The metaphor feels virtually too apparent, the iron-and-brick facade of a half-finished, $200-million soccer palace looming over Howard Jones Area. A refrain of building tools cuts by means of the chaos of a preseason soccer observe, the entire scene a reminder that USC, in 12 months 4 of the Lincoln Riley period, is constructing towards one thing.
The place USC’s soccer program stands in that constructing course of is a little more difficult to seize. After profitable 11 video games in Riley’s first season as USC’s coach, the Trojans’ win complete has declined in every of the 2 seasons since. Riley, by means of 40 video games at USC, now has one fewer win (26) than his predecessor, Clay Helton (27), did on the identical level throughout their tenures.
However in current months, a groundswell of momentum has been constructing at USC. In the course of the offseason, the Trojans retained top-tier defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn despite severe advances from his alma mater, Penn State. They added a rising star typically supervisor Chad Bowden, who has been an adrenaline shot to the complete program. They surged to the highest of the recruiting rankings for the category of 2026 and at last started setting the tempo within the NIL area, the place they as soon as lagged far behind different packages of their stature.
The one urgent questions now for USC, it appears, are on the sector. At the same time as enthusiasm builds for 2026 , when the soccer facility will open and the highest recruiting class lands, the upcoming season is a vital one for Riley. A 3rd consecutive disappointing marketing campaign would pressure USC to face some uncomfortable truths, a few of which the college can’t afford to confront.
“I just feel great about the progress that’s been made,” USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen advised The Instances. “And now we’re now in a position where our expectations are high. We all know what they are and that’s to win.”
The Instances spoke to Cohen forward of the Trojans’ season opener in opposition to Missouri State to debate that progress and the expectations that include it, for Riley and this system.
The next dialog has been edited for size and readability.
The place would you say the soccer program stands proper now?
“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of momentum, in particular this offseason, with a combination of moves and investments on the retention side of the coaches that we already had that were doing a great job within our program and culture. Just the quality of coaches overall is at an all-time high in my opinion. So that’s one big piece that’s helped with the momentum.
“The second is the front office development and just the hiring of [general manager] Chad [Bowden]. Chad being able to restructure his team and also restructure how all of our coaches work, how he supports Lincoln, how he supports the assistant coaches — he’s more than just somebody that’s developing a roster. He’s really a culture guy, and he’s been a great partner for Lincoln and the staff in football, but he’s really been a great partner for all of us, and he’s done a lot of bridging of relationships, both internally and externally. And top of all that, obviously, we’ve seen the specific momentum of their skill set from a recruiting standpoint coming to fruition in this ‘26 class.
“So that’s huge progress and has really moved us in a direction that we really needed to go in. The facility investment has obviously been exciting. Watching Bloom grow that quickly and the fact these guys know now that it’s real and they’re gonna be in it this time next year, I think that’ll help us from a retention standpoint. We’ve made so much progress this past year in NIL and how we invest in our student athletes in football, and then obviously being in this new era now where we’re entered into NIL agreements directly with students, I just feel great about the progress that’s been made, and now we’re in a position where our expectations are high. We all know what they are, and that’s to win.”
USC soccer common supervisor Chad Bowden, left, speaks with coach Lincoln Riley throughout a workforce observe.
(USC Athletics)
We’re getting into 12 months 4 with Lincoln Riley. In every of these seasons since he’s been right here, his win-loss file has declined. What’s your confidence stage with him as coach as we begin the season?
“We’re both aligned on the expectations that we have, and that’s to win. And Lincoln knows that. I know that. You know that. Our fans — everybody knows it. I would just say we’re really embracing those expectations together. I feel really good about the support and the infrastructure and the resources that he’s been provided. I know he’s energized by it. He’s motivated by it, and there’s nobody that wants to succeed more than Lincoln. I’m really excited for us to get behind him and the guys and the staff and see those results.”
What kind of tangible outcomes do you’ll want to see from Lincoln and this system to keep up that confidence?
“The whole idea here, right, is that we’re going to win. Our goal and our standard here is that we win championships. That’s what we’re working towards, and that’s what we’ve invested in, and that’s what my expectation is, his expectation is, our collective expectation is as a Trojan family. We haven’t even played a game yet. My focus right now is on supporting him, supporting our coaches, supporting our student athletes and really just moving this program forward — moving this whole athletic department forward. This is a completely different era that we’re in, and we’re laser focused. And I’m laser-focused on pulling every lever that I can and we can for this program to succeed and for all of our programs to succeed.”
