No. 21 USC ends road trip with win over Arizona

No. 21 USC ended its road trip with a 4-1 win against Arizona Sunday, maintaining its undefeated record in Pac-12 play after three games. The Trojans successfully beat both Arizona State and Arizona in back-to-back away matches to round out their visit to the Grand Canyon state.

After staging a comeback against Arizona State Thursday, USC headed south to Tucson in hopes of building on its prolific form in conference play by defeating Arizona. Last season, the Trojans narrowly beat the Wildcats 1-0 when then junior forward Penelope Hocking converted the crucial goal to seal a close USC win.

The Wildcats emerged as the early favorite during the 10th minute when a corner kick from junior midfielder Madison Goerlinger met sophomore defender Jenna Studer after a series of ricochets before she converted the opening goal. 

Continuing their trend of quick responses, the Trojans did not take long to answer after conceding the first goal. Eight minutes later, senior right back Zoe Burns provided freshman midfielder Helena Sampaio a through pass down the right flank. The debutant sent a pass to Hocking for the match’s equalizer. Hocking’s response marked her sixth goal of the season and her 48th collegiate goal to tie her as USC’s top goalscorer in women’s soccer history. 

The Trojans attempted 14 shots towards Arizona’s goal in the second half. They converted on their efforts in the 69th minute, as senior midfielder Madeline Vergura sprinted across the right wing before crossing the ball to senior forward Jada Talley for the goal to put the Trojans on top. Talley, an ex-Wildcat, grabbed a crucial goal against her former team. 

The Trojans opened the floodgates with a third and fourth goal later in the match. Sophomore left back Jaelyn Eisenhart shot from the left side of the box as the ball floated over Arizona junior goalkeeper Hope Hisey in the 79th minute. Four minutes later, freshman midfielder Simi Awujo found junior midfielder Croix Bethune, who converted the final goal of the day for the Trojans.  

Despite the comfortable victory, Arizona forced the Trojans to stage a comeback. USC conceded the opening goals in its last two conference victories against Oregon State and Arizona State. 

“There’s a little bit of frustration … our coaches have really harped on the fact that we need to come out stronger, and we need to come out with more energy,” Hocking said in an interview with the Daily Trojan.

A plethora of players from different areas of the field contributed to the four goals against Arizona, with the likes of Eisenhart, Awujo and fellow debutant Sampaio getting involved in playmaking and scoring. 

“Our team is so dynamic … What [Keidane McAlpine has done] so much is that he gives a lot of players a lot of time,” Hocking said. “We have so many different players who do so many different things, so it’s super hard to defend.”

After three games in the Pac-12, the Trojans remain undefeated in conference play. USC is amid an eight-game winning streak, having never lost in September. 

“Team morale is really high right now, we just have to focus on the game in front of us,” Hocking said. “The Pac-12 is super competitive, and we need to focus on winning every single game … Losing and tying isn’t an option if we want to become the Pac-12 champions.”

USC will look to continue its prolific Pac-12 form on its return to the Soni McAlister Field against Colorado Thursday at 4 p.m.