Men’s soccer falls short against Boulder Rapids
A goal in the game’s final minute silenced the BYU men’s soccer team’s largest home crowd of the year as the Cougars lost 2-1 to the Boulder Rapids Reserves Saturday night.
The Reserves’ winning goal came in the 90th minute of play on a perfectly played counter-attack. BYU played for the win on its home field, attacking full-force in the final moments. But Boulder Rapids gained possession and retaliated quickly, and two well-placed passes and one shot later, the score read 2-1.
“I was very proud of our effort in the second half,” BYU head coach Chris Watkins said. “We played hard just like a BYU team should. The line for us to win is so slight that on a day like today it cut us.”
BYU came out flat and intimidated in the first half, getting beat in every facet of the game. After a few key substitutions and a reproof from Watkins at halftime, the Cougars came out firing in the second half.
“We certainly called them out on the mat,” Watkins said. “We told them we could hang it up right now and call it a game if they’re going to play like that. We asked them if they even wanted to play this game. It was that bad.”
The second-half additions of freshmen Zach De Francis and B.J. Pugmire came as critical changes in the second half.
The Cougar attack came in waves, and any attempt to counter by the Reserves was met with the BYU defense, led by captains Chad Oyler and Aaron Gabbart. In the 65th minute, the Cougar attack overwhelmed the Reserves as De Francis found the net, tying the score 1-1.
Wildcats suffer last-minute loss to Titans
The Wasatch Wildcats clawed their way back into their game against the Denver Titans Saturday night after being down early, only to fall 27-24 in the game’s final minute.
A 39-yard field goal by Denver’s Stephen Lippi sealed the game for the Titans.
The Titans started the game on fire, amassing a commanding 17-0 lead late in the second quarter before the Wildcats scored their first points, a Perry Laulu 10-yard touchdown run with 1:41 left in the second quarter.
Wasatch head coach Eric Drage encouraged the team at halftime to remain optimistic and play smart.
The Wildcats responded with 17 more unanswered points and took control of the game 24-17 in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Stan Parrish to Darek Giles.
“We played good enough tonight defensively to win this game,” said Drage. “We just made too many mistakes, the same mistakes we’ve been making all season.”
Provo Angels lose final two games, series to Casper
There definitely wasn’t a shortage of power in the Provo Angels’ bats Thursday as they outhit the Casper Rockies in a 10-3 victory in the first of a three-game home series.
That power did not continue over to the next two nights, however, as the Angels fell 6-5 on Friday and were behind 4-2 on Saturday when three power outages forced the game to be suspended.
Team officials are awaiting a ruling from the Pioneer League on whether the game Saturday should be finished or called. As of press time, the game was being ruled as an unofficial game.
The Angels combined good hitting and good pitching to break down the Rockies’ defense and offense on Thursday. Rookie left fielder Clifton Remole led the Angels’ 15-hit game with three hits in four at-bats, two runs and two RBI.
“Everyone played well tonight,” Remole said. “It’s fun when you’re winning and doing well. I didn’t try to do too much. I just let the ball come to me. Fortunately, I found the holes.”
Lott-Hogan qualifies for Olympics in haptathlon
Former BYU track and field star Tiffany Lott-Hogan qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, Saturday with a second-place finish in the heptathlon at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Sacramento, Calif.
Lott-Hogan, who was in first place after the first day of competition, finished with 6,159 points, 35 points behind winner Shelia Burrell. Despite a 17th-place finish in the 800-meter race on Saturday, Lott-Hogan made the Olympic team by winning the javelin throw and tying for eighth in the long jump.
BYU junior Lindsey Metcalf advanced to today’s finals in the high jump by placing 11th with a jump of 5-11.5.
