USC Women's Soccer Faces Wisconsin in NCAA Third Round

THIS WEEK - The No. 1-seeded USC women's soccer team plays in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament against No. 5-seeded Big Ten foe, Wisconsin, on Sunday at 4 p.m. With a win, the Trojans would play in the quarterfinals next week against the winner of Sunday morning's match between [3] Ohio State and [2] Wake Forest. USC will host the Badgers at Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

HOW TO FOLLOW - Sunday's match will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. 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.

ROUND 2 THRILLER - USC won a thriller to advance to the Round of 16, taking down No. 8-seeded St. Louis, 4-3, in OT on a PK by Maile Hayes. The Trojans took the lead three times on the evening, only to see the Billikens tie it up three times. Hayes scored twice on the day, with her first goal coming in the 12th minute. Simone Jackson finished off a pass from Hayes to put USC up in the 62nd minute. Kayla Colbert scored in the 87th minute to regain the lead. After St. Louis forced OT, USC dominated possession and chances in the extra period, with Hayes getting taken down near the endline to draw a penalty. Her attempt from the penalty spot was a no-doubter as she buried it inside the left post.

GREAT PARK - This week will be the first time this season USC is playing at Great Park in Irvine. It is the fourth different home venue for the Trojans this season as construction continues on Rawlinson Stadium, the program's $38 million on-campus venue. USC played the bulk of its games at the Dignity Health Sports Park Track Stadium, and also hosted Ohio State at BMO Stadium and UCLA at the Dignity Health Sports Park Main Stadium. The Great Park in Irvine is a 1,300-acre public park that focuses on sports, agriculture, and the arts. The Championship Soccer Stadium features seating for 2,500 spectators, locker rooms and training facilities, concession areas, an upper-level viewing deck and berm seating areas.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WISCONSIN - The Trojans and Badgers have faced off twice before, with Wisconsin taking the first match in 2002 (1-0) and USC taking the most recent meeting, 2 months ago during Big Ten regular season play. The Trojans scored a trio of goals in the second half to cruise to a 3-0 victory on Sept. 29. Simone Jackson, Maria Alagoa, and Jaiden Anderson all scored for the Trojans.

BIG TEN POSTSEASON AWARDS - The Big Ten Postseason awards were released on Nov. 1 and 10 Trojans were honored. Helena Sampaio was named Midfielder of the Year, Laurence Gladu Goalkeeper of the Year and Jane Alukonis was named Coach of the Year. Four Trojans earned All-Big Ten first team honors, with Gladu and Sampaio joined by Maile Hayes and Brooklyn Courtnall. Maria Alagoa was named to the All-Big Ten second team and Kayla Colbert and Simone Jackson earned third-team recognition. Faith George and Ines Derrien were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

NCAA TOURNAMENT - The USC women's soccer team earned the program's first-ever No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament this year. Playing its first season as a member of the Big Ten, USC won the conference's regular season title, going 10-0-1 in league play to secure the program's first undefeated conference season and first outright conference title. This is the 23rd NCAA Postseason appearance and 11th straight dating back to 2014 for the Trojans. USC has won two National Championships in its history, and has advanced past at least the first round 15 times including this year, while also being a national seed in the NCAA field each of the last 10 years.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE - The Trojans played one of the most challenging schedules in the country, with ten of USC's opponents making this year's NCAA Tournament (CBU, Pepperdine, Stanford, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers, Penn State and UCLA). Of that group, 8 of them received top 8 seeds, and five finished the year ranked in the Top 25 (No. 9 UCLA, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 14 Stanford, T-No. 22 Penn State and Pepperdine). 7 Big Ten programs are still alive in the round of 16 (Stanford, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State).

RANKINGS - Coming into the postseason, USC is ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the RPI rankings. USC started the season ranked No. 23 in the Coaches Poll, 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. USC is one of three Big Ten programs ranked inside the Top 10 in RPI, with Penn State No. 8 and UCLA No. 9.

ROUND 1 VICTORY - USC cruised past Sacramento State in round 1 of the NCAA Tournament, 5-0. Five different Trojans scored in the contest, with Brooklyn Courtnall (PK), Helena Sampaio and Simone Jackson scoring in the first half, and Maria Alagoa and Florianne Jourde scoring in the second half. It was the 11th shutout of the year for Laurence Gladu and the USC defense, as the Trojans held the visitors to four total shots. USC held 71% of the possession in the game and outshot the Hornets 20-4. The opening round five-goal victory was the largest postseason margin of victory for USC since 2021.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT RECAP - After receiving the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Trojans traveled to the University of Minnesota, where the first two rounds of the tournament were hosted. The Trojans received a first-round bye and faced off with Ohio State in round 2. The game went to OT after no score in regulation, but just 86 seconds into overtime, Jaiden Anderson scored the Golden Goal, to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. The Trojans faced off against Rutgers in St. Louis in the semis but were eliminated on PK's after a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtimes. USC dominated possession and chances in the game, outshooting the Scarlet Knights 26-11 and holding 66% of the possession.

