The No. 5 BYU women’s soccer team came out victorious against two very good conference foes this weekend, beating San Francisco 3-1 and Portland 2-1.
Thursday’s showdown between the Cougars and the San Francisco Dons was a nail biter in the beginning when the Cougars went into the locker room at halftime with the score locked at 0. But the Cougars came out in the second half, finally putting the ball in the net.
“Well obviously it’s our first conference win of the year so it’s a big win for us,” Coach Jennifer Rockwood said of Thursday’s game. “The girls overall played very well tonight.”
Against the Dons the Cougars yielded a total of two shots and one corner all game, as their vaunted defense put on a clinic. The key for the Cougars in this game was finally coming out of their mini scoring drought by scoring three goals, the first time they’d scored more than one in over three weeks. Two of the three goals came off the foot of junior midfielder Kyleigh Royall who couldn’t say enough about the importance of the Cougars offensive performance.
“We know we can score and so to get three goals really builds our confidence a lot,” Royall said. “If we continue to score multiple goals per game we are unbelievable and its awesome. We have so much talent it’s amazing.”
Two days later the Cougars traveled to Portland to take on the Pilots. The Cougars scored twice with goal contributions from Jessica Ringwood and Michele Murphy, which proved plenty for the Cougars great team defense.
This is the 14th straight time the Cougars have both tallied double-digit shots and not allowed more than a goal to the opposition. The Cougars obvious strength all season has been their defensive line, which is full of experience and plays like a unit with remarkable chemistry.
“We all have the same goals, we all want to win and play for each other,” senior defender Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall said. “It’s our last season together and we want to go out strong.”
The Cougars take their talents coming Friday at 7 p.m. to Spokane to play against Gonzaga.
