The No. 17 BYU women's soccer team showed once again Thursday they deserve their national attention, beating Cal Poly 5-1.
'We had a big week last week against Texas and Penn State,' sophomore forward Jaiden Thornock said. 'But we knew that Cal Poly was an amazing team, and we knew that we had to come out just as hard as we did against Penn State, because every team is a great team.'
Thornock, along with fellow Cougars Carlee Payne Holmoe, Michele Murphy, Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall and Marissa Nimmer, each added a goal against the Mustangs.
After a quick goal by Cal Poly in the fourth minute, the Cougars buckled down and looked more like the team one poll has as the eight best in the country.
'The thing we talked about before the game is to maintain the momentum that we've generated,' Coach Jennifer Rockwood said. 'It was our challenge this weekend to come out strong as we have the last two weeks, and we did a great job of that. Cal Poly is a great team, but our girls really battled and finished them off in the second half.'
With another great defensive effort, the Cougars gave up only one goal and have given up only two goals in their last five games. Where the Cougars have improved lately is offensively, averaging over four goals in their last three outings.
Coming off the great victory against No. 6 Penn State, it could have been easy for BYU to let down their intensity against a lower-profile team, but the Rockwood said her team was focused on the task at hand.
'We told the girls the same things we did after the Texas game,' she said. 'To remember how fun it was and what it felt like and the energy you had when you stepped on the field and to maintain that momentum.'
The win is the Cougars' fifth straight and gives them added momentum moving forward to Saturday's game against the No. 23 Washington Huskies.