USC AD says no one wants to succeed more than

The metaphor feels nearly too apparent, the iron-and-brick facade of a half-finished, $200-million soccer palace looming over Howard Jones Field. A refrain of construction tools cuts through the chaos of a preseason soccer observe, the entire scene a reminder that USC, in Year 4 of the Lincoln Riley period, is building toward one thing.

Where USC’s soccer program stands in that building course of is a bit more difficult to seize. After profitable 11 video games in Riley’s first season as USC’s coach, the Trojans’ win whole has declined in each of the 2 seasons since. Riley, through 40 video games at USC, now has one fewer win (26) than his predecessor, Clay Helton (27), did at the same level during their tenures.

But in latest months, a groundswell of momentum has been building at USC. During the offseason, the Trojans retained top-tier defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn in spite of critical advances from his alma mater, Penn State. They added a rising star in basic supervisor Chad Bowden, who has been an adrenaline shot to the whole program. They surged to the top of the recruiting rankings for the category of 2026 and finally started setting the tempo in the NIL space, where they once lagged far behind other packages of their stature.

The only urgent questions now for USC, it appears, are on the sector. Even as enthusiasm builds for 2026 , when the soccer facility will open and the top recruiting class lands, the upcoming season is a essential one for Riley. A 3rd consecutive disappointing marketing campaign would drive USC to face some uncomfortable truths, some of which the varsity can’t afford to confront.

“I just feel great about the progress that’s been made,” USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen told The Times. “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 Times spoke to Cohen forward of the Trojans’ season opener against Missouri State to focus on that progress and the expectations that come with it, for Riley and this system.

The following dialog has been edited for size and readability.

Where 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.”

We’re coming into Year 4 with Lincoln Riley. In each of those seasons since he’s been right here, his win-loss document has declined. What is your confidence stage with him as coach as we start 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 need to see from Lincoln and this system to preserve 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.”