No. 22 USC will begin its pursuit of the final Pac-12 Championship Friday when it takes on the Utah Utes in the first of three straight road matches.

This will most likely be the Trojans’ final meeting with Utah for the foreseeable future due to its move to the Big Ten next season. After emerging from Salt Lake City with a dissatisfying 0 – 0 draw last season, they intend on adding to the win column with their eighth all-time victory over the Utes.

The Trojans’ momentum was reinvigorated last week when they defeated New Mexico State 3-0, their third shutout of the season. In her sixth straight start, standout freshman forward Maribel Flores led the way with a goal and a pair of assists.

“Clutch. That was how [Flores’] coach described her to me when we were originally talking,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis. “She’s a goal scorer, but she’s a different kind of player and she connects well with others.”

Flores was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for her involvement in all three USC goals against the Aggies. She is the first USC player to receive a Pac-12 honor this season and the first freshman to take home the offensive award this year.

Flores’ performance came in response to an upset the week prior. Utah Valley’s nationally renowned junior forward Faith Webber collected a hat trick when the Wolverines briefly forced USC outside of the NCAA Top 25 rankings. Conversely, Utah had its best outing this season against Utah Valley in a triumphant 5-0 win.

Although the 4-2-3 Utes have shut out their opponents in each of their victories, keeping the Trojans scoreless would be an unlikely feat. USC leads the Pac-12 with more than 55% of its shots on frame. Compatibly, the Trojans’ defense minimizes their opponents to under 36% of shots on goal, whereas Utah allows 54%.

“Our focus is on creating dangerous, high conversion chances,” Alukonis said. “We determine how we get into the highest goal scoring areas with as few defenders in there as possible.”

In the final leg of non-conference play, USC ironed out a few changes.

“Sometimes we defend differently than we attack. So typically, we will attack 4-3-3. But sometimes, we’ll defend based on the opponent … just slight adjustments based on each game,” Alukonis said.

Last week, sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson earned her first start over freshman goalkeeper Hannah Poulter. Dickinson secured the first scoreless match of her collegiate career and is expected to protect the net Friday.

The Trojans’ schedule will ramp up in intensity over the next six weeks. They’re slated to play an exciting 11 games featuring undefeated No. 4 Stanford, defending College Cup Champion No. 17 UCLA, and one-loss teams such as Colorado and Washington State.

“It’s always been our goal to win the Pac-12,” Alukonis said. “This year more than ever, everybody’s chasing after that ring and we’re going to do everything that we can to contend for it.”

USC’s record stands at 4-2-0, meaning it’ll have to be near perfect on and off the pitch for the remainder of the regular season to compete for the conference title.

“It’s a matter of who does all the big and little things, sometimes a little bit of luck, and just the most consistent team,” Alukonis said. “How we stand is going to be based on how we bring it every day.”

Game one of the Trojans’ last Pac-12 dance begins 6 p.m. Friday when they’ll go head-to-head with Utah at Ute Soccer Field.