The color red is often associated with several different meanings – including love, anger or passion.

Unless you’re a UCLA athlete or fan.

For Bruins, red only means one thing – rivalry.

“We don’t like the color red at all,” said redshirt freshman forward Bella Winn. “Our goal is to shut them (USC) out and really make sure that we own LA.”

No. 18 UCLA women’s soccer (10-4-2, 6-2-2 Big Ten) will face USC (7-6-2, 4-5-1) on Sunday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium to close out its regular season. The Bruins are coming into the rivalry match on a two-game win streak after defeating then-No. 5 Iowa and Nebraska last week, but the Trojans – who are currently ranked 10th in the Big Ten – are fighting for a win to secure a place in the Big Ten tournament.

“I’m hoping we just continue our run,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa. “I would love to dominate in every facet.”

The Bruins’ defense has been particularly sharp throughout the season, leading the country with an average 0.313 goals allowed per game. UCLA has also posted 11 shutouts during its 2025 campaign – the highest count across the Big Ten.

UCLA held Iowa and Nebraska to one and five shots, respectively, in its shutout victories against the two Big Ten teams last week. Even in the Bruins’ most recent loss to Wisconsin, their defense limited the Badgers to just three shots throughout the contest.

Aozasa said it’s now up to the team to continue to lean into its strengths.

“We’re hitting our stride, which is what we want to be doing at this point of the season,” Aozasa said. “Just across these last two games – both Iowa and Nebraska – we were able to really show our depth.”

But the Bruins’ strong conference play last week didn’t just tack two wins onto their record. Winn – who contributed to each of the Bruins’ three goals against Nebraska – earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors – and freshman midfielder/defender Grace Shank secured the Big Ten Defender of the Week title for her contributions to the Bruins’ two shutouts.

Top Drawer Soccer also named redshirt senior midfielder Emma Egizii to its team of the week.

“We’ve made a statement within our past couple games, and we’re playing great opponents, but we made a statement in how impactful we can be and how good we can be as a team,” said freshman forward Payten Cooper. “We’re ready for any moment.”

The Bruins split Big Ten accolades with the Trojans last season in what was both teams’ first year in the conference. USC secured the Big Ten regular season title with a win against UCLA – but the Bruins countered that in the postseason, defeating Rutgers to claim the 2024 Big Ten tournament championship.

USC, which began the season ranked No. 4, has struggled to reach the heights of last year’s campaign after losing several of its standout athletes – including defender Brooklyn Courtnall and forward Maile Hayes – to the pros.

UCLA will compete in the Big Ten Tournament – which starts at Purdue University from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 – following its matchup against USC. If the Bruins advance past the quarterfinals, they will play at Energizer Park in St. Louis, with the semifinals and championship match scheduled for Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, respectively.

But even with the postseason looming, Cooper said she’s concentrating on taking down USC.

“I like to focus on the present and really get better each and every day,” Cooper said. “I’m really excited to play a great opponent.”