This weekend the BYU women’s soccer team showed its fans why it is poised for another successful season, winning both of its games on the weekend’s slate.
“The girls were really hungry,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “That just made them that much more excited and ready to play, especially at home against two great teams this weekend. They proved that they could come out with composure and get it done.”
The cougars first knocked off No. 11 Long Beach State in a close, heated battle on Thursday. Rain came and the weather was questionable throughout, but there was nothing uncertain about the Cougars desire for a victory.
After a long, hard fought battle in the first half that left 0’s on the scoreboard, the Cougars got a break on a foul inside the penalty box. Carlee Payne Holmoe capitalized on the golden opportunity as BYU put the 49ers away 1-0.
Saturday night, the game disrupted briefly with a lightning delay, the Cougars showed the weather was the only thing that could slow them down as they beat the Colorado College Tigers 2-0. The win, which came in front of a packed South Field crowd of 3,181, was fueled by big scores from Jessica Ringwood and Jaiden Thornock.
The stellar overall team defense led to the second straight shutout for the Cougars, looking to get some momentum heading in to next Thursday’s Fox soccer game of the week against a difficult Texas team.
The weekend’s victories represent a big turn in the season, as the week before BYU lost to rival Utah. Since the loss, finding a way and doing whatever it takes has been a big point of emphasis at practice for Rockwood.
It appears the message was heard loud and clear over the weekend. Stellar victories against the the top ranked 49ers who made an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament a year ago and a win against the Tigers proved the head coach is really shaping this team in to one of the NCAA’s elite.
“We had to bounce back after Utah,” said senior midfielder Jessica Ringwood. “We’ve really been stressing finishing so we focused on that in practice and really stepped it up putting two big goals in the net.”
