USC Women's Soccer Opens Pac-12 Play Against No. 19 Stanford

LOS ANGELES - The 4-1-1 USC women's soccer team opens up Pac-12 play this week when they host No. 19 Stanford for a marquee matchup on Friday afternoon at McAlister Field.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW - Friday's game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network, with Christian Miles and Tracey Bailey on the call. Links for the broadcasts and live stats can be found on the women's soccer schedule page at USCTrojans.com. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter by following @USC_Wsoccer.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA - Keep up with everything USC women's soccer this year by following the Trojans on all of their social media platforms. You can follow @USCWsoccer on Instagram and @USC_Wsoccer on Twitter, and like USC Women's Soccer on Facebook.
 
SERIES VS STANFORD - Stanford owns a 19-6-4 record in the all-time series since the teams first played back in 1993. Despite the record, USC has fared better in the series over the last two years, picking up a scoreless draw in Palo Alto two seasons ago and then winning a thriller at home last year. Last season's matchup, a 3-2 OT win, saw the Trojans erase a 2-0 deficit and get the game-winner from Croix Bethune in overtime.
 
LAST WEEK - The Trojans closed out non-conference play at home last week, beating UC Irvine 3-2. USC scored all three goals in the first half and were led by Zoe Burns who had a goal and an assist. Simi Awujo and Aaliyah Farmer each had goals as well.
 
SPREADING IT OUT - USC had three different goal scorers last game and for the season the Trojans have had six different players find the back of the net through their first six games. Nine different USC players have recorded at least one point so far and the team has had multiple players score in three of their six contests.
 
JACKSON PLAYER OF THE WEEK - After her two goals and one assist against CSUN and Nebraska, Simone Jackson was named the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Week two weeks ago. Jackson has a goal in three of the four matches she's appeared in and is second on the team with 7 total points.
 
TAKING DOWN TCU - The Trojans made a statement earlier this season, posting a dominant 3-0 victory over then-No. 6 TCU at home. Croix Bethune had a hand in all three goals, assisting Simone Jackson for the first and then scoring the final two. Anna Smith made four saves in goal for her second straight shutout.
 
BETHUNE'S ACCOLADES - Midfielder Croix Bethune was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List early this season and was also rated the No. 1 player in college soccer by TopDrawerSoccer.com. After her 2 goal, 1 assist performance against TCU, Bethune was named to the College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer National Teams of the Week.
 
AWUJO/PAYNE/ADAMOLEKUN CALLED UP - Simi Awujo was recently called up for the first time to compete with the full Canadian National Team in a pair of friendlies against Australia. Nicole Payne was called up by the Nigerian National Team (a side she has competed for in the past) for a pair of friendlies against the USWNT. Olufolasade Adamolekun was also called up by the Jamaican National Team during the recent international friendlies window, for a matchup with South Korea.
 
U-20 WORLD CUP - USC had four players compete at the U-20 World Cup this summer, with Simone Jackson representing the USA, and Simi Awujo, Zoe Burns and Brooklyn Courtnall playing for Canada. Burns and Awujo started all three games for Canada and Courtnall started two of the three. Jackson came off the bench in two of the three games for the U.S., scoring the lone goal in the team's final game.
 
RECENT NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE:
Olufolasade Adamolekun- Jamaica (Full)
Simi Awujo - Canada (Full/U-20)
Zoe Burns - Canada (Full/U-20)
Nicole Payne - Nigeria (Full)
Croix Bethune - U.S. (U-23)
Brooklyn Courtnall - Canada (U-20)
Simone Jackson - U.S. (U-20)
 
STAT RANKINGS -
Assists - Croix Bethune (8) - 3rd Pac-12
Assists/G - Bethune (0.80) - 1st Pac-12
GW Goals - Aaliyah Farmer (2) - 4th Pac-12
Shutouts - Anna Smith (2) - 4th Pac-12