After just squeezing into the Big Ten Tournament, the No. 10-seeded USC soccer lost 1-0 to No. 7-seeded Northwestern in the opening round of the tournament, putting the Trojans’ hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid in question.

In USC’s (7-7-3, 4-5-2 Big Ten) first Big Ten season last year, it went undefeated in conference play to win the regular season championship before being upset in the tournament’s semifinals by Rutgers. Head Coach Jane Alukonis and company were eventually upset as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA quarterfinals to end an otherwise impressive first season on a heartbreaking note. 

But now, the Trojans will have to wait to see if they are even selected for the 64-team NCAA Tournament when the 34 teams are selected at large. After 10 Big Ten teams made the tournament last year, the Trojans, who narrowly finished in 10th this season, stand on the fringe of making it. 

Coming into the cagey affair, both USC and Northwestern (9-3-7, 4-2-5) saw massive changes to their usual lineups. After starting in all sixteen games of the season, graduate goalkeeper Bella Grust was not in net for USC, and the Wildcats had to play without sophomore forward Kennedy Roesch, whose nine goals are tied for second most in the Big Ten. 

Stepping up for USC was junior goalkeeper Phoebe Carver, who was playing her first game with the team. It was Carver’s first time playing in nearly two years, as she last saw action Nov. 17, 2023, when she played with Arkansas. 

For most of the game, Carver held strong before surrendering the kill shot to Northwestern junior forward Megan Norkett, breaking the 0-0 tie with five minutes to go. A badly placed pass by the Trojans gave the Wildcats possession, who capitalized on the mistake for the tie-breaking goal. 

Just two minutes before the Wildcats broke the stalemate, the Trojans suffered another massive loss as their leading goal-scorer, junior forward Maribel Flores, who is tied with Roesch in goals scored this season, was taken out of the game after getting hit in the face with the ball. 

Northwestern played a stifling defensive game in the first half. After 45 minutes, the Trojans had only two shots to the Wildcats’ seven. However, neither team was able to get anything going as the two teams had one shot on goal each. 

The second half told a much different story. USC started with an onslaught of shots, forcing Wildcat freshman goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson to make seven saves in the second half. Despite their first-half struggles, the Trojans ended with eight shots on goal to Northwestern’s five, though it was ultimately for naught.

The 34 teams selected at large will be announced Nov. 10.