Emma Hamberlin opens collegiate account with brace to guide No. 9 BYU past USC in home opener

PROVO — All spring and through the first few weeks of the 2026 fall campaign, Emma Hamberlin was convinced her future on the BYU women’s soccer team would come at center back.

That may still be the case. But her present remains an attacking threat.

The junior from Vienna, Virginia scored two second-half goals — the first two of her collegiate career — to lift the ninth-ranked Cougars to a 2-0 win over USC in front of an announced crowd of 3,236 fans Saturday night at South Field.

“We’ve been training her as a center back just because we need to have some depth there,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said, “and we believe Emma is so versatile that she can do a lot of different things for us. But to see her go in and do what she did shows she’s just a natural attacker; it’s what she’s done her whole life.

“I’m really excited for her to have that success.”

After arriving at BYU as a 2023 Girls Academy League national champion and 4.0 student, the junior who was born in France started eight of 13 games as a freshman, registering two assists before her season was cut short Oct. 4 against Arizona. She returned a year later, coming off the bench in 23 appearances and averaging 21 minutes per game with two assists.

With the dearth at center back going into the 2026 campaign, BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood and her coaching staff tried to move the versatile 5-foot-8 playmaker after the 11-7-6 campaign that ended Nov. 24 in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

But Saturday night, Hamberlin was in a familiar spot, coming off the bench to play 45 minutes for her first career brace in a game BYU out-shot the Trojans 12-11 but relied on five saves in the first 68 minutes from senior goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson.

“We knew we just had to stick to our process, play BYU soccer, and we knew if we did, the goals would come,” Hamberlin said. “And they did.”

Emma Hamberlin scored her first two collegiate goals against USC tonight! 👊🥹 pic.twitter.com/WjC4bpArBn

— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) August 23, 2026

The two collegiate sides played to a scoreless first half in their 12th meeting all-time, matching one another shot-for-shot with five apiece.

Jaiden Rodriguez led the first 45 minutes with two of USC’s three shots on target, and the Trojans held BYU to just two shots on goal before the break.

Hamberlin struck first for the Cougars, finishing a chance in front of net that Emma Neff crossed into the box and pinged off a pair of USC defenders in the 70th minute for the 1-0 advantage.

“I thought we did enough to deserve that goal,” Rockwood said. “We had some really good looks, and some combination play; we moved the ball really well. USC is a fantastic team, and they’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

But she saved her best for last.

Hamberlin doubled the advantage in the 84th minute, rounding the corner of the penalty box to finish a pass from Afton Perry with a laser off the far post.

It’s the type of shot Hamberlin says she has been working on for a year — and the type of build up she’s seen plenty before in BYU’s 2-1 start against a trio of Big Ten opponents.

“Afton has been killing it; she’s so good at one-v-ones, and when I saw her driving, I knew she was going to get a cross off,” the goal scorer said. “I found that pocket in between the defenders, looked up, and saw the far post was open. So I just took a shot, curled it, and it bounced off the post to make it that much sweeter.”

The Cougars continue their four-match homestand against a fourth-straight Big Ten foe Thursday, Aug. 27, hosting Minnesota at South Field (7 p.m. MT, ESPN+).