The No. 5 BYU women’s soccer team looks to extend their hot streak this weekend with two games against San Francisco and Portland.
“We’re super excited,” senior defender Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall said. “To go against two very good teams will be great, and especially playing against San Francisco it being one of our last home games and opportunity to play in front of our fans. Hopefully we keep the wins coming and score a lot of goals.”
The Cougars have not lost since Aug. 25 and are currently riding a streak of four-straight shutouts. Yet the Cougars Achilles heal of late has been their scoring, having not scored more than a single goal during their current shutout streak. Last week this struggle was especially prevalent as the Cougars could not put one of their 21 shots in against Santa Clara, who they tied 0-0 in double overtime.
“We’ve spent the last three days in front of the goal in practice to get that scoring mentality back,” BYU Coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We’re due for some goals. Obviously it wasn’t ideal (against Santa Clara), you always want to win, but it was a step in the right direction because the level we were playing at was very high. If anything it gave confidence to our girls that against some of the best players in the country, if we bring it we can win.”
The Cougars seem primed to come out strong and get back to their stellar defense and high-scoring ways which have worked them up the national rankings thus far this season. With only one game last week and a short break leading up to this week, sophomore forward Jaiden Thornock thinks it will do her team well.
“(The break) was absolutely valuable, because it gave us a chance to settle down,” Thornock said. “It gives us plenty of time to work on some things on the practice field, and it has been a refresher because going from one game to the next your body takes a beating. We’re looking to come out with a lot of energy this week.”
The Cougars will face the 5-5-3 Dons on Thursday at 7 p.m. at South Field, and then take on the 6-3-2 Portland Pilots on Saturday at 7 p.m. PST in Portland.
