After a season of “road-home games,” the No. 19 USC women’s soccer team will play its October 17 matchup against No. 8 Ohio State at BMO Stadium.
BMO Stadium, located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, opened in 2018 and is the home venue for Angel City FC and LAFC. The Trojans last played at BMO Stadium against Florida on August 29, 2019.
Playing at this “premier venue” provides a unique opportunity for players and fans alike to experience USC soccer in this elevated capacity, Cody Worsham, senior associate athletic director at USC Athletics said.
“Not many college programs across the country get to play in a stadium like this,” Worsham said. “BMO is the best soccer-specific stadium in L.A., and maybe the best in the country. It was a win-win scenario for us, and we’re super excited about this opportunity.”
Jane Alukonis, head coach of the women’s soccer program since 2022, believes that playing in one of the “coolest stadiums in the country” and “one of the most special places in L.A.” will be beneficial for her players looking to continue their athletic careers post-college.
“I love the fact that our players can play in there and think, ‘Oh my gosh, if I’m in the NWSL next year, in the next few years, I would be on this pitch,’” Alukonis said. “I think it’s perfect for allowing our players to visualize that next level and be treated like pros, because most of them will be pros in the near future.”
Due to ongoing construction on Rawlinson Stadium, located at the intersection of 30th and Hoover, the team has played off-campus this season. Home games have taken place at Cal State Dominguez Hills at Dignity Health Sports Park, causing Trojans to make an 11-mile trip down the 110 freeway for games.
“At our normal stadium, students or families can just walk over, it’s really accessible,” Alukonis said. “We knew being off-site, it might not allow as many people to come but still, we’ve had quite a good turnout,” she added.
While the off-campus trek has added travel time for the team, the players have “embraced the road warrior mentality,” Worsham said. The Trojans currently have more road wins than any other team in the country.
Scheduled for completion in early 2025, Rawlinson Stadium will feature 2,200 fixed seats and a total capacity of 2,500 on game days. According to USC Athletics, the new facility will include separate locker rooms for soccer and lacrosse teams, spectator viewing decks, social spaces, a state-of-the-art press box, restrooms, a box office, concession stands and a formal entry plaza. Additional amenities will include a team meeting area, sports medicine space, a nutrition fueling bar, and dedicated areas for coaches, along with an LED video board and a stadium-wide audio system.
Before Rawlinson, Soni McAlister Field, built in 1998, was the home of women’s soccer and lacrosse. This $38 million renovation aims to “prioritize university excellence in athletics” and increase capacity, giving the Women of Troy a facility that is more than a “hand-me-down,” USC President Carol Folt said to USC Today.
Prior to the renovation, the venue fit 1,000 spectators. Rawlinson Stadium will more than double that capacity, allowing more fans to attend games.
The Trojan-Buckeye matchup was originally scheduled to take place at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but USC Athletics wanted to give the collegiate athletes a heightened professional experience, Worsham said. The switch from the Coliseum to BMO was advantageous financially, as well as a win for the players, he explained.
“When the team is home, we want to try to accommodate them as much as possible, because they’ve been so tough and resilient, and that’s what we owe them as an athletic department,” Worsham said. “We wanted to get them a couple of showcase games in a large stadium.”
The Trojans recently completed a successful road trip, winning both matches against Northwestern and Illinois to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten. USC Women’s Soccer is currently sitting at 11-1-2, with a conference record of 7-0-1. The upcoming match will be the first meeting between USC and Ohio State since 2009 and the first as Big Ten opponents.
Tickets for the match against Ohio State are free and can be accessed through this link.
The Trojans will return to Dignity Health Sports Park on October 20 to face Penn State on Sunday, before playing at BMO Stadium again in the final match of the season against UCLA.