After a humbling 4-0 loss to Michigan State last Sunday, USC soccer bounced back Thursday night, dismantling Maryland 3-0 in the first-ever Big Ten matchup between the two programs. Three different Trojans scored in the game, a performance they hope will stabilize the team after a rollercoaster start to the season.

Right from kickoff, USC (6-3-1, 3-2-0 Big Ten) was in the driver’s seat. In the 4th minute, junior forward Maribel Flores crossed the ball from the far side of the box to sophomore forward Faith George, who had no one but Maryland (6-6, 2-3) redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Faith Luckey in front of her. Though her shot sailed just above the net, the Flores-George duo wouldn’t need to wait long for another opportunity. 

Just two minutes later, USC scored on a beautiful set piece on a 22-yard free kick outside the box to open the game’s scoring. George ran over the ball as a decoy and Flores followed up right behind her, ripping a strike into the top-right corner beyond the reach of Luckey.

“[It was] one of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen,” Head Coach Jane Alukonis said in an interview with the Daily Trojan.“We give them time at the end of practice sometimes to work on these types of things. But, I mean, that was a ripper.”

The Trojans kept the pressure on throughout the first half, leading to sophomore forward Katie Park making a run into the box where she drew a foul for a penalty in the 38th minute. While game officials took a second look at the play, the fire alarm at Rawlinson Stadium went off, forcing a delay. 

Rather than getting distracted, Park embraced the moment. After the alarm was shut off, she stepped into the box and shot her penalty into the bottom left corner of the goal, sending Luckey the wrong way to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead via the first goal of Park’s collegiate career.

“Katie Park’s club coach has told me before [that] she’s ice cold, whether it’s on pens or just in finishing,” Alukonis said. “You probably think about it longer and wonder if it’s gonna ice the kicker, but luckily, [Park] is able to handle it and put it away really nicely.”

The final exclamation point for the Trojans’ offense came with less than two minutes left on the clock, when Luckey ran off her line to stop an attack by junior forward Hana Mizumoto. Luckey could only watch as Mizumoto poked the ball right past her and rolled it right into the net, sending the crowd into chants of “start the buses.”

Aside from the powerful offensive display, USC was also outstanding on defense, allowing just one shot on goal — a far cry from its four goals allowed against Michigan State. The clean sheet was the Trojans’ fourth in nine games this season. 

Freshman defender Edra Bello, who has played the second-most minutes on the team, said the difference between this game and the last was communication.

“We’re just trying to stay focused on staying organized, staying together as a team, learning from mistakes that we had in the Spartans game,” Bello said. “We were really working hard, staying together, staying positive, and that was the goal.”

Alukonis echoed Bello, saying the Trojans “didn’t press as much” and “tried to simplify how [they] defended.”

Following a 2-1 win over Rutgers on Sunday, the Trojans will head back on the road for a three-game trip against Oregon (2-7-3, 0-3-2), Minnesota (5-5-1, 1-3-1) and No. 20 Wisconsin (8-3-1, 2-2-1). First up, USC will face off against the Ducks in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday at 1 p.m.