USC Women's Soccer Heads to Pepperdine

Sunday, August 16

Malibu, Calif.

12:00 p.m. PT

USC

Pepperdine

Photo by: Katie Chin

USC Women's Soccer Heads to Pepperdine

August 13, 2026 | Women's Soccer

Game Notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK - The USC women's soccer team continues nonconference play on the road, heading to Malibu to face Pepperdine on Sunday at 12 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW - Sunday's match with the Waves will be broadcast 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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS PEPP - USC is 10-7-1 all-time against the Waves since the teams first played in 1993. The Trojans have won four of the last five meetings between the programs, including a 3-2 victory at home last year. USC also picked up a win the last time the teams played in Malibu, with a 3-1 triumph in 2024. Ines Simas and Edra Bello each had assists in last year's win over Pepperdine.

OPENER VS NO. 3 DUKE - The Trojans dropped their season opener at home on Wednesday, falling 3-1 to No. 3 Duke. The Blue Devils scored three times in the first half and despite a stronger showing in the second half, USC was unable to overcome the early deficit. Eleanor Morrissey scored the Trojans' lone goal in the 63rd minute, with Jaiden Rodriguez and Savannah Leifried providing the assists.

PEPPERDINE CONNECTION - USC sophomore forward Charlotte Ward is the daughter of longtime Pepperdine Head Coach Tim Ward. Charlotte appeared in seven matches as a freshman last season and played 47 minutes in USC's opener against Duke. Tim has been at the head of the Pepperdine program since 1998 and is in his 29th season in 2026.

RAWLINSON STADIUM - The Trojans are heading into their second season in Rawlinson Stadium in 2026. USC made a big investment in the women's soccer program with the construction of venue, opening the stadium just prior to the 2025 campaign. The $38 million project was announced in 2023 and broke ground on April 9, 2024, with construction finishing last 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 the season opener against CBU on August 17, 2025.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE - As always, USC will face one of the toughest slates in the country this year, with 12 of the 18 opponents scheduled having made the NCAA Tournament last season, including two who made the College Cup (Stanford and Duke). In addition to the Cardinal and Blue Devils, Pepperdine, BYU, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa and UCLA made the 2025 tournament. Those 12 teams won 22 NCAA Tournament games, with Stanford finishing as national runners-up.

B1G POLL/PLAYERS TO WATCH - USC was picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll heading into the 2026 season. Annabel Austen, Mary Cochran and Alyssa Parsons were named Preseason Players to Watch by the conference as well.

HEAD COACH JANE ALUKONIS - Alukonis, who is heading into her fifth season at the helm for USC in 2026, owns a career coaching record of 48-16-13 and was named the 2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading USC to a conference championship. In her four seasons as a collegiate head coach, USC has won four NCAA Tournament games, reaching as far as the quarterfinals in 2024. The Trojans also earned the first No. 1 seed in the program's history under her watch and welcomed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class this offseason.

2026 PLAYER NOTES:

Eleanor Morrissey - Morrissey scored USC's lone goal in the loss to Duke in the 63rd minute, the first of her career.
Savannah Leifried - Playing in her first collegiate game, Leifried assisted the Trojans' lone goal, sliding a pass into the area for Morrissey.
Jaiden Rodriguez - Rodriguez provided the first assist on USC's lone goal in the opener, setting up Leifried to find Morrissey.

NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS - The USC women's soccer program announced the signing of 13 incoming players this offseason, with the 2026 class ranked No. 1 in the country by Prep Soccer. The class includes seven incoming freshmen and six transfers. USC's top-ranked class boasts the No. 3 (Jordan Hill) and No. 5 (Rhiannon Mahon) players in Prep Soccer's rankings, the No. 1 goalkeeper in the country (Josie Biehl) and all six freshmen ranked in the Top 6 in their respective states and regions.

2026 RECRUITS:
Transfers:

Annabel Austen (Penn): 2024 and 2025 All-Ivy League first team, 29 career starts, 2,556 minutes played, 9 shutouts
Mary Cochran (Georgetown): appeared in 41 games and started 24, posted 5 goals and 5 assists
Taylor Jenkins (UConn): appeared in 23 games and made 15 starts in 2 seasons, named to All-Big East third team and All-East Region fourth team
Maya McDermott (Syracuse): started 40 games in 3 seasons, scored 2 goals and recorded 2 assists as a senior in 2025
Hadley Snyder (Louisville): appeared in 43 games and made 35 starts in 4 seasons, as a senior center back helped lead Louisville to 11 shutouts, starting 17 games and scoring 2 goals
Ashley Thurk (Minnesota): In two seasons at Minnesota, started all 39 games she appeared in; In 2024, earned Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Best XI honors, Big Ten All-Freshman team honors and was ranked the No. 21 freshman in the country by TDS

Freshmen:

Josie Biehl: No. 1 overall GK and No. 14 overall player in the 2026 class, member of USYNT from the U15-U19 levels, won a U17 CONCACAF Championship with the USYNT
Ally Griswold: Ranked the No. 4 player in the Mid-Atlantic region by Top Drawer Soccer and the No. 27 defender in the 2026 class
Jordan Hill: Ranked the No. 3 overall player in the 2026 class by Prep Soccer, Has played for the U.S. Youth National Team at the U16 and U17 levels
Savannah Leifried: Reclassified from the 2027 class to 2026; has played in the U.S. Youth National Team system at the U17, U18 and U19 levels
Rhiannon Mahon: ranked the No. 5 overall player in the 2026 class by Prep Soccer; has played for the USYNT from the U15 to U17 levels; competed at the U17 Concacaf Tournament in 2025
Rhea Moore: played for Dallas Trinity FC in the USL Super League, appearing in 7 matches and scoring 2 goals; became the youngest player to score in a professional game in the U.S.; named to the U16 U.S. Youth National Team Roster
Alyssa Parsons: ranked the No. 2 overall player in Florida, and nationally the No. 42 overall player and No. 21 Forward by TDS; has been a member of the USYNT camps and player pools from the U15-U17 levels; played in the USL Super League with the Tampa Bay Sun FC