USC’s women’s soccer team is back on the road for a demanding Big Ten swing, with No. 8 Ohio State waiting on Thursday before a trip to Penn State on Sunday.
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are next on a schedule that has already been packed with high-end opposition. USC has faced four Top 10 teams through eight games, and this week brings a fifth such matchup at Ohio State. The Trojans were picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll, with Annabel Austen, Mary Cochran and Alyssa Parsons named preseason players to watch.
Thursday’s meeting also renews a series USC has handled well in recent seasons. The Trojans are 2-1 all-time against Ohio State, including a 1-0 overtime win in the opening round of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament and another 1-0 victory at BMO Stadium in the 2024 regular season.
Penn State has been a tighter battle historically, with USC holding a 2-2-1 edge. The last time the teams met, the Trojans pulled out a 2-1 win at Dignity Health Sports Park in 2024, when Helena Sampaio buried a free kick in the 90th minute to keep USC atop the Big Ten standings.
USC enters the week coming off a 1-1 draw with Oregon at home, extending its unbeaten streak against the Ducks to 14 games dating back to 2012. Oregon struck first, but Maya McDermott answered in the 50th minute with a curling strike from more than 25 yards out. It was her first goal and first points as a Trojan.
The Trojans’ 2026 schedule has been built to test them. Twelve of their 18 opponents made last season’s NCAA Tournament, including Stanford and Duke, who reached the College Cup.
Pepperdine, BYU, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa and UCLA also qualified for the 2025 tournament, and those 12 teams combined for 22 NCAA Tournament wins. Stanford finished as national runner-up.
USC is also settling into a new home base. Rawlinson Stadium, which opened just before the 2025 season, is entering its second year as the Trojans’ venue in 2026.
The $38 million project was announced in 2023, broke ground on April 9, 2024, and was completed last summer on the site of the former McAlister Field. The stadium seats 2,500, and USC held a ribbon-cutting ceremony before its season opener against CBU on August 17, 2025.
At the center of it all is Jane Alukonis, now in her fifth season leading the program. She owns a 49-19-14 career coaching record and was named the 2024 Big Ten Coach of the Year after guiding USC to a conference championship.
In four seasons as a collegiate head coach, USC has won four NCAA Tournament games and reached the quarterfinals in 2024. The Trojans also earned the first No. 1 seed in program history under her watch and brought in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class this offseason.
Several Trojans have already made their mark in 2026. Eleanor Morrissey scored USC’s only goal in the loss to Duke, her first career goal, and added assists against Pepperdine and New Mexico St. for four points on the year. Savannah Leifried made an immediate impact in her first collegiate game, assisting Morrissey, and also had an assist against Pepperdine.
Jaiden Rodriguez scored her first collegiate goal against No. 1 Stanford in a 2-2 draw and leads the team with 20 total shots. Lily Biddulph tops USC with three goals and six points after scoring against Pepperdine and then posting her first career multi-goal game against New Mexico St. on 8/27.
In goal, Josie Biehl has 29 saves since making her collegiate debut against No. 3 Duke, including a career-high seven against No.
1 Stanford. Jordan Hill scored her first career goal in a 4-0 win over New Mexico State and also assisted the final goal.
Lauder Headrick added her first career goal in that same game after entering in the 83rd minute.
Sophia Cavaliere returned to the pitch on 8/27 against New Mexico State after an injury derailed last season, and she responded with two assists in the final 13 minutes of the 4-0 win. Rhea Moore has been a steady threat through her first four collegiate games, finally recording an assist against New Mexico State while logging 324 minutes and ranking second on the team with 12 shots. Rhiannon Mahon, a freshman who has appeared in seven games and started once against Pepperdine, collected her first assist in that same 4-0 victory.
Hadley Snyder, a graduate transfer from Louisville, is the only USC player to start all nine games so far and leads all field players with 740 minutes. Peyton Nakagawara, a junior forward, scored her first collegiate goal in the 54th minute against No. 1 Stanford, helping the Trojans snap Stanford’s 20-game home winning streak, and made her debut against New Mexico State after battling injuries for two seasons.
Both games this week will air live on B1G+, with live stats available through USC’s schedule page. In-game updates will be posted on X by following @USC_Wsoccer.
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