Courtesy: USC Athletics
#2 USC (21-1, 1-0 MPSF) at #5 Cal (13-2, 1-1)
Saturday, March 22 | 1 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Complex
Series Record (since 1997): USC leads 51-18 (W28)
Last Meeting: USC 8, Cal 7 (March 23, 2024)
STREAM | LIVE STATS
#2 USC vs. #22 Brown (11-10)
Sunday, March 23 | 1 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 2006): USC leads 3-0
Last Meeting: USC 16, BU 5 (3/30/2013 | Bakersfield)
STREAM | LIVE STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC (21-1, 1-0 MPSF) has two more tests this week, first heading to Berkeley for an MPSF meeting at No. 5 Cal on Saturday (March 22) at 1 p.m. The Trojans will then return to Uytengsu Aquatics Center to set up for a nonconference clash against No. 22 Brown at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 23).
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. On Feb. 5, the Trojans moved up to rank No. 1 in the nation, and stood tied in that spot for the next two weeks before moving to No. 2 in the nation on Feb. 26. USC remains at No. 2 in the latest set of national rankings (released March 12).
LAST ACTION
USC secured four more wins to improve to 21-1 overall with its work at the Aztec Invitational last week.
#2 USC 15, #12 Princeton 9
Emily Ausmus hit a hat trick for USC against No. 12 Princeton, while four other teammates tallied two apiece. USC built out a 5-1 lead on the Tigers after giving up the opening goal. Rachel Gazzaniga had a hand in three straight scored for USC spanning the second and third frames, scoring on a 6-on-5 late in the half, then scoring again in the third and delivering an assist to Ausmus to help USC lead things 9-4. The Trojans would carry an 11-5 advantage into the fourth, where the teams matched each other goal for goal en route to USC’s 15-9 win over the Tigers.
#2 USC 18, Bucknell 7
USC squared off against Bucknell for the first time in program history. Four Trojan goalies factored into USC’s 18-7 win over the Bison, while Ava Stryker, Maggie Johnson and Tilly Kearns paced the offense with three goals apiece. Stryker had her hat trick on the board by halftime, helping USC to an 11-5 lead at the break. The Trojans unleashed five more goals in the third period to get out ahead 16-6, and Schneider stepped into the cage as the closer to help lock in the 18-7 Trojan victory on a rainy evening in San Diego.
#2 USC 17, #8 Harvard 10
USC unleashed the first three goals of its morning matchup with Harvard and gripped a 7-3 lead after eight minutes of action thanks in part to an early hat trick from Tilly Kearns and a pair of goals from Emily Ausmus for the Trojan cause. Harvard opened the second with back-to-back goals to get to within two, only to see the Trojans regroup and respond with three straight scores — one from Meghan McAninch and two more from Kearns to get the senior five on the day and up to No. 4 all-time in career scoring at USC. Up 10-5 at halftime, USC’s pace cooled a bit as the teams stayed in stride to a 12-7 margin at the close of the third. But the Trojans punched up four goals around a single strike from Harvard before the 2-minute mark as Alma Yaacobi and McAninch both got to a hat trick to help USC lead it 16-8. The Crimson cashed in twice more in the remaining time, while McAninsh rang up her fourth, and USC had a 17-10 victory — its 20th of the season — in the books.
#2 USC 18, #16 Michigan 7
Once again, USC rang up a 3-0 advantage out of the gates, although Michigan got on the board before the end of the first. An offensive explosion in the second quarter saw the Trojans pin up nine goals, including three from Stryker and two from Kearns and Ausmus, to craft a 12-5 halftime lead for USC. Trojan goalie Anna Reed built a wall in the cage in the third, helping to shut out the Wolverines while Kearns, Stryker and Ausmus delivered on the offensive end to take USC out ahead 15-5 entering the fourth. USC stayed the course down the stretch as Alma Yaacobi knocked in two for the Trojans and Sinia Plotz topped off the Trojan scoring with a 5-meter penalty shot, and USC finished out its time in San Diego with an 18-7 win over the Wolverines.
NOTABLE:
– With two goals vs. Bucknell, SR Emma Lawson matched her career high.
– With three goals scored vs. Harvard, FR Emily Ausmus broke the record for most goals scored by a USC true freshman, which was held by Paige Hauschild (68).
– With three more goals scored vs. Michigan, Ausmus now has 75 goals scored this season — the sixth most single-season goals by a Trojan.
– Ausmus has now recorded multiple-goal games in 21 of USC’s 22 games this season.
– With goals in all four games, Ausmus and SO Ava Stryker have scored in all 22 games this season.
– Now with 55 goals scored this season, Stryker is the third Trojan to record at least 50 goals this season — the fifth time in program history that USC has had three or more players score 50+ in a season.
– With five goals scored vs. Harvard, SR Tilly Kearns has now recorded a team-high six games with five or more goals scored this season.
– With four more goals vs. Michigan, Kearns has scored 70 goals this season — bettering her previous single-season personal high of 69 scored in 2023.
– Kearns now has scored 232 career goals at USC — now ranked No. 4 all-time.
– With nine saves vs. Michigan, RS FR Anna Reed set a new career high.
– In shutting out Michigan in the third period, USC has now shut out opponents in nine different periods this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 22 games deep into 2025, USC’s balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 75 and 70 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 55 to help lead a pack of six Trojans with 20 or more goals to date. In all, 17 Trojans have scored at least one goal in 2025, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into USC’s 21-1 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 19 games for the Trojans, and she hauled in a career-high 13 saves in USC’s win over Hawai’i earlier this season along with back-to-back 11-save outings at the BKI. Overall, the goalie group averages 7.6 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 8.8 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 405-193 so far, while holding teams scoreless in nine different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 18.4 goals per game.
CLIMB ON
Both Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns have broken the 70-goal barrier this season — now two of just 11 Trojans to have done so in a single season. Ausmus’ 75 goals is a new USC record for goals scored by a Trojan true freshman, bettering fellow Olympian Paige Hauschild’s 68 goals scored as a freshman in 2018. Kearns’ 70 goals so far have propelled the senior up the USC career ladder, now ranking No. 4 all-time in scoring at USC with 232 goals. Junior goalie Jada Ward also has joined elite company, now ranked No. 10 all-time in career saves at USC with 168 total stops to date.
ON REPEAT
In back-to-back weeks, USC claimed both MPSF awards, notching another sweep with Tilly Kearns’ first MPSF Player of the Week award of the season and Emily Ausmus’ second MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection on Feb. 10. The two Trojan Olympians were instrumental in top-ranked USC’s 19-15 win over No. 6 UC Irvine, while also helping lift USC to a 24-7 win over Biola in the Trojans’ home opener. Kearns scored five goals against the Anteaters after tallying two against the Eagles. Also against UCI, Kearns drew an exclusion and had a steal. In the win over Biola, she had three steals and an assist along with a drawn exclusion. Ausmus also scored five goals in USC’s win over UC Irvine after hitting a career-high six goals vs. the Eagles. She also served up three assists and had three steals and a field block in the win over the Anteaters while going 5-of-6 shooting. Against Biola, she added two assists and two steals to her six goals on eight shots. Kearns and Ausmus have each scored in every game for USC this season, with Ausmus tallying multiple goals in all 10 games and Kearns doing so in all but one.
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF’s weekly honor roll for the first time this season 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 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 Julia 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. •
