USC may have won the collegiate Trojan War against Michigan State in football Saturday, but the Spartans got their revenge on the pitch Sunday.

USC soccer (4-3-1, 1-2-0 Big Ten) got crushed 4-0 in the second game of its Michigan road trip, marking its third loss in the last four games. Though the Trojans took down Michigan (3-6-1, 0-2-1) 2-1 on Thursday in Ann Arbor for their only win since Aug. 24, they plummeted from as high as a No. 4 ranking on the United Soccer Coaches poll to a distant bystander even before that victory.

In East Lansing, the woes began early for USC, as Michigan State (4-2-4, 1-0-2) junior defender Kennedy Bell scored just 48 seconds in. While the Trojans avoided conceding again in the first half, Michigan State continued to apply the pressure. The Spartans almost doubled USC’s shot total, 16–9, and put eight on goal compared to USC’s three.

Eventually, the consistent pressure from Michigan State was too much for USC to overcome, as the Spartans unloaded for a three-goal explosion in the second half, all coming from breakdowns on USC’s defense line. 

The second goal saw junior midfielder Kayla Briggs finish a two-touch strike from a pullback to the edge of the box. Briggs later delivered a driven cross to an unmarked Bell at the back post, and USC’s struggles were capped off by a costly foul in the box that led to a penalty and another goal for Michigan State. 

Altogether, the Trojans’ inability to keep Michigan State from scoring highlighted the disorganized state of their back line. After winning the Big Ten last season, Head Coach Jane Alukonis’ squad is still searching for the form that carried it to a deep run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

On Thursday, USC will return home for another conference matchup, hosting Maryland (6-4, 2-1) at Rawlinson Stadium at 7 p.m. in hopes of securing a much-needed victory to get its season back on track.