By Jacob Nielson
On a clear Provo night, playing before a crowd of over 3,600 charged fans, sophomore Katie Fellows netted a goal to send the BYU women”s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Arizona Monday, Sept. 25, 2006.
The win over Arizona puts the No. 15 Cougars at 8-1-1 on the season, with the best record in the Mountain West.
Both teams came into the game in full force with Arizona putting pressure on Cougar goalkeeper Erika Woodbury early as a Wildcat shot, with about 10 minutes until the half, glanced off the top crossbar, just inches away from finding the back of the net, preventing Arizona from gaining an advantage early on.
“Arizona is a very good team with dangerous forwards,” head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We just wanted to be a little more dangerous.”
The Cougars showed just how dangerous they can be by out shooting the Wildcats 14-6 on the game, including 11-2 in the second half with Fellows” clutch goal coming with only 17 minutes left in the game.
For those last 17 minutes the Cougars were able to stay focused and prevent Arizona from staging a comeback.
“We did a great job of keeping our composure after we scored the goal,” Rockwood said.
After several weeks of close games against stiff competition, fans that have been following the soccer team this season may be getting accustomed to seeing the Cougars make clutch plays in order for them to come out on top.
“I had an opportunity and I took it,” Fellows said. “You have to play as if every ball [you get] is going to be the ball that goes in.”
Despite Fellows” shot being the only one to find the back of the net, it was not the only good opportunity the Cougars had to score. With Arizona goalie Chelsea McIntyre racking up seven saves and the close calls that came for Woodbury, goalkeepers from both teams were working overtime to prevent any shots from converting.
“We had numerous opportunities,” Rockwood said, “and we want to keep that up.”
