By ROGER BROUGH
The men’s soccer team took home its first regular season win Saturday with a 1-0 road effort against the Ogden Outlaws.
Sophomore forward Garrett Losee earned a penalty kick after being pushed in the back in the box after receiving a long cross from senior forward BJ Pugmire. Pugmire sent the ball to the lower left corner, just out of reach of the Ogden goalkeeper in the 30th minute.
“It felt great to see the ball go into the back of the net and feel that weight and pressure lifted off our shoulders,” Pugmire said. “Hopefully it can give us confidence going into our next couple of games.”
The Cougars are now 1-2-2 this season, and despite the rough weather the team experienced in Ogden, the team scored its second goal of the regular season.
“The weather was horrible and we weren’t able to keep the ball, combining for only 238 passes,” said BYU head coach Chris Watkins. “It was kind of rough playing in slippery and wet conditions the whole night, but we attacked well, especially off of counter-attacks and created some other good opportunities.”
With only the first win of the regular season under the team’s belt, scoring more goals will be imperative for the Cougars’ success for the rest of the season.
“We still need to work on finishing and scoring,” Watkins said. “It was a really physical game, with lots of fouls, but I think more than anything we’ve proven ourselves against them, and this will give us the confidence we need. Hopefully we can make it a habit of winning games.”
The Cougars will play at home on June 10 on South Field at 8 p.m. against the league-leading Orange County Blue Star. The teams faced off earlier this season in California, with the Cougars leaving with a 1-1 draw.
