SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Returning to the Hilltop to begin a three-week home stand, the University of San Francisco women's soccer team (3-3) held Southern California (4-0-1) scoreless for the first 60+ minutes on Thursday night, but the Dons ultimately fell to the Trojans, 2-0, at Negoesco Stadium.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Hungry for an early goal, Isabella Ayau tallied the first shot on goal of the evening at 4:50, but was unsuccessful in finding the back of the net to start as USC goalkeeper Laurence Gladu denied USF's first opportunity. 27 seconds later, Ayau fired another shot, but was off target.
• As the first half played on, defense played a big role early as Southern California did not record their first shot of the match until 28:05. Manning her post, Kira Ybarra turned away the Trojans first chance at a goal.
• After the first 45 minutes of action, the match remained scoreless as USC held a 4-2 advantage in total shots.
• Coming out of the break, Lindsey Chau had a look at the cage at 50:08, but missed wide right on her first attempt of the night.
• Breaking through in the 65^th minute, Southern California got on the scoreboard first as Maria Alagoa punched home the game's opening goal at 64:48 to put the Trojans up 1-0.
• In the minutes to follow, Ellie Weissenberg attempted a shot of her own, but wasn't able to answer for the green and gold. Shortly thereafter, Faith George found a cutting Kayla Colbert in the box as the forward then scored the second USC goal of the night at 73:08 to give Southern California a 2-0 advantage.
• Down the stretch, Kaitlyn Sasadeusz logged one last shot on goal at 75:07 in addition to a shot from Lindsey Chau at 80:49. Unfortunately, the Dons could not find the momentum needed to claw back.
• Fighting until the final whistle, San Francisco battled with each possession in the closing minutes of the match, but Southern California hung on to take down the green and gold, 2-0.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Firing two shots each, Ayau and Chau led the way offensively for USF on Thursday night.
• In addition to Ayau and Chau, Sasadeusz tallied the other shot on goal for the Dons.
• Despite allowing two goals, Kira Ybarra recorded at least three saves for the fourth time in six matches this season.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's match, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with interim head coach Pinder Nijjar, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will continue their three-week home stand next Thursday when they welcome LSU to Negoesco Stadium for a 6:00 pm matchup. Live streaming, live statistics and ticket links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco women's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsWSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - ABM - for their continued support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.