Courtesy: USC Athletics
#1 USC (8-0) vs. Biola (1-5)
Friday, Feb. 7 | 5 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 2023): USC leads 1-0
Last Meeting: USC 20, BU 6 (Jan. 27, 2023)
STREAM | STATS
#1 USC vs. #6 UC Irvine (3-3)
Saturday, Feb. 8 | 1 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 1996): USC leads 38-3 (W38)
Last Meeting: USC 18, UCI 15 (Jan. 24, 2025)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 1 USC sets up for its first home games of the season with two tilts on tap for the waters of Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans (8-0) first host Biola for a 5 p.m. meeting on Friday (Feb. 7) before taking on UC Irvine for the second time this season in a 1 p.m. clash on Saturday (Feb. 8).
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. This week, the Trojans have risen to rank No. 1 in the nation in the latest rankings (released Feb. 5).
LAST ACTION
USC utilized a widespread offensive onslaught to pin up four wins at the Triton Invitational and claim the tournament title for the second time in three years.
#3 USC 30, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8
USC unleashed its highest scoring game since 2022 with a 30-8 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to open the Trojans’ action at the Triton Invitational. Three Trojans set new career highs in the game, led by Tilly Kearns’ seven-goal outburst along with five goals from Meghan McAninch and four from Sofia Umeda. USC displayed a balanced attack out of the games, with seven different Trojans scoring in the opening eight minutes as USC built an 8-2 lead on CMS. Ausmus had two of her ultimate five goals during that stretch, and then two more Trojans joined the scoresheet in the second frame. Kearns struck twice to get the ball rolling on her seven-goal outing — the most scored by a Trojan since 2021 — and help USC to a 15-3 halftime lead. Goalie Jada Ward gave way to Anna Reed for the third period of play, and USC’s defense would allow just one goal to go in that stretch. Offensively, Emma Lawson became the 10th Trojan to score to take USC to a 21-4 lead, and freshman Umeda got her third of an eventual four goals on the board in helping USC lead it 21-4 entering the fourth. Laine Hourigan stepped into the cage for that final frame, making five saves while the USC offense stacked up eight more goals on the offensive end. Kearns broke through three more times to stack up seven for the senior, and McAninch tallied to more to get to five on the day. Umeda’s fourth topped things off for the Trojans, who had a 30-8 win in the books.
#3 USC 17, #21 UC Davis 9
It was a tight one out of the gates with the Aggies, who tied it up four times in the first frame as it was knotted 4-4 after eight minutes of action. After a 5-5 draw in the second, USC manufactured a four-goal rally sparked by a 6-on-5 finish from Emily Ausmus. Ava Stryker, Rachel Gazzaniga and Tilly Kearns each struck next for the Trojan cause to craft a 9-5 advantage. UC Davis broke that up, only to see Ausmus and Gazzaniga hit next for USC. The Aggies scored a 5-meter penalty just before the close of the half, and it was an 11-7 USC lead at the break. Stryker served up three straight scores in the third to establish USC’s control with a 14-7 lead, and Meghan McAninch followed a UCD power play finish with back-to-back goals to make it 16-8 entering the fourth. Tilly Kearns had USC’s last word in the fourth, and the Trojans pinned up a 17-9 victory to take their place in the evening’s semifinal.
