the net. Immediately upon the score, the crowd erupted into cheers — USC fans were more animated than ever.
USC entered the second half beating the Bruins 1-0. Despite their lead, and only needing a tie to win the conference title, the Trojans kept their foot on the gas until the final five minutes of the game.
“We could go and get a second goal and that would put us in an even better spot, and the more that we can pin them in their own half, like thinking basically, like they’re far from our goal,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis in an interview with the Daily Trojan after the match on Sunday. “But just keep at it, continuing to play our game, put our foot on the gas, and we did have a little bit of a buffer because we knew we could win or tie.”
In the final minutes of the game, USC slowed the pace of the match, playing a great game of clock management. As the final seconds of the game wound down, the crowd was filled with anticipation. And when the clock struck the 90th minute, the crowd cheered, and the Trojan bench cleared to meet their teammates on the field. The Trojans had just won their inaugural season in the Big Ten conference title.
With this historic win, women’s soccer is now the most successful sport in the Big Ten for USC.
“It’s awesome. We’re such a good team and just like us being able to set the tone — we’re the first sport that starts for the year,” Hayes said. “So having us being able to set the tone, it also gives us that little more motivation.”
Although USC has already won the Big Ten conference title, its inaugural season in the Big Ten isn’t over quite yet. The Trojans will face the winner of the Wisconsin vs. Ohio State game Sunday as part of the Big Ten tournament.
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