USC captures Big Ten regular season title, finishing conference slate unbeaten

CARSON, Calif. – The No. 6 USC women’s soccer team capped off an unbeaten Big Ten regular season with a 1-0 win over No. 8 UCLA to claim the conference title on Sunday afternoon at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Maile Hayes scored in the 36^th minute and the Trojan defense shut down the UCLA attack as the Trojans claimed the first Big Ten crown for any USC sport in front of 6,281 fans in Carson. USC moves to 14-1-2 overall and 10-0-1 in Big Ten action. UCLA falls to 13-3-3, 8-1-2. The win also clinched USC the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament which starts next week.

Hayes’ goal came after a beautiful combination of passes from Hannah Griffin and Helena Sampaio which culminated in the senior forward firing a shot between the legs of the UCLA keeper and in. It was Hayes’ team-leading eighth goal of the year and Sampaio’s team-leading sixth assist.

SHE CAN’T BE STOPPED! One more look at the game-winner by @MaileHayes5! 😤🔥✌️#FightOn x #BigTenChamps pic.twitter.com/bhf2ri1WEe

— USC Women’s Soccer (@USC_WSoccer) October 27, 2024

For the USC defense and goalkeeper Laurence Gladu, it was the ninth shutout of the year. The Trojans held the Bruins to five shots on the day, with Gladu making two saves in the second half. The biggest test of the afternoon came in the 67^th minute when UCLA’s Maya Evens fired a shot between two defenders that looked headed for the lower left corner of the net, but Gladu dove and made a one-handed stop.

The win caps an 11-match unbeaten streak to end the regular season and marks seven straight victories heading into the conference tournament for USC. The regular season conference crown is the first outright conference title in USC women’s soccer history. The only shared title for the Trojans came in 1998 when the team shared a Pac-10 Championship with Cal and UCLA.

SCORING

36′ – USC: Maile Hayes (assisted by Helena Sampaio, Hannah Griffin) – Griffin slid a ball to Sampaio near the top of the area and Sampaio turned and found Hayes running towards the right post. Hayes received turned a fired a shot through the legs of the UCLA keeper on her first touch.

UP NEXT: The Trojans head to the Big Ten Tournament in Minnesota next week. The opening round of the conference tournament will be on the University of Minnesota campus and the final two rounds are in St. Louis at CITYPARK Field. As the No. 1 seed, USC will face the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 10 am PT/12 pm CT.