No. 22 BYU women’s soccer went into San Francisco with Coach Rockwood sitting at 299 wins. The team is leaving tonight with one of the few coaches in NCAA history to win 300 games after beating the Dons 2–0.
Rockwood becomes only the fifth Division-I coach to reach 300 wins all at the same institution.
“It is a tribute to her consistency and staying power in a profession where most coaches can’t imagine this type of longevity,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said.
However, true to form, Rockwood kept the attention on the team.
“Anytime we can get a win on the road in conference we are happy,” she said.
Forward Niki Fernandes started the scoring for the Cougars early in the first half when she took a pass from midfielder Cloee Colohan in the box and put the ball in the net to put the Cougars on the board. Colohan added to the scoring late in the first half when she fired a shot from the top of the box that beat the San Francisco keeper to the far post.
“Niki had a nice breakout game,” Rockwood said, “and Cloee’s goal was absolutely brilliant.”
The Cougar offense appears to be back in form as they tallied a total of 14 shots and kept pressure on the San Francisco defense the entire game. Fernandes and forward Marissa Nimmer led the team with three shots each.
BYU’s defense continued its dominant play as it shut out its fourth opponent this year. The Cougar back line only allowed three shots the entire game, the first coming in the 70th minute. Goalkeeper Erica Owens controlled the few challenges she faced.
“It was a great performance by our defense, the back line and our holding midfielders stayed aggressive, pressured the ball and didn’t allow them close to our goal,” Rockwood said.
The Cougars will now shift their attention to No. 18, Santa Clara, whom they play Saturday. Santa Clara is coming off of a 1–0 win over San Diego and was voted the favorite to win the West Coast Conference. The game will be a good benchmark for the Cougars to determine where they stand in the conference and the nation.
“We hope we can make it two against Santa Clara,” Rockwood said.
