The start to USC soccer’s season has not gone exactly as planned for fifth-year Head Coach Jane Alukonis, as the Trojans are now winless across their first three games. 

Saturday’s matchup against No. 15 BYU (2-1) seemed like an opportunity for the squad to turn things around, as an upset victory on the road could give USC (0-2-1) the confidence it needed for greater success down the road. 

The Trojans initially held their own against the Cougars, keeping the match scoreless heading into halftime. That all changed when BYU junior forward Emma Hamberlin took the game into her hands, scoring two goals within 14 minutes during the second half to secure a 2-0 Cougar victory and yet another loss for the Trojans.

Unlikely hero breaks out for the Cougars

Hamberlin crushed any hope that USC had of pulling off an upset with her second-half brace, as she scored her first goal in the 70th minute and the second in the 84th minute to put the game out of reach for a struggling Trojan squad. 

This performance was out of the ordinary for Hamberlin, who had not scored a goal across 36 games in her two previous years at BYU. In fact, Hamberlin had not even started a game for the Cougars since her freshman season in 2024. Nevertheless, the junior broke out in style Saturday night, cruising past USC’s defense late in the game.

Hamberlin’s two goals got the better of USC’s freshman goalkeeper Josie Biehl, who made only the second start of her collegiate career. 

The true freshman, who was ranked as the No. 1 goalkeeper in the 2026 class, couldn’t spot the ball in the second half, allowing the two goals on only five shots. 

While Biehl is still gaining confidence in the net, the offense will have to back her up as well, something it has yet to achieve this season. 

Offense fails to get on the board 

USC’s offense, or lack thereof, has been its biggest weakness throughout the young season, scoring just two goals in its first three contests. Saturday’s affair was no different, as the Trojans were shut out for the first time this season.

Part of the issue for USC is its low volume and quality of scoring opportunities, as the Trojans were outshot in each of their first three games. BYU continued this trend, along with taking seven corner kicks to USC’s four.  

Additionally, USC’s two leaders in shots — freshman forward Rhea Moore and sophomore midfielder Jaiden Rodriguez — were unable to net any for the Trojans on Saturday, a bad sign for the future of the young squad. 

While the pair have combined for 15 shots this season, only four of them have been shots on goal, and none of them have led to any goals.

Both the quantity and the quality of scoring opportunities must improve for the Trojans if they want to have success this season. 

A promising look ahead

The winless start for Alukonis and company is worrying, especially as the team came into 2026 with high expectations after signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. 

The silver lining, however, is that those two losses came against difficult opponents, as both were at the hands of top-10 teams in the nation — No. 2 Duke (3-0-1) and BYU, a top-10 team at the time of the game.

USC will have two nonconference home games to try for the win column, both against unranked opponents in New Mexico State University (1-3) and Saint Mary’s College (2-0-2), before it heads on the road to face No. 1-ranked Stanford (3-0). 

The Trojans will look to get back on track against New Mexico State on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Rawlinson Stadium.