USC Women's Soccer Heads to No. 1 Seed BYU for NCAA Second Round

THIS WEEK - The No. 22 USC women's soccer team travels to Provo, Utah this week for an NCAA Tournament second round matchup with No. 1 seed BYU on Thursday night at 6 pm PT. Should the Trojans advance, they'll face the winner of Harvard and Michigan State on Saturday at 5 pm PT in Provo.

HOW TO FOLLOW - Thursday's contest with BYU will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Links for the broadcasts and live stats can be found on the women's soccer schedule page at USCTrojans.com. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter by following @USC_Wsoccer.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Keep up with everything USC women's soccer this year by following the Trojans on all of their social media platforms. You can follow @USCWsoccer on Instagram and @USC_Wsoccer on Twitter, and like USC Women's Soccer on Facebook.

POSTSEASON DRAW - USC drew an 8-seed in the NCAA tournament after finishing the regular season 10-4-3. The Trojans have earned a national seed in 9 consecutive tournaments, appearing in each of the last 10 tournaments.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP- The Trojans finished Pac-12 play with a 5-2-2 record, good for a third-place finish in the conference. It's the ninth consecutive season the Trojans have finished top 3 in the Pac-12. After dropping two of its first three matches, USC ripped off a six-match winning streak, climbing as high as No. 11 in the national rankings. All but one of the Trojans' losses this season have come to teams in the NCAA Tournament: UCLA (1-seed), North Carolina (3-seed) and Arizona State. (Utah Valley lost to Grand Canyon in the WAC Tournament.)

OPPONENT INFO - BYU advanced to the second round via a 2-0 win over Utah State last Friday. The Cougars finished the regular season 14-1-3 (7-0-3), good for second place in the Big 12 regular season. They enter Thursday's contest winners of 7 of their last 8 matches, unbeaten in 12 of 13, with their only loss coming to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. BYU has racked up three victories over national seeds in this year's tournament, including a 3-1 upset win over then No. 1 UCLA on Aug. 31.

SERIES VS BYU - USC owns a 3-3-3 all-time record against BYU. The Trojans dropped the last meeting 2-1 on Aug. 26, 2021 on the road in Provo. The two schools have met once previously in the NCAA Tournament, a second round matchup back on Nov. 15, 2008. After finishing extra time tied 1-1, USC won the penalty shootout 4-2 to advance to the Sweet 16. That 2008 tournament result is USC's lone win at BYU in four matches.

FRIST ROUND TRIUMPH - The Trojans took care of Grand Canyon 1-0 last Friday at McAlister Field to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. USC controlled 67% of the possession, limiting the Lopes to just four total shots on the afternoon. USC got its goal in the 66th minute when Izzy Kimberly was taken down in the box. Helena Sampaio then converted from the spot to give the Trojans the lead they never relinquished.

POSTSEASON HISTORY - USC is making its 22nd NCAA Postseason appearance this season and 10th straight since 2014. USC has won two National Championships in its history, becoming the first Pac-12 to win a title in 2007 and then the first program from the conference to win a second title in 2016. The Trojans have only missed the postseason nine times in the program's 29-year history, advancing past the first round 13 times.
Last trip to each round
1st Round: 2023 - W vs. Grand Canyon
2nd Round: 2021 - L (PKs) vs Penn St.
Sweet 16: 2019 - W vs. Santa Clara
Elite Eight/Quarterfinals: 2019 - L at North Carolina
College Cup Semifinals: 2016 - W vs. Georgetown
College Cup Final: 2016 - W vs. West Virginia

FRESHMAN PHENOM - Maribel Flores took home the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award, the fifth Trojan to earn the honor and the first since Penelope Hocking in 2018. Flores started in 12 games for USC, scoring 6 goals (tied for the team lead) and tallying a team second-best 17 points in 2023. The freshman attacker also earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 Third Team.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS - USC had nine players named to one of the three All-Pac-12 teams for 2023 in addition to a pair selected for the conference All-Freshman Team. (# of career selections in parentheses)
First Team
Simi Awujo (2)
Kayla Duran (3 - 2 in Ivy League)
Second Team
Simone Jackson (3)
Zoe Burns (3)
Kayla Colbert (1)
Helena Sampaio (1)
Third Team
Maribel Flores (1)
Brooklyn Courtnall (3)
Freshman Team
Maribel Flores
Alyssa Gonzalez

PLAYER QUICK HITS:
- Junior Kayla Colbert scored a team-leading 6 goals in the regular season, good for 10th in the Pac-12. Her 18 points were the most of any Trojan and 10th-most in the Pac-12.
- Freshman Maribel Flores made 12 starts for the Trojans in the regular season, scoring a team-leading 6 goals to lead all Pac-12 freshman. Her 16 points were good for 2nd on the team.
- Junior Helena Sampaio scored a career-high 5 goals in the regular season, third-most on the team. She added a sixth goal with her PK in the first round victory over GCU. Her 13 points were third-best for USC in 2023, one of only five Trojans in double digits.
- Grad transfer Kayla Duran, senior Zoe Burns and juniors Brooklyn Courtnall and Helena Sampaio are the only four Trojans to start in all 18 games this season. Junior Kayla Colbert, senior Angeles Escobar, freshman Alyssa Gonzalez and junior Aaliyah Farmer are the only four other Trojans to appear in all 18 matches in 2023.
- Senior Zoe Burns and juniors Izzy Kimberly and Kayla Colbert have each recorded a team-high 6 assists this season, a mark that was good for fourth-most in the Pac-12 regular season. The Trojans were the only team in the conference with at least three players with 6+ assists.

REGULAR SEASON STAT RANKINGS -
Assists/G - Kimberly(0.40) - 1st Pac-12
Shot Accuracy - Jackson (0.567) - 1st Pac-12
Assists - Burns (6) - 4th Pac-12
Assists - Colbert (6) - 4th Pac-12
Assists - Kimberly (6) - 4th Pac-12
Assists/G - Burns (0.35) - 4th Pac-12
Assists/G - Colbert (0.35) - 4th Pac-12
GAA - Dickinson (.897) - 5th Pac-12
Points/G - Flores (1.06) - 6th Pac-12
Points/G - Colbert (1.06) - 6th Pac-12
SOG/G - Jackson (1.38) - 9th Pac-12

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Simi Awujo

Zoe Burns

Kayla Colbert

Brooklyn Courtnall

Kayla Duran

Angeles Escobar

Aaliyah Farmer

Maribel Flores

Alyssa Gonzalez

Simone Jackson

Izzy Kimberly

Helena Sampaio