By JOE DANA
They’re a stubborn bunch.
That’s what 15 other teams learned this weekend after the BYU Cougars won their fourth straight national championship in Statesboro, Ga., on Saturday. The Cougars refused to hand over the title that many expected would be relinquished by the sixth-seeded Cougars.
“We never lost sight of winning the national championship — never,” said senior defender Abe Millet.
During the weekend, BYU upset powerhouses Michigan and Weber State, and then frustrated Texas Tech in the final game in a grueling 1-0 defensive standoff.
“That was the most incredible team effort I’ve ever seen,” said head coach Chris Watkins.
Part of that effort was a dominating defense that allowed just three goals in the six games played.
Heading the stop was all-tournament defender Dax Cuthbert.
“He played a ridiculous amount of minutes and was incredibly solid the whole time,” Watkins said.
Cuthbert played almost every minute of the tournament, which over the three days became a grueling test of stamina for the players, Watkins said. Michigan, which was favored to win the tournament, only managed one goal against the Cougars on Friday.
“Every time the other team got the ball, we just shut them down,” Cuthbert said.
Junior midfielder Bryce Jolley won MVP honors of the tournament, emerging as one of the many who stepped up to play what other teams thought would be a one-dimensional, Brandon LeRoy-led offense.
“The book on us was that we had LeRoy and that was it,” Watkins said, referring to the other teams’ game plans.
But Jolley and the Cougars’ hoarding defense and deep bench added their own pages to the team’s four-peat story.
“Every time someone came in, they could be counted on. It wasn’t just the starters and the first twelve, but it was an effort of 24,” Cuthbert said.
Against state rival Weber State, a trio of bench players provided the offense and sweet revenge for BYU, who lost to the Wildcats in Provo earlier in the year. Freshmen Brock Blake and Devin Matsumori, along with sophomore Casey Waldron, all scored goals, symbolizing a tournament that was decided by the lesser-knowns of the Cougars.
“It was the depth of our bench that made the difference,” Watkins said.
Despite all the attention and double teaming, LeRoy still made his presence known, winning all-tournament honors and leading the team in scoring. He also had key assists during the tournament, including the pass to Jolley, who scored what became the game-winning goal in the championship game.
“He had the skill and speed to hold off his man, beat him and then play the ball across to someone else who was always open in the middle,” Cuthbert said.
