They say a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous in soccer. That old adage did not prove true in Westwood. 

The Trojans entered their rivalry match against the UCLA Bruins ranked No. 22 in the country, per the United Soccer Coaches poll, and 10 points off the pace in the Pac-12 standings. A win over UCLA would’ve given USC little more than bragging rights and a marginal boost in seeding for the NCAA tournament. That’s not to downplay the stakes, though; these are major bragging rights in Pac-12 soccer. USC and UCLA have both finished top three in the conference for the past seven seasons running. 

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The game had a tense atmosphere right from kickoff, with both sides testing the opponent with direct passes and biting into tackles. Junior forward Izzy Kimberly, starting at striker for the Trojans (10-4-3, 6-2-3 Pac-12), took USC’s first shot of the game when she went one-on-one with a UCLA defender, established a shooting position and fired across goal, missing wide left. 

But it didn’t take long for the Bruins (16-1-1, 10-0-1) to secure a multi-goal lead on home turf. 

For the first goal, UCLA junior defender Jayden Perry played a dangerous over-the-top pass for junior forward Lexi Wright to run onto, forcing the Trojans’ sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson off her line to challenge Wright for the ball. Dickinson, however, hesitated slightly with her run, allowing Wright to chip Dickinson in the 18th minute for the lead. 

Before the Trojans could even collect themselves, UCLA had scored again. 

At the edge of USC’s box, junior midfielder Aaliyah Farmer challenged UCLA’s graduate forward Ally Cook for the ball. Cook went to ground but kept the ball at her feet under Farmer, forcing Farmer to step over Cook to maintain balance. When Farmer got out of Cook’s way, the UCLA player shot up, took one touch and unleashed a strike on Dickinson’s goal. The shot was perfectly placed in the top left corner — Dickinson could do nothing but stand still. 

But the Trojans managed to pull a goal back within 10 minutes. From a corner kick delivered to the back post by freshman forward Maribel Flores, Farmer headed the ball back toward the center, finding graduate defender Kayla Duran, who directed it into the back of the net. UCLA was still dominating possession and the flow of the game, but the Trojans had a foothold. 

That foothold lasted all of four minutes. 

On the attack again, UCLA senior forward Reilyn Turner put Duran through a spin cycle on the right edge of USC’s box and fired a low cross into the box. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the ball trickled to the back post, where USC senior defender and midfielder Zoe Burns — she played both in this match — couldn’t sort her feet out in time to deflect the ball away from the goal and inadvertently tapped it into her own net. 

While the second half did provide another multi-goal 45 minutes, the scoreline doesn’t reflect how UCLA seemed in complete control of the momentum.

USC had no shortage of possession in UCLA’s half but never created a clear shot on goal from open play. The Trojans’ best chances came from a pair of corner kicks in the 66th minute. On the first one, the ball bobbled around the box before Farmer’s header led to a deflection and another corner. 

But even under pressure, UCLA’s defenders seemed abnormally comfortable with the ball at their feet. They were content to pass amongst themselves and UCLA’s sophomore goalkeeper Neeku Purcell, waiting for USC to press and leave a passing lane open. 

With USC forced to expend themselves in attack, UCLA’s counterattacking was reasonably successful. For the Bruins’ fourth goal, Turner chased down a ball over the top deep into USC’s half, which senior defender Angeles Escobar rushed across the box to defend. But Escobar tackled Turner too aggressively with a two-legged sliding challenge in the box, giving UCLA a penalty kick that sophomore forward Bridgette Marin-Valencia dispatched with ease in the 81st minute, sealing the game. 

The Trojans’ junior forward Simone Jackson scored a consolation goal with three minutes left; a well-struck left-footer from outside the box, but it was too little too late for USC. 

Despite the halftime deficit, Head Coach Jane Alukonis reminded her team at the half that the game was within reach. 

“In soccer, two goals is a lot, but it’s also not a lot,” Alukonis said. “We made sure the first thing we said at halftime was we’re 1,000% still in this game, and potentially if we could’ve gotten a goal a little earlier maybe we would’ve been able to shift the scoreline.”

Losing a rivalry match is never fun, but she was deeply aware of the impending postseason.

“Tough one, but we’ve just got to regroup and go for a run in the tournament,” she said.

The NCAA tournament selection show will take place Monday at 1 p.m. Given Friday’s result and USC’s national ranking, the Trojans will likely be a No. 5 or No. 6 seed. 

Having won last season’s match against UCLA before being upset in the first round by UC Irvine, the Trojans will hope the opposite comes true this postseason.