The BYU women’s soccer team had a positive finish to its regular soccer season, coming out with a 4-1 road victory over St. Mary’s on Saturday.
BYU started strong, scoring three goals in the first half and securing the Cougars a comfortable lead.
Seven minutes into the game, junior forward Carlee Payne quickly put BYU on the scoreboard, sending the ball into the back off the net off of a cross. Only four minutes later, junior midfielder Jessica Ringwood scored a goal of her own, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead. The third and final goal of the half for BYU came from sophomore forward Niki Fernandes, a player who has sustained a wrist injury for the majority of the season.
St. Mary’s scored its first goal in the 36th minute after Daelyn Paul took advantage of some confusion in BYU’s box. Going into halftime, the score was 3-1.
St. Mary’s came out more ready to play during the second half, trying to lessen the score gap. The Gaels took eight shots, but all were saved by senior goalkeeper McKinzie Olson.
Olson has made 281 saves in her BYU career, making her the all-time career saves leader. Olson has only let 16 goals into the back of the net this season.
Sophomore midfielder Rachel Manning put on the finishing touches, scoring the Cougars’ last goal of the game off a free kick taken by junior defender Lindsi Lisonbee in the 85th minute. This was Manning’s first goal of the season.
BYU outshot St. Mary’s 25 to 15, which ties the Cougars’ season high.
With this win, BYU finished its regular season with a 11-5-3 record and a fourth place standing in the West Coast Conference.
The NCAA Tournament field of 64 — hopefully next on the Cougars’ agenda — will be unveiled live on the NCAA website Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m.
