BYU men’s soccer didn’t look great in Colorado Saturday night, losing in an inter-division match to the Real Colorado Foxes 3-0.
“We lacked a lot of intensity,” head coach Chris Watkins said. “We had the ball but we didn’t play as hard as we should have.”
BYU controlled the ball for most of the game but were sluggish. They had multiple chances in both halves to score, tallying five shots on goal, but a spectacular match-long effort by the Foxes’ goalkeeper kept the Cougars scoreless. BYU’s passing was especially effective Saturday night. The Cougars converted over 60 percent of their passes, while the Foxes converted less than 50 percent in the second half of the match.
The Foxes came out strong offensively, scoring midway through the first half. But it wasn’t until the second half that Real Colorado really took over the game. Colorado forward Josh Fallin scored twice in the second half to put the game away for the Foxes.
Cougar forward Garrett Losee suffered a broken arm in the second half when he collided with a Colorado player in the box. Losee had broken the same arm earlier in the year and was close to being fully healed when it was re-broken on Saturday. His playing status is unknown, but with a long week and a half of rest in front of him, he will hopefully be ready to play by the Cougars’ home opener May 31.
It was a tough physical game that resulted in more than a few penalties, including yellow cards for a couple of Cougars, Alex Neff in the 54th minute and Tanner Whitworth in the 94th minute, as well as a yellow given to Colorado forward Fallin in the 53rd minute.
The loss dropped the Cougars to fourth overall in their division behind Fresno. The top two teams in each division are awarded an automatic berth into the league tournament at the end of the season.
Despite the loss, the Cougars are hopeful for the rest of the season. They have played four of their seven road games already, and are looking forward to their regular season South Field debut on May 31 against the LA Misioneros.
