For the first time since Aug. 28, USC women’s soccer has held its opponent to no goals.
Led by head coach Jane Alukonis, the Trojans (5-3-1, 2-2-0) dominated the Maryland Terrapins (6-5, 2-2) in a chilly 3-0 autumn showdown under the lights at Rawlinson Stadium. The two teams faced off for the first time since 2007, with USC now leading the all time series 3-1.
It all started with a magical strike off the right foot of junior forward Maribel Flores in the seventh minute. From 22 yards out, she fired a free kick into the top right corner, giving USC the 1-0 lead.
“That was a ripper,” Alukonis said of the goal. “One of the best free kicks I’ve ever seen.”
Later in the first half, sophomore midfielder Katie Park slid in behind the defense and drew a penalty for the Trojans. After a short video review, the call was confirmed and a prime opportunity to extend the lead to two emerged.
With Park ready to step up for the penalty, chaos ensued when the fire alarm at the stadium was triggered. This led to a 15 minute delay, leaving Park with only her thoughts as she awaited her chance at glory.
After the fire department finally cleared the game to continue in the 38th minute, Park handily slotted her penalty home into the bottom right corner.
“Katie Park’s club coach has told me before, she’s ice cold,” Alukonis said.
After a quiet second half, the Trojans finished off the Terrapins when junior forward Hana Mizumoto scored her second goal of the season in the 89th minute, chipping a nice shot over the head of Maryland redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Faith Luckey.
The Trojans outshot Maryland 15-4, showing how truly dominant they were tonight.
USC allowed just one shot on goal, which didn’t come until the 30th minute of the match. Freshman defender Edra Bello helped set the tone defensively for the Trojans.
Bello has been a member of the U.S. Youth National team since 2022 and is second in minutes played by a freshman. She has also started in all eight games for the Trojans this season and has been one of the key pieces in USC’s three shutouts this season.
“[I’m] trying to play my role as a center back and leading the team, being positive, communicating, just helping everyone when I can, just making sure we’re all organized as a team together in the back line,” Bello said. “I think just always as a defender, it’s important to be focused on the game and be ready for anything,”
USC’s defense was certainly ready for anything against the Terrapins, holding them scoreless throughout the night.
With momentum starting to build, the Trojans will look to win back-to-back conference games for the first time this season on Sunday when they host Rutgers at Rawlinson Stadium.