The BYU women’s soccer team dominated the No. 6 ranked Nittany Lions Saturday night with a statement victory, 3-1 Cougars.
“Our team played fantastically,” junior goalkeeper Erica Owens said. “We’ve been working on shots this whole season and it definately paid off.”
Owen’s first year as a starter has been nothing less than great, coupled with the Cougar’s stellar defense, allowing only one goal in the last four games.
“It was incredible,” Ringwood said. “We came out hard and didn’t give up, and eventually our shots went in.”
The third goal was scored by Michelle Murphy and Carlee Payne Holmoe contributed as a great facilitator with two assists.
The Cougars struck first in the 13th minute followed by an equalizer by Penn State in the 29th. After the Cougars then scored two more goals, Penn State seemed to be gaining momentum and was awarded a penalty kick.
The golden opportunity was high and wide and the crowd went wild as the extremely important two-goal lead stayed in tact thanks to the presence of Owens.
“I just tried to make myself look big,” Owens said. “I give the credit on the missed penalty kick to the fans who were great all night.”
The fans came out in record numbers; a South Field first of 4,922 people came to cheer the Cougars to victory. The standing-room-only stadium gave way to continual chants throughout the night shouting Owen’s name after key saves.
“We are just so fortunate,” Coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We have such awesome fans and they are a big part of giving our players the energy to play hard all the way to the end.”
The loss for the Lions is only their second of the season, the first coming at the hands of the defending NCAA champion Stanford.
For the Cougars, the win is a huge statement to the rest of the country. BYU is now on a momentous four-game winning streak with two more home games next week.