SEMIFINAL: #3 USC 17, #5 Hawai’i 9
USC USC was all business in its semifinal meeting with Hawai’i, jumping out to a 5-0 with goals from five different Trojans. Ava Stryker’s second of the game answered the Rainbow Wahine’s first, and it was 6-1 Trojans at the close of the first. USC pinned up three straight goals to open the second, and while goalie Jada Ward made stops on the defensive end, USC kept striking on the attack and got out to a nine-goal advantage after goals from Rachel Gazzaniga and Maggie Johnson before halftime. The teams matched each other goal for goal in the third, with Isabel Zimmerman and Ava Knepper joining the Trojan scoresheet as USC led it 15-6 entering the final frame. USC’s depth continued to show in the fourth. Morgan Netherton and Alma Yaacobi punched up their first goals of the game, and USC was up 17-7 with 5:27 left to play. Hawai’i hit on two last goals before action came to a close, and USC had a 17-9 win and ticket to the title match in hand.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #3 USC 14, #1 UCLA 11
Eight Trojans accounted for USC’s first eight goals of the game in a tight opening stretch of this rivalry battle. UCLA got out to a 3-1 lead during the first, but USC closed the gap and forced ties at 3-3 and 4-4 in the second. Emma Lawson finished off a pass from Tilly Kearns to snarl the game at 4-4, and then Ava Stryker hit fellow sophomore Rachel Gazzaniga for a go-ahead goal for USC. UCLA equalized again before halftime in converting a 7-on-6 opportunity, and it was 5-5 for halftime. USC’s balanced attack continued in the third. Ava Knepper and Morgan Netherton each answered Bruin scores to knot it up twice more, and then Alma Yaacobi became the eighth Trojan to score with a turn and fire out of set to make it 8-7 Trojans. Gazzaniga exploded for back-to-back USC goals next, and the Trojans gripped a 10-7 lead late in the third. UCLA broke up that rally before the buzzer, though, and it was a 10-8 margin entering the fourth. Gazzaniga’s hot hand stayed toasty as she rifled in her fourth of the day to open the final frame to make it 11-8. UCLA answered with two goal to close the gap to one, only to see Kearns let loose a lob soon after. Again UCLA got one back, finishing off another 7-on-6 setup to make it 12-11, but the Trojans answered the call and added to it. Emily Ausmus scored off the drive next and then the USC defense squashed UCLA’s next look. Ava Stryker let fly a bar-in blast at the buzzer, and it was a 14-11 USC championship victory.
NOTABLE:
– With seven goals vs. CMS, SR Tilly Kearns set a new career high and also recorded the most goals by a Trojan in a game since Denise Mammolito in 2021.
– SO Meghan McAninch scored a career-high five goals vs. CMS.
– FR Sofia Umeda scored a career-high four goals vs. CMS.
– USC’s 30 goals scored vs. CMS was the most in a game since a 33-2 win over Occidental (Jan. 29, 2022).
– JR Jada Ward set a new career high with 13 saves vs. Hawai’i.
– With five goals vs. UC Davis, SO Ava Stryker tied her career high.
– This was USC’s second Triton Invitational tile in the last three years, having beating UCLA in the 2023 final and finishing fourth last year.
– With four goals vs. UCLA, SO Rachel Gazzaniga tied her career high.
– Gazzaniga, Stryker, Kearns and FR Emily Ausmus have all scored in every game this season.
– With two goals vs. UCLA, Ausmus now has multiple-goal efforts in all seven USC games this season.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF’s weekly honor roll following USC’s run to the 2025 Triton Invitational championship. For their key roles in a powerful 4-0 run at the event that was topped with a title-winning victory over rival UCLA, Rachel Gazzaniga was named MPSF Player of the Week and Emily Ausmus is the MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Gazzaniga scored a career-high four goals — including a run of three straight goals during the second half — to help USC beat No. 1 UCLA 14-11 in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. She finished with nine goals at the event, having scored in all four games for the Trojans as USC also beat CMS 30-8 and No. 21 UC Davis 17-9 in group play and No. 5 Hawai’i 17-9 in the semifinals. Gazzaniga scored twice and had an assist, steal and block vs. CMS. Against UC Davis, she also scored twice and added an assist and steal along with two drawn exclusions. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine she had a goal, assist and steal. Gazzaniga also had three drawn exclusions vs. the Bruins, helping USC stay undefeated on the season at 8-0 after winning the Trojans’ second Triton Invite title in the last three years. A freshman, Ausmus scored 12 goals to help USC win the Triton Invitational championship. She scored twice and had three assists in the title game against UCLA. She opened the event with five goals in a 30-8 USC win over CMS, then had a hat trick in a 17-9 win over UC Davis to wrap group play. In the semifinal vs. Hawai’i, Ausmus scored twice and had four assists and a steal to help USC to a 17-9 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Ausmus has scored multiple goals in all eight games for USC this season. Gazzaniga and Ausmus are the first Trojans to earn weekly honors from the conference this season, and this is the first set of such honors for both.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Almost half of USC’s scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.
VETERAN VIPS
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC’s team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon‘s Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans.
STAYING CENTERED
USC’s center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.
ATTACK MODE
USC’s perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.
CAGE FIGHTERS
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They’re joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC’s goalkeeping corps for 2025.
LAST SEASON
In 2024, USC went 18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon‘s first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC’s 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC’s campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •
