Conference expansion series: Taking a look at the Big Ten’s new women’s soccer teams

The Big Ten may have been the most difficult conference in the nation for women’s soccer last season, with eight different teams earning a berth in the 2023 College Cup. Nebraska, Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State all earned top-five seeds in their respective regions, and the Cornhuskers and Nittany Lions made it all the way to the Elite Eight. But things are only going to get tougher with the addition of the four former PAC-12 teams. Both USC and UCLA made the College Cup last year, and Washington and Oregon proved they can be stingy competitors as well. In this latest installment of Inside NU’s conference expansion series, let’s take a look at what the Big Ten’s newest additions will do for women’s soccer.

UCLA Bruins (16-2-1, 10-0-1 Pac-12, College Cup First Round)

The 2022 national champions had a sterling encore season in 2023. Reilyn Turner, who was the College Cup’s most outstanding player in 2022, led the team with 10 goals and six assists, and graduate student Ally Cook added nine goals of her own. After losing to BYU on Aug. 31, the Bruins went on an all-time tear, winning 13 of their next 14 games with nine shutouts. The season came crashing down far too early in a stunning loss to UC Irvine, which tallied only two shots but squeaked out a 1-0 victory in the first round of the College Cup.

The 14-time Pac-12 champions are thus coming into the Big Ten with lots of talent and motivation. With both Turner and Cook departing, the offensive duties fall to Lexi Wright and Sunshine Fontes. The two combined for 11 goals and four assists last season, and both earned spots on the All-Pac-12 third team (despite Fontes only playing in nine games due to a season-ending knee injury). The Bruins also bring back two members of the All-Pac-12 first team in defenders Lilly Reale (who's made three straight) and Quincy McMahon (who’s made two straight). In goal, Neeku Purcell, who tallied 11 shutouts last season, will make life miserable for opposing offenses.

USC Trojans (11-5-3, 6-2-3 Pac-12, College Cup Second Round)

As one might expect from a program that has made 10 consecutive College Cups, last season’s USC team was deep and talented. Six different Trojans made the All-Pac-12 first or second teams, including Simi Awujo and Kayla Duran on the first team. Kayla Colbert earned a slot on the second team after leading the team in goals and assists with six apiece, and Helena Sampaio was close behind with five goals and three assists. Maribel Flores was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and she earned an All-Pac-12 third-team slot thanks to six goals (which led all freshmen in the conference) and five assists. USC lost just three games after Sept. 7, and all three were to tournament teams. The Trojans were also able to win a College Cup game for the seventh time in the last nine seasons.

And unlike its Los Angeles neighbors, USC is bringing most of its core back. Awujo, Colbert, Flores and Sampaio are all returning, and Pac-12 second teamer Simone Jackson is joining them. The most interesting position battle for the Trojans this year will be between the posts. With Hannah Dickinson departing for Villanova after eight shutouts last season, USC turned to the transfer portal. Sophomore Phoebe Carver had six shutouts and an 8-2 record last year at Arkansas, while graduate student Laurence Gladu tallied 193 saves in 47 games at Penn. If the Trojans can maintain or improve their stellar defense (0.89 GAA last year), they should make the College Cup for an 11th consecutive season.

Washington Huskies (9-5-5, 4-4-3 Pac-12, No Postseason Appearance)

9-5-5 might seem like a disappointing year for a Washington program that had won double-digit games in three of the previous four seasons, but that record doesn't tell the full story. The Huskies were 5-5-2 on Oct. 5 before rattling off a seven-game unbeaten streak to close the season, including a draw of national runner-up Stanford. Despite not having a single player make any All-Pac-12 team, the Huskies were still able to finish seventh in an incredibly deep conference. A great close makes sense for a young roster, and Washington certainly had that — 21 of the team’s 28 players last season were underclassmen.

Basically, all of that youth will be back this season. Hailey Still is the only player in the squad’s top twelve in scoring last year to not return. Olivia Juarez, who closed the season with three straight clean sheets in goal, will also be returning in between the pipes. The Huskies won nine games last season, and four of them were by one-goal margins. Each of those clinching goals was scored by a player who is on the 2024 roster as well. This program has made it to four College Cups in the last decade, and if the offseason creates as much improvement as the final month of last season, then that number could bump up to five.

Oregon Ducks (0-16-3, 0-10-1 Pac-12, No Postseason Appearance)

In a conference that saw five different teams win double-digit games last season, there had to be a team that came out on the losing end of those games. And most often, the team getting the short end of the stick was Oregon. The Ducks failed to win a game for the first time in conference play for the first time since 2004 and finished the season winless overall for the first time in program history. The team, as a whole, scored nine goals in 19 games, while giving up 48. The program has been struggling for quite a while, posting a record above .500 just twice since 2006. Oregon has also never made the College Cup.

There are, however, many reasons to believe that the Ducks could soon turn things around. Only nine of the 29 rostered players are upperclassmen, and head coach Graeme Abel was on staff for the US Women’s National Team’s World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019. Incoming first years like Taylor Person (a top-75 recruit nationally), Carly Cormack (2023 Hawaii Player of the Year) and Cloe Chase (10th all-time in high school career goals in the state of Oregon) will profile a much-needed infusion of youth. Abel was also active in the transfer portal, picking up players like Makoto Nezu (2020 national champion at Santa Clara), Haley McWhirter (2023 captain at Mississippi State, which won two tournament games) and Jayd Sprague (2023 first-team All-Big Sky at Idaho). Its schedule this season is tough — Oregon has to play nine teams that made the College Cup last season, including UCLA, Nebraska and Texas Tech. But if the new additions can gel properly, then the Ducks’ winless streak should end quickly in 2024.