Maryland women’s soccer heads west to play USC for first time in 18 years

After consecutive one-goal wins, Maryland women’s soccer travels to the West Coast to play Big Ten foe USC.

The Terps were able to turn around from their three-game losing streak after two conference wins against Indiana and Purdue over the weekend, moving to 6-4-0 on the season and 2-1-0 in Big Ten play.

“We went to Penn State to begin the Big Ten and I think we were disappointed on a number of levels,” Maryland head coach Michael Marchiano said. “There was a lot of reflection done by the team and also a lot of action taken by the team this past week to try to make sure we improve and I think we saw that in the way the girls played.”

A major contributor to the Terps’ recent success has been freshman forward McKinley Heaven. In her first collegiate start, Heaven was able to score her first goal as a Terp on Thursday against the Hoosiers in the 87th minute to secure the Terps’ first Big Ten win of the season. Three days later, Heaven again scored the game-winning goal for Maryland in the 65th minute against Purdue. 

For their first match out west, the Terps will face the USC Trojans (4-3-1, 1-2-0).

The Terps and the Trojans have a limited history against each other. Maryland is 1-2 all-time against USC, and its lone win against the Trojans was over 27 years ago. The Terps have yet to face the Trojans since their arrival in the Big Ten last year. Their last meeting was in 2007, when the Terps fell 2-1. 

In its first season in the Big Ten, USC finished first in conference standings with an 18-1-4 overall record and a 10-0-1 conference record. Despite entering the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed, USC fell to Rutgers in the semifinals on penalty kicks. 

In the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals but lost to Wake Forest, also in a penalty shootout.

USC head coach Jane Alukonis returns for her fourth season with the Trojans after earning the Big Ten Head Coach of the Year award in 2024. 

The Trojans are coming off a 4-0  loss to Michigan State – tying their largest deficit of the season. The Spartans outshot them 16-9 and took eight shots on goal to USC’s three.

USC’s goal differential has been roughly even, scoring 14 goals and allowing 13 on the year. The Trojans have struggled to get their shots on target, though, with a 31.6 shots on goal percentage. 54.5 percent of their opponents’ shots have been on goal. 

USC’s attack is highlighted by junior forward Maribel Flores and sophomore forward Jaiden Anderson. Flores, a former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, has a team-leading five goals and nine shots on goal with two assists on the season. Anderson has a team-high four assists with three goals and eight shots on goal.

 Trojans graduate goalkeeper Bella Grust, who was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week earlier this season, has 23 saves and 13 goals allowed this season. 

Maryland will look to continue its solid goal production. The Terps have notched four goals in their last two games after scoring only one during their three-game skid. 

However, it remains in question if the Terps’ latest spark on attack will see the field in either of their West Coast matches. In Sunday’s match against Purdue, Heaven exited the match and was carted off the field after colliding with a Purdue player on a header attempt. 

“She’s a tough girl, throw some stitches on it and I know she’s eager to get back,” Marchiano said. “We’ll see, she’s in contention, I think, to return to training soon, we may or may not see her in this game against USC.”

Coming into Thursday’s match, Maryland junior goalkeeper Faith Luckey ranks third in the Big Ten in saves with 41. While facing nine shots on goal against Purdue on Sunday, Luckey was able to make eight saves.

A West Coast trip like this is new for the Terps as a result of Big Ten expansion, but they will look to carry momentum into their newest in-conference challenge.

“At the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do when you’re flying across the country in a three-hour different time zone,” Marchiano said. “I trust that our girls are gonna be well rested and will be able to focus.”