University Southern California Trojans
Photo by: johnmcgillen
USC Women's Soccer Opens 2026 Season Hosting No. 3 Duke
August 11, 2026 | Women's Soccer
THIS WEEK - The USC women's soccer team opens the 2026 season at home, taking on No. 3 Duke at Rawlinson Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW - Wednesday's match with the Blue Devils will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. 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 DUKE - The Trojans are 2-2 all-time against Duke, with USC winning the most recent matchup in 2023, picking up a 3-2 victory in Durham. Three of the four matchups between the teams have come in North Carolina, with the one matchup in Los Angeles happening in 2012 (a 2-1 Duke victory). Duke also won 1-0 in 2015, and USC won the first matchup in the series in 1999, 2-0.
DUKE CONNECTION - USC Head Coach Jane Alukonis was a four-year starter at Duke from 2006 to 2009. Alukonis started 76 of her 84 career matches and tallied five goals, including one game-winner, and 11 assists for 21 points. Duke qualified for the NCAA tournament each year, twice advancing to the quarterfinals during her time in Durham.
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.
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.
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.
HEAD COACH JANE ALUKONIS - Alukonis, who is heading into her fifth season at the helm in 2026, owns a career coaching record of 55-22-16 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.
HOW TO FOLLOW - Wednesday's match with the Blue Devils will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. 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 DUKE - The Trojans are 2-2 all-time against Duke, with USC winning the most recent matchup in 2023, picking up a 3-2 victory in Durham. Three of the four matchups between the teams have come in North Carolina, with the one matchup in Los Angeles happening in 2012 (a 2-1 Duke victory). Duke also won 1-0 in 2015, and USC won the first matchup in the series in 1999, 2-0.
DUKE CONNECTION - USC Head Coach Jane Alukonis was a four-year starter at Duke from 2006 to 2009. Alukonis started 76 of her 84 career matches and tallied five goals, including one game-winner, and 11 assists for 21 points. Duke qualified for the NCAA tournament each year, twice advancing to the quarterfinals during her time in Durham.
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.
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.
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.
HEAD COACH JANE ALUKONIS - Alukonis, who is heading into her fifth season at the helm in 2026, owns a career coaching record of 55-22-16 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.
Players Mentioned
Sunday, October 26
Sunday, October 19
Thursday, October 16
Sunday, September 28
