No. 22 USC Women's Soccer Hosts Grand Canyon for NCAA First Round Matchup

THIS WEEK - The No. 22 USC women's soccer team begins NCAA Tournament play on Friday, hosting a first-round contest with Grand Canyon at 2 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW - Friday's contest with Grand Canyon 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 and have appeared in each of the last 10 tournaments. Should the Trojans advance, they'll face the winner of No. 1 seed BYU and Utah State.

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 is 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 - Grand Canyon enters the tournament on a seven-match unbeaten streak, finishing the regular season fourth in the WAC with a record of 14-4-4 (5-1-3). The Lopes won three straight matches in the WAC Tournament, including a pair of upsets over Utah Valley and Seattle U to claim the tournament title and the automatic bid. Grand Canyon has played nine games against Pac-12 opposition in program history, picking up a pair of wins over Arizona (Sept. 1, 2022) and Oregon (Sept. 3, 2023).

SERIES VS GRAND CANYON - USC owns a 1-0 all-time record against Grand Canyon. The Trojans won the only meeting between the two schools, a 6-0 victory on Nov. 13, 2021 at McAlister Field in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Of the six goals scored in that match, two were netted by current Trojans in Simi Awujo and Aaliyah Farmer.

POSTSEASON HISTORY - USC is making it's 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 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

SEASON FINALE - The Trojans fell 4-2 at UCLA last Friday night in their regular season finale. Kayla Duran scored her first goal as a Trojan to halve the deficit in the opening half and Simone Jackson got the Trojans' second goal in the 88th minute. It was only the second time this season USC conceeded four or more goals.

PLAYER QUICK HITS:
- Junior Kayla Colbert has scored a team-leading 6 goals in 2023, good for 10th in the Pac-12. Her 18 points are the most of any Trojan and 10th-most in the Pac-12.
- Freshman Maribel Flores has made 12 starts for the Trojans this season, scoring a team-leading 6 goals to lead all Pac-12 freshman. Her 16 points are good for 2nd on the team.
- Junior Helena Sampaio has scored a career-high 5 goals this season, third-most on the team. Her 13 points are 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 17 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 17 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's good for fourth-most in the Pac-12. The Trojans are the only team in the conference with at least three players with 6+ assists.

STAT RANKINGS -
Assists/G - Kimberly(0.40) - 1st P-12
Shot Accuracy-Jackson (.567)-1st P12
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 P-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

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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