Big Ten Title on the Line as No. 6 USC Women's Soccer Hosts No. 8 UCLA

THIS WEEK - The No. 6 USC women's soccer team plays its final regular season game this week, facing off with crosstown rivals No. 8 UCLA at 12 pm on Sunday in a match that will decide the Big Ten regular season title. The game will be played at the Dignity Health Sports Park Main Stadium, home of the LA Galaxy, with tickets free to the public.

HOW TO FOLLOW – Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on Big Ten Network. Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the women's soccer schedule page at USCTrojans.com. In-game updates will also be available on X (formerly 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, @uscwomenssoccer on Tik Tok @USC_Wsoccer on X, and like USC Women's Soccer on Facebook.

BIG TEN TITLE RACE - The Trojans come into Sunday's decisive matchup with 28 points and a two-point lead over UCLA in the Big Ten standings. A Trojans win or tie against the Bruins would clinch a conference title for the program, while UCLA needs a win. For USC, owners of two national championships, it would be the school's first outright conference title in soccer. The Trojans shared a Pac-12 title with UCLA and Cal in 1998.

RPI RANKING - New RPI rankings were released after the Trojans picked up two big wins last week, and USC checked in at No. 7. USC is one of three Big Ten programs ranked inside the Top 10, with Penn State No. 8 and Iowa No. 10. USC's lone loss came over a month ago at Stanford, who checks in at No. 9 on the newest RPI list.

COACHES POLL - The Trojans continued to climb in the Top 25 this week, checking in at No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. USC started the season ranked No. 23, but fell out of the polls after a draw in their opener. Since then, USC's only loss has been to then-No. 1 ranked Stanford. Last week the Trojans were No. 9.

D1 COMMITTEE'S TOP 16 - The D1 committee released their postseason Top 16 projections last week with USC checking in at No. 11. The committee uses adjusted Rating Percentage Index (RPI), head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents and strength of schedule to determine their Top 16 rankings. Along with the Trojans, there were 4 other Big Ten teams also in the Top 13 of the rankings.

WIN VS. NO 16 PENN STATE - USC picked up a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 16 Penn State on Sunday afternoon. Aaliyah Farmer was the first half hero for USC, putting the Trojans on top by tapping home her own rebound in the 23rd minute. The USC lead lasted until the 88th minute, when the Nittany Lions were awarded a penalty and converted the kick. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, Helena Sampaio was fouled about seven yards outside of the penalty area, setting up a free kick. With the clocked stopped, Sampaio took the kick and perfectly placed a shot in the upper left corner for the game-winning goal.

WIN VS. NO. 15 OHIO STATE - The Trojans and Buckeyes went 83 minutes scoreless until Simone Jackson scored to lead USC past Ohio State 1-0, Thursday night at BMO Stadium. Jackson was taken down in the area to earn the Trojans a penalty kick and after Maria Alagoa's PK attempt was saved, Jackson was first to the rebound, firing it home for the game-winner. USC held the Buckeyes to without a shot in the first half and overall outshot the visitors 12-1, earning the eighth shutout of the season for Laurence Gladu.

PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Maile Hayes leads the Trojans in points and goals with 16 points, 7 goals, and 2 assists. Against Oregon two weeks ago, she scored twice, which was her fourth career 2 goal game. Her two goal performance led her to be named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. She has 7 points in the last five games for the Trojans.
Maria Alagoa is second in points on the team having 12 points. Alagoa has 5 goals and 2 assists, including a goal and an assist in the Trojans game at Illinois, and another goal at Northwestern. Alagoa has 8 points in the Trojans last six matches.
Kayla Colbert and Helena Sampaio are tied for third on the team in points with 11. Colbert has 4 goals and 3 assists. Colbert Added 2 assists in the game at Illinois two weeks ago. Sampaio has 3 goals and a team leading 5 assists. Her most recent score coming Sunday against Penn State, where she scored a game winning goal with 20 seconds left, on a free kick from 25 yards out. With her clutch goal, Sampaio was awarded with the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week this week.
Senior Simone Jackson scored her second goal of the year on Thursday against Ohio State, that turned out to be the game winning goal. Last season Jackson had an impressive Junior year and was 5th on the team with 10 total points (5 goals) while being named to the All-Pac-12 second team.
Freshman Faith George has 9 points. George has 3 goals and 3 assists, scoring her third goal of the year against Illinois two weeks ago.
Freshman Ines Derrien was recognized with the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award last week after scoring her first collegiate goal on Sunday at Northwestern. After being fouled inside the box, Derrien was rewarded with a penalty kick, which she scored. Derrien has appeared in every match so far for the Trojans.
Freshman Jaiden Anderson scored her first goal of the season three weeks ago vs. Wisconsin. Anderson has appeared in 15 of the 16 games this season for the Trojans and has added 2 assists to her lone goal.
Goalie, Laurence Gladu, is the only Trojan to play all 1,440 minutes so far this season. Brooklyn Courtnall leads the way for field players with 1,356 minutes played.
Gladu's eight shutouts on the year are the 3rd most in the Big Ten and 18th most in the NCAA. She opened Big Ten conference play with three straight shutouts.
USC's 30 goals have been scored by 10 different players. The Trojans also have points from 10 different players.
USC has outshot 11 of their 16 opponents and on the year has outshot opponents by a total of 216-128.
USC is tied for second in having the most players with multiple goals in the Big Ten (6).

ROAD WARRIORS - With construction ongoing at Rawlinson Stadium, the Trojans started the year with nine straight road contests, going 7-1-1 over that span. USC's 9 road victories are the most in the country and the team's 11 total road contests on the schedule are tied for the most in the NCAA. The Trojans closed out their conference road schedule last week, going undefeated in their 8 conference road games (7-0-1).

RAWLINSON STADIUM - USC is making a big investment in its women's soccer program as the school is currently building a new home on campus for the team. Rawlinson Stadium will replace and expand upon the previous site of play for the team: Soni McAlister Field at 30th and Hoover streets just north of the University Park Campus. The $38 million project broke ground on April 9 of this year and is scheduled to be completed early in 2025.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Alagoa

Jaiden Anderson

Kayla Colbert

Brooklyn Courtnall

Ines Derrien

Aaliyah Farmer

Faith George

Laurence Gladu

Maile Hayes

Simone Jackson

Helena Sampaio