The No. 5 BYU women’s soccer team is ready for an exciting weekend of soccer as it faces off against the San Diego Toreros and the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
“We’re way excited,” senior defender Dana Oldroyd Cusick said. “We’re first in the conference and playing really well, so we’re looking forward to getting back on the field. Defensively and offensively right now we’re looking great, so we’re looking forward to what’s coming. At the beginning of the season we were working some things out, but once we figured them out we just clicked and everything worked out so well.”
The Cougars are 14-1-1 on the year and have not been beaten since August 25. The Cougars have been on a hot streak all season in large part because they are holding opponents to 7.7 shots per game as compared to BYU’s 18.5 per game.
“One of the things we’ve been working on is picking up three points in each game,” BYU Coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “It’s our goal to go to San Diego and pick up three points. We believe San Diego has to beat us to go to the tournament, so there’s a lot riding on the game for both of us. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time, trying to get a little better everyday.”
San Diego, a typically dangerous West Coast Conference team, is 7-9 in 2012. The Toreros are currently in a two-game slide and look forward to disrupting the Cougars’ magical year in San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST.
Saint Mary’s comes to South Field Saturday for the Cougars’ final home game of the regular season and for senior day. The Gaels are 6-9-2 this year and have lost their last four games.
“It’s a big night for our seniors, and it’s come really fast for us, but we’re trying not to think about it yet,” Rockwood said. “Coming back and playing in the tournament here at home is a big goal for us, which means we have to show up for every game.”
Though on paper the games seem like they’ll be a walk in the park for the Cougars, the buzz in practice all week has been to stay hungry and stay hot. The Cougars are determined to not allow their early-season loss against Utah, a team who was also over-matched on paper, be repeated.
The Cougars will play the Gaels at South Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
