No. 24 USC Women's Soccer Hosts Minnesota, Wisconsin for First Home Games

THIS WEEK - The No. 24 USC women's soccer team plays its first home games of the season this week, hosting Minnesota on Thursday and Wisconsin on Sunday. Both Big Ten contests will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.

HOW TO FOLLOW - Both Thursday and Sunday's matches will be broadcast live on BTN+. Links for the broadcasts 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.

TICKETS/PROMOTIONS – All USC home games at Dignity Health Sports Park are free and open to the public this season. The first 100 fans in attendance on Thursday night will receive a free USC x B1G hat to commemorate the first Big Ten home game for any USC program. The Trojans will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Sunday's game against Wisconsin.

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.

B1G SEASON - USC is playing in its first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. USC announced in June of 2022 that the school would be making a move to the Big Ten. UCLA, Washington and Oregon also announced they would be moving to the conference with the Trojans. USC women's soccer's conference opener against Washington on Sept. 12 was the first Big Ten game for any of the school's programs and Thursday's game against Minnesota is the first Big Ten home game for any USC program.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS MINNESOTA - The Trojans and the Golden Gophers have only met once all time, dating back to 2012 when USC fell at home (4-1). It will be the schools' first matchup as members of the same conference.

ALL TIME SERIES VS WISCONSIN - The Trojans have only faced off against the Badgers once, with that meeting coming in 2002 when USC fell (0-1) in a neutral site game. USC outshot Wisconsin by a 20-6 margin and had a 10-1 advantage on corner kicks. Sunday is the first time the two programs will meet as conference foes.

SUNDAY'S WIN AT INDIANA - The Trojans scored twice in the second half at Indiana to pick up a 2-0 win on the road and move to 3-0 in Big Ten play. After a scoreless first half, Helena Sampaio broke the game open with a stunning goal in the 63rd minute. Just 4 minutes later, Kayla Colbert doubled the Trojan lead with a goal of her own, assisted by Sampaio and Jaiden Anderson, in the 67th minute. Laurence Gladu made three saves in the game to pick up her fifth shutout of the season, while the defense only allowed 8 total shots from the Hoosiers.

WIN LAST WEEK AT PURDUE - The Trojans picked up their second Big Ten win in as many games on Thursday night, taking down Purdue 1-0. It took just over four minutes into the game for USC to strike. Hannah Griffin slid a ball forward to Kayla Colbert up the right side and Colbert sent a one-touch pass back to the middle for Faith George. George finished on one touch as well, beating the keeper to the near post from just outside the six-yard box. The Trojan defense was stellar while USC had a 10-4 shots advantage after holding the home team to a pair of shots in both halves. It was the fourth shutout of the season for Laurence Gladu.

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 7 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.

RPI RANKING - The second RPI rankings of the season were released this week and the Trojans checked in at No. 9 after going 7-1-1 on the road through the early part of the season. USC is one of four Big Ten teams in the Top 9, with Michigan State No. 1, Penn State No. 6, and Ohio State No. 7. USC's lone loss came from Stanford, who checks in at No. 17 on the RPI list.

COACHES POLL - The Trojans remained in the Top 25 this week, checking in at No. 24 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 broke back into the poll at No. 25.

PLAYER/TEAM NOTES:

Four Trojans are tied for the team lead in points with Kayla Colbert, Faith George, Maile Hayes, and Helena Sampaio all having 7 points. Colbert and Hayes lead the team with 3 goals each. George and Sampao are tied with the team lead in assists with 3.
Goalie, Laurence Gladu, is the only Trojan to play all 810 minutes so far this season. Brooklyn Courtnall leads the way for field players with 726 minutes played.
Gladu's five shutouts on the year are the 3rd most in the Big Ten and 14th most in the NCAA. She has three straight shutouts to open conference play.
USC has not allowed a goal since the start of Big Ten play and owns a 318 minute scoreless streak coming into play this week.
USC's 15 goals have been scored by 6 different players. The Trojans also have points from 9 different players.
USC has outshot 6 of their 9 opponents and on the year has outshot opponents by a total of 109-78.

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Players Mentioned

Jaiden Anderson

Kayla Colbert

Brooklyn Courtnall

Faith George

Laurence Gladu

Hannah Griffin

Maile Hayes

Helena Sampaio