USC women’s soccer head coach Jane Alukonis departs after five seasons

LOS ANGELES — USC and women’s soccer head coach Jane Alukonis are parting ways after five seasons, the University announced. A national search for the program’s next head coach will begin immediately.

Alukonis, who was hired in 2022 as the fifth head coach in program history, led the Trojans to a 50-26-19 record over the last five seasons. USC made three NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure, including receiving the program’s first ever No. 1 seed in 2024. Alukonis led the Trojans to a Big Ten title in that 2024 season and was named the conference’s coach of the year after USC went 18-1-4 and made a run into the Elite Eight. The 2024 squad’s .870 winning percentage was the best in program history.

The Trojans (2-10-6 overall, 1-7-4 Big Ten) finished the 2026 regular season 16th in the Big Ten standings and did not advance to the conference tournament. USC faced seven ranked opponents in 18 games this season, playing to a draw with then-No. 1 Stanford on the road early in the year. The Trojans’ wins came at home against New Mexico State and on the road at Northwestern.

With Alukonis at the helm, USC produced five All-Americans, two semifinalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, four conference players of the year and 23 all-conference selections.

Alukonis came to USC after spending four years as an assistant at UCLA, where she helped guide the Bruins to two Pac-12 Championships and an NCAA College Cup appearance.

Also a standout collegiate athlete in her own right, Alukonis was a four-year starter at Duke from 2006 to 2009. She started 76 of her 84 career matches and tallied five goals, including one game-winner, and 11 assists for 21 points. Duke qualified for the NCAA tournament each year, twice advancing to the quarterfinals during her collegiate career.