The Arizona soccer team (4-7-4) will take on No. 11 USC (9-3-1) on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. at Murphy Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium.
This game will be another tough match following Arizona’s 4-1 loss to No. 2 UCLA on Thursday, Oct. 19. Although Arizona was able to equalize this game at 1-1 in the 39th minute off of a Megan Chelf free kick that Gianna Christiansen finished off, UCLA revived their lead, and continued to a win with 3 more goals.
History against USC
Since October 1994, Arizona has played USC 25 times, with Sunday’s meeting being the 26th matchup. The outcome of these games has been favorable to USC, who leads the series 20-4-1. Although Arizona has fallen to USC in the majority of games, the last matchup on Oct. 6, 2022, at USC’s home field ended in a 1-0 Arizona win, with the lone goal scored by Nicole Dallin in the second half with an assist from Chelf.
Last year’s win was a big one for Arizona, and it took many by surprise. It was the Wildcats’ first win against USC since 2013, and just the third win since 2003. Arizona must go into this game with a strong offensive start if they hope to secure another win and start their first ever winning streak against USC.
USC’s season so far
USC has come out looking very strong, with a current 9-3-1 standing overall and 5-1-1 record in the conference. The Trojans’ only conference loss was their most recent game against No. 24 ASU, where USC fell 1-0. Although this past game ended in a loss, USC outshot ASU 13-5 and held possession for 61% of the game with a total of 14 corner kicks on USC’s attacking side.
This season, USC has come out offensively strong with a total of 28 goals. Kayla Colbert currently leads the team in goals scored with 6, is tied for the team lead in shots on goal with 26 and she also has four assists on the season so far, making her an offensive player to keep an eye out for.
Wildcats to watch
Hope Hisey (#0) – Goalkeeper
Hope Hisey has continued on as Arizona’s starting goalkeeper throughout the season. She concluded Thursday’s game with four more saves, which brings her career total to 339. Hisey is only six more saves away from tying the program record for total career saves, and this game could be the one to bring her to that milestone. She is going to be a key player for Arizona, as USC has been offensively aggressive in recent games. They will make sure to keep Hisey on her toes this game.
Nicole Dallin (#23) – Forward
Dallin has been a very crucial offensive leader for Arizona throughout this entire season. She has a total of 8 goals and 23 total shots on goal, which both lead the team by a wide margin. In the last game against UCLA, she had just one shot on goal, and she has shown that she is not satisfied with just a single shot. Last year, Hisey scored Arizona’s one and only goal to USC, so she has proven that she can step up in these moments against the Trojans.
After a series of losses for Arizona, this game could be an important turning point if the Wildcats choose to go in strong both offensively and defensively and utilize star players.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
