USC Women's Soccer 2021 Schedule Announced
LOS ANGELES – The 2021 USC women's soccer schedule for this upcoming fall was released on Tuesday, with the Trojans opening the regular season at home on August 19 against Pepperdine.
The Trojans' slate features 18 regular-season contests and one exhibition. USC will play a full 11-game Pac-12 slate along with seven non-conference contests. The Trojans' non-conference road trips are highlighted by a trek to the Midwest to take on Michigan and Western Michigan, as well as a two-game swing through Utah for matchups with BYU and Utah Valley.
NON-CONFERENCE HOME GAMES
USC opens the season with its aforementioned August 19 home game against Pepperdine, and then closes non-conference play with a matchup against CSUN on September 19. The Trojans will also host Cal State Fullerton for an exhibition on August 12 to kick off the preseason.
Pepperdine went 6-5-1 in the pandemic shortened season this past spring, but has been in the postseason six of the last 10 years and finished in the Top 25 four times in the last decade. The two Cal State teams did not compete this past spring, but Cal State Fullerton won the Big West in 2019 and has made the postseason five of its last seven seasons.
NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES
USC's first road trip of the season will be its swing through Utah, with the Trojans taking on BYU on August 26 and Utah Valley on August 28. USC will head to Michigan to face the Wolverines on September 3 and Western Michigan on September 5. The Trojans' finish non-conference road play at UC Santa Barbara on September 16.
USC and BYU squared off in a thriller this past spring, with the Trojans winning 4-3 in overtime at the Coliseum. BYU made the NCAA postseason for the eighth time in the last nine years this spring and finished the year ranked 17th in the country. The other half of the Utah trip doesn't get any easier, with Utah Valley coming off a 13-win season in which it made a run into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan, which features former Trojan assistant coach Jen Klein as its head coach, was 5-3-3 this past spring, but won 17 games in 2019, finishing second in the Big 10 and playing into the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Western Michigan was 6-2-2 last season and UC Santa Barbara was second in the Big West each of the last two seasons.
PAC-12 HOME GAMES
The Trojans open Pac-12 play at home, taking on Oregon State at McAlister Field on September 24. USC will also celebrate senior day when they host the Beavers that Friday.
Five of USC's 11 conference games will be at home this year, with Colorado (Oct. 7), Utah (Oct. 10), Cal (Oct. 28) and Stanford (Oct. 31) also coming to town.
PAC-12 ROAD GAMES
USC has six road games during the conference season, first hitting the road for games at Arizona State (Sept. 30) and Arizona (Oct. 3), then heading to Oregon for a single game against the Ducks (Oct. 14), before traveling to the Pacific Northwest for games at Washington State (Oct. 21) and Washington (Oct. 24).
The Trojans close the season against crosstown rivals UCLA on November 5 in Westwood.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The Pac-12 Network will televise all of USC's conference games this season, both home and away. Streaming and broadcast information for the Trojans' non-conference games will be updated on the women's soccer schedule page as it becomes available.
PAC-12 GAUNTLET
The Pac-12 will again be arguably the toughest rode to the postseason in the country this year, with five teams coming off postseason appearances and four finishing last year ranked in the Top 25. A Pac-12 team has won three of the last five NCAA national titles (including USC's 2016 championship), and five of the last 10.
USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Washington and Colorado all made this past NCAA Tournament and the Bruins (No. 9), Huskies (No. 15), Trojans (No. 18) and Sun Devils finished the year ranked. The conference is also just a year removed from putting three teams in the college cup (final four) in 2019.
McALISTER FIELD
USC will be back at home at McAlister Field this season after playing last year in the Coliseum. After the Trojans' season was moved to the spring due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, USC played its 2020-21 season at the Coliseum so as not to overlap with the USC lacrosse team, which also plays at McAlister.
FAN POLICY
For all home athletic events, USC will align with the latest state guidance regarding capacity for indoor and outdoor live events and performances, as well as county, city and campus directives.
Los Angeles County currently allows full capacity for outdoor sporting events.
LAST SEASON
The Trojans 2020 season became the 2020-21 season after play in the fall was moved to the spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic. USC finished the year 7-3-4 in an abbreviated 14-game season. The Trojans earned a bye into the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the eighth overall seed, but fell in PK's to Ole Miss.
USC's postseason appearance in the spring extended a run of seven straight for the program.