No. 5 USC Women's Soccer Hosts Pepperdine, New Mexico State

THIS WEEK - The No. 5 USC women's soccer team continues nonconference play in the new Rawlinson Stadium this week, as the Trojans host Pepperdine on Thursday at 7 p.m., and then New Mexico State on Sunday at 2 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW - The matches on Thursday and Sunday will both be broadcast live on BTN+. 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.

RAWLINSON STADIUM - USC made a big investment in the women's soccer program with the construction of Rawlinson Stadium. The $38 million project was announced in 2023 and broke ground on April 9, 2024, with construction finishing this summer. The stadium was built over the site of the former McAlister Field and has a maximum capacity of 2,500 fans. USC held a ribbon cutting ceremony prior to Sunday's season opener against CBU.

SEASON OPENER VS CBU - In the first ever game at the brand-new Rawlinson Stadium, USC put on a dominant performance against California Baptist, taking down the Lancers 4-0. Jaiden Anderson opened the scoring, converting a PK from the spot in the first half and four minutes later, Ines Derrien scored her first goal off a long pass from Tanna Schornstein to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead at halftime. Derrien added a second goal in the second half after Maribel Flores delivered a corner kick that was headed by Schornstein to Derrien, who buried a one-timer. Flores got a goal of her own five minutes later to cap off the scoring. Bella Grust made three saves to pick up the shutout win. USC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the game and then played in front of a sold-out crowd that evening.

LAST SEASON - USC won the regular season Big Ten Championship in the program's first season in the conference last year, going 10-0-1 in league play and 18-1-4 overall on the season. The Trojans earned their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, playing into the quarterfinals before narrowly falling to Wake Forest. The team's .870 winning percentage was the best in program history and the Trojans' undefeated conference record was also a first for the program. USC finished the year ranked No. 5 in the final coaches poll.

HEAD COACH JANE ALUKONIS - Alukonis led the Trojans to one of the best seasons in program history in just her third year at the helm for USC and her third overall season as a collegiate head coach in 2024. She now owns a career coaching record of 42-9-10 and was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading USC to a conference championship.

COACHES POLL - After the season opening win, the Trojans remained ranked at No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. Coming in at No. 5. USC is the second highest ranked Big Ten team, with the league featuring seven programs in the Top 25, which is tied for the most ranked teams in a conference.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PEPPERDINE - The Trojans and Waves played in late August last year with the Trojan winning 3-1 in the most recent matchup. Current Trojan Faith George had a goal in the match which was assisted by Ines Derrien. Overall, since the first meeting between the programs in 1993, the Trojans have a record of 9-7-1 against Pepperdine, winning three of the last four meetings.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NMST - USC has matched up with the Aggies twice before with the first match resulting in a 3-0 win in 2023. Maribel Flores had a goal and two assists in the contest. In 2024 the Trojans traveled to Las Cruces and tied 2-2. Faith George picked up an assist last year's game.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE - The Trojans again play one of the most challenging schedules in the country, with 10 of USC's 16 opponents making last year's NCAA Tournament, seven winning at least one game in the tournament and one (Stanford) making the College Cup last year. Six of USC's opponents finished least year ranked in the Top 25 of the Coaches' Poll: No. 4 Stanford, No. 12 Iowa, No. 14 Michigan State, No. 17 Minnesota, No. 18 UCLA, No. 19 Wisconsin.

RETURNER NOTES:
Faith George leads all Trojan returners in points after putting up 3 goals and 3 assists in 2024. George played in all 23 games and started 11 as a freshman.
Jaiden Anderson is second in points among returners with 2 goals and 3 assists in 21 games played last year.
Ines Derrien also put up 3 assists in her freshman season and scored 1 goal, playing in all 23 games and making 7 starts.
Maribel Flores returns for her junior season after an abbreviated sophomore campaign after missing the first 8 games due to playing with Mexico at the U20 World Cup. In 2023, Flores was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after scoring 6 goals and posting 5 assists.
Molly McDougal leads all USC returners with 1,253 minutes played in 2024, appearing in 20 games and making 11 starts on the back line.
Alyssa Gonzalez is third among returners with 1,014 minutes in 17 games.

No. 5 USC Women's Soccer Hosts Pepperdine, New Mexico State

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Players Mentioned

Jaiden Anderson

Ines Derrien

Maribel Flores

Faith George

Alyssa Gonzalez

Bella Grust

Molly McDougal

Tanna Schornstein

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