B1G CHAMPIONSHIP WIN VS. UCLA - USC capped off an unbeaten Big Ten regular season with a 1-0 win over UCLA to claim the Big Ten title on Sunday. Maile Hayes scored in the 36th minute and the Trojan defense shut down the UCLA attack as the Trojans claimed the first Big Ten crown for any USC sport. The USC defense and goalkeeper Laurence Gladu posted their ninth shutout of the year, holding the Bruins to a season-low five shots. It was the first outright conference title in program history, with the only other being a three-way shared Pac-10 title in 1998. USC's 10-0-1 Big Ten record marks the first undefeated conference season in program history and sets a new program record for conference wins.

PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

The Trojans come into round 3 of the post season undefeated in their last 15 matches (the Rutgers result is officially a draw). USC had a season best eight game winning streak before drawing against Rutgers. Dating back to last season, USC is unbeaten in its last 15 home matches (7-0-1 this year).
Maile Hayes leads the Trojans in points and goals with 25 points, 10 goals, and 5 assists. She scored 2 goals, one of which was the game-winner, and added an assist in round 2 of the NCAA Tournament. Her game winning goal was her 80th career point. This was her fifth career 2 goal game, and second of the year (Oregon). In the first round, Hayes had an assist. In the Big Ten Tournament against Ohio State, Hayes had an assist on the game-winning goal in overtime. In the regular season finale, she scored the game-winning goal vs. UCLA leading her to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Her 2-goal game against Oregon led her to be named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. She has 16 points in the last ten games for the Trojans. She was named to the All-Big Ten first team.
Maria Alagoa is second in points on the team having a personal single season high 16 points. Alagoa has 6 goals and 4 assists on the year with 12 points in the Trojans last eleven matches. The 6 goals are tied for her single season high. Alagoa added her most recent points coming in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an assist on a USC goal. She added an impressive back heel flick goal against Sac St. in round 1. She was also named to the All-Big Ten second team.
Helena Sampaio and Kayla Colbert are tied for third in points on the team, with 15 points each. Sampaio has 4 goals and a team leading 7 assists. She added an assist in round 2. Her most recent score coming against Sacramento State, where she scored on a free kick from 22 yards out. With a game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining against Penn State, Sampaio was awarded with the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. She added an assist in the Trojans win vs. UCLA three weeks ago. She was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, as well as All-Big Ten first team honors. Colbert has 5 goals and 5 assists, with a goal and an assist in round 2 for the Trojans. Colbert also had an assist in the Trojans round 1 victory. She received All-Big Ten third team honors.
Senior Simone Jackson scored her fifth goal of the year in the Trojans most recent game against Saint Louis. She scored in round 1 against Sac St, which was her 20th career goal. Her third goal of the year came in the Big Ten Tournament against Rutgers, with her second goal of the year coming 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. She was named to the All-Big Ten third team this year.
Freshman Faith George has 9 points. George has 3 goals and 3 assists, scoring her third goal of the year against Illinois a month ago. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Freshman Ines Derrien was recognized with the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award a month ago 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. She was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Derrien played every minute (98) for the Trojans in round 2.
Freshman Jaiden Anderson scored her second goal of the season in the Big Ten Tournament, a game-winning goal in overtime to advance the Trojans. Her first goal of the season came a month ago vs. Wisconsin. She added an assist in the Trojans NCAA round 1 victory and has appeared in 19 of the 20 games this season for the Trojans and has added 3 assists to her 2 goals.
Goalie, Laurence Gladu, is the only Trojan to play all 1,920 minutes so far this season. Brooklyn Courtnall leads the way for field players with 1,809 minutes played.
Gladu's eleven shutouts on the year are the 2nd most in the Big Ten and 6th most in the NCAA. They are also tied for the 3rd most in a season by a USC goalkeeper. She opened Big Ten conference play with three straight shutouts. In wins over four straight ranked opponents to end the regular season and begin postseason play, her only goal allowed was a PK. Gladu was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year.
Brooklyn Courtnall has started every game on the back line for USC this year, playing a full 90+ minutes in all but 5 games. For her career, she has started 75 of the 76 games she has appeared in. She scored her first career goal on Sunday against Sacramento St.
USC's 42 goals have been scored by 12 different players. The Trojans also have points from 12 different players.
USC has outshot 16 of their 21 opponents and on the year has outshot opponents by a total of 311-166.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Alagoa

Jaiden Anderson

Kayla Colbert

Brooklyn Courtnall

Ines Derrien

Faith George

Laurence Gladu

Maile Hayes

Simone Jackson

Florianne Jourde

Helena Sampaio