After a tough three-game stretch that saw No. 22 USC draw with Arizona and Colorado and drop a game to No. 18 Arizona State, the Trojans returned home and held No. 4 Stanford to a 0-0 draw.

With the regular season coming to a close, USC (9-3-3, 5-1-3 Pac-12) needed a lot to happen to clinch its first Pac-12 championship. Beating Stanford (14-0-3, 7-0-2) was the goal. But despite dominating possession and shots, USC missed out on a few crucial opportunities that could have sealed the game.

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“If we say the best team should win, I felt we should have won,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We had some opportunities that were close, so I wished we put one away.”

The Trojans came out firing right away, outshooting Stanford heavily in the opening minutes. They spent a good chunk of the first half with the ball in the attacking third, but only produced one shot on target. Missed opportunities have been a trend for USC over the past fourfew games. Despite outshooting opponents 62-29, they’ve been outscored 3 goals to 2 in that stretch.

“We have no doubt in the our players’ ability to put the goals away,” Alukonis said. “We just keep plugging away and looking at our opportunities today and figure out how to keep getting better.”

Despite coming into the match boasting a strong 2.18 goals per game and 20 shots per game, Stanford was held to a season low seven shots with none on target. This was the first game in which Stanford was shut out this season. Though the backline held on to keep USC scoreless, the Cardinal allowed double-digit shots for the first time in five games.

The Trojans kept the momentum going into the second half with their eyes on the win. Four of their five shots on target came in the second half, largely stemming from the electric play of junior forward Izzy Kimberly. Kimberly dealt with an ankle sprain last weekend that kept her sidelined during the Trojan road trip.

In the 60th minute, Kimberly subbed on for freshman forward Maribel Flores, and her presence was felt right away. She immediately contributed to two crucial opportunities not long after stepping onto the field.

“We kept saying … if we had her last weekend it would have been a different story,” Alukonis said. “She brings the energy, she brings the strength, she brings the speed.”

In the 78th minute, USC’s 5-foot-2 senior defender Zoe Burns muscled the ball from Stanford’s 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Lumi Kostmayer. Her valiant effort encapsulated the Trojans’ gritty play.

“One of the things that we talked about was showing up physically,” Burns said. “My mindset on that play was that it doesn’t really matter if you’re bigger than me.”

The 0-0 draw put USC’s all-time record against Stanford at 4-16-3. Though the outcome was not the most desirable, the Trojans hope their play Thursday will set the tone for the rest of the season.

“It’s a cliche, but a draw is better than a loss,” Alukonis said. “In terms of who we were as Trojans today, I was really proud.”

The Trojans will look to defend McAlister for the last time this season when they host California at 12 p.m. Sunday.