The USC women’s soccer team played to its first draw of the season against future Big Ten conference opponent Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska. Playing end to end throughout the entire game, both teams saw scoring opportunities, but despite sophomore forward Simone Jackson’s equalizer, the Trojans couldn’t find the go-ahead goal.
“It’s a tie that feels like a loss,” head coach Jane Alukonis said after the game. “We wish we had that first half back to do it over again, but Nebraska is a tough place to play.”
The Huskers, coming off a draw and two losses, attacked early in the first two minutes of the game with four shot attempts. The Trojans, on the other hand, took longer to settle in, struggling to find their rhythm and only getting their first shot off in the 15th minute.
Nebraska got on the board first in the 37th minute with a goal from sophomore forward Abbey Schwarz. Freshman defender Lauryn Anglim started the play with a shot towards the penalty box. Junior forward Eleanor Dale headed the ball to sophomore forward Sarah Weber who found Schwarz to tap the shot into the back left corner.
In the remaining minutes of the half, the Trojans continued struggling to connect and finish which ultimately led them into halftime down a goal and being outshot 11-6.
During halftime, Alukonis said the team made a couple of adjustments in hopes of finding a way to score and ultimately win the game.
“We got trapped a bit trying to build against Nebraska, and we were down a goal,” Alukonis said. “So we had to get different looks, different pictures, and just different mix ups and matchups, but certainly with the mentality of chasing the game, going out to win and trying to sneak in a couple of goals.”
In the second half, USC came out playing more aggressively than in the first. The Trojans would find the equalizer less than 10 minutes into the second half when Jackson took a shot through traffic just inside the right post on an assist from senior midfielder Croix Bethune.
In 2021, Jackson finished the season with five goals and eight assists – the second most on the team – and today’s match against the Huskers marked her third goal of the season so far.
“She’s been great. We’re very grateful to have her back. She’s just a handful for opponents and has a lethal shot,” Alukonis said of Jackson. “There were also probably one or two that she wishes she snuck in that were super close, but super proud of her and excited about her trajectory.”
With the end of the game being a back-and-forth battle to break the tie, the Trojans not only faced the pressure on the field but also off the pitch from the Huskers’ crowd whose cheers became increasingly louder in the final 10 minutes of the game.
In these moments, Alukonis said she always holds out the belief that the team is going to score, but as close as they came today, the Trojans weren’t able to pull out a win.
“You always hold out belief and encourage the team to go out and chase the game and win and today we came close,” Alukonis said. “But it’s one of the days where I do wish there was overtime still because I think we would’ve pulled it out but that’s also on us because we didn’t bring everything we had in the first half.”
Even with multiple shot attempts from both teams, the rest of the half remained scoreless making the final score 1-1. The draw marks Nebraska’s second tie in a row.
The Trojans move to 3-1-1 on the season and still remain undefeated in their last four matches.
Heading into next week, Alukonis said rest and recovery will be of utmost importance to make sure the team is ready for Thursday’s game when USC will host UC Irvine at 3 p.m. at McAlister Field.