Courtesy: USC Athletics
#2 USC (16-1) vs. #15 Indiana (12-4)
Saturday, March 8 | 1 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 1997): USC leads 19-0
Last Meeting: USC 13, IU 8 (3/30/2024 | Bloomington)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC (16-1) is back in home waters this week, lined up for its MPSF opener with a clash against No. 15 Indiana at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 8) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
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 5).
LAST ACTION
USC hit a high gear offensively in collecting two wins in Claremont, Calif., topping host Pomona-Pitzer 20-7 and No. 21 Marist 19-10 at Haldeman Pool. Along the way, USC senior Tilly Kearns propelled herself up the career scoring charts, cracking the top 10 with five goals vs. the Sagehens and then making the move to tie at No. 5 all-time alongside fellow Olympian Moriah Van Norman with 215 career goals as a Trojan. USC is now 16-1 overall.
#2 USC 20, Pomona-Pitzer 7
USC blasted its way to a 7-0 lead on the Sagehens with six different Trojans striking in that opening rally. Emily Ausmus tallied two in that surge before the hosts got on the board. Tilly Kearns tacked up back-to-back goals next to get her hat trick on the board early and make a power move into USC’s all-time top-10 scoring list. Up 9-1 at the end of the first, USC kept chugging in the second behind some key work in the cage by goalie Anna Reed. Kearns made her way to five goals by halftime while Reed’s saves count also was a five at the break as USC rendered Pomona-Pitzer scoreless in the second quarter to lead things 15-1. The scoring pace slowed a bit for USC in the third, but the Trojans were still ahead of the game in taking an 18-3 lead into the fourth frame. In those final eight minutes, Rachel Gazzaniga got to a hat trick and Sally McCarthy joined the scoresheet while Reed wrapped the game with a career-high nine saves in a 20-7 final Trojan victory.
#2 USC 19, #21 Marist 10
Minutes later, USC splashed back down with Jada Ward in goal for the Trojan defense against Marist. It was tighter first frame at a 4-2 margin after eight minutes of play, but then USC found a groove and jetting to an 11-4 halftime advantage while Kearns and Ava Stryker each tallied two to help key a Trojan takeover. Laine Hourigan checked into the cage for the third, and only one Red Fox goal got through on her watch. Maggie Johnson got to a hat trick in this one with two goals for the USC cause during the third period. Gazzaniga hit that mark later in the fourth before Johnson netted her career-high fourth followed by a save from USC goalie Lauren Schneider to round out USC’s 19-10 win over Marist.
NOTABLE:
– With her five goals vs. Pomona-Pitzer, SR Tilly Kearns moved up to rank No. 9 all-time in career scoring at USC with 212 goals as a Trojan.
– With three more goals scored vs. Marist, Kearns now ranks tied at No. 5 all-time with Moriah Van Norman at 215 career goals.
– With nine saves vs. Pomona-Pitzer, RS FR Anna Reed set a new career high.
– With three goals vs. Pomona-Pitzer, SR Emma Lawson set a new career high.
– With four goals vs. Marist, JR Maggie Johnson matched her career high.
– With four goals vs. Pomona-Pitzer and two vs. Marist, Ausmus has recorded multiple-goal games in 16 of USC’s 17 games this season.
– Now with 58 goals scored this season, Ausmus is one of seven Trojans to score 50 or more goals as a true freshman — the last was Paige Hauschild (68) in 2018.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 17 games deep into 2025, USC’s balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 58 and 52 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 44 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 16-1 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 14 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 7.9 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 8.7 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 316-148 so far, while holding teams scoreless in seven different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 18.6 goals per game.
CLIMB ON
Both Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns have broken the 50-goal barrier this season. It’s the third time in her four seasons that Kearns has passed that mark, while Ausmus is one of just seven Trojans to have done it as a true freshman. Kearns’ 52 goals so far have propelled the senior up the USC career ladder, now ranking tied at No. 5 all-time in scoring at USC with 215 goals. Junior goalie Jada Ward also has joined elite company, now ranked No. 10 all-time in career saves at USC with 150 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.
SWEEPS WEEK
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 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. •