Keeper Rachel Boaz takes a goal kick in game against USU on Sept. 10. Boaz had 6 saves against Cal Poly on Sept. 24. (Ari Davis)
BYU women’s soccer team ended their three game winning streak after drawing 1-1 with Cal Poly.
'It was a rough battle,' defender Paige Hunt said. 'We didn’t get the result we wanted. We fought hard but we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.'
The No. 6 ranked BYU struggled to capitalize all game. They had 31 shots with only three on goal.
The game started slow. Cal Poly scored in the fifth minute of play when they played a nice thru ball that split the Cougar defense. The goal made the score 1-0 for Cal Poly.
The Cougars came back when they scored an equalizer in the 20th minute to make it 1-1. Ashley Hatch touched the ball into the center where Elena Mederios quickly shot. This was Mederios' third goal of the season.
The game remained fairly even and both teams had chances to take the lead. The best opportunity for BYU came just before the end of the half. Paige Hunt had a strike 25 yards out that hit the cross bar of the goal and bounced out to Cal Poly players.
Cal Poly opened the second half just as quickly as they did the first with they had two quick shots on goal. One shot hit the cross bar, but Boaz was able to make the quick save.
Regulation play ended with the score 1-1 and the game went into extra time. This was the first time this season BYU was pushed into two ten-minute halves of golden goal.
BYU continued their trend of possessing the ball, but never capitalizing on the goal. The Cougars' last chance came in the final minute of extra time when Nadia Gomes had the ball at the 18 with a strong shot towards the goal. But her shot was deflected by Cal Poly. Extra time ended with the score tied 1-1.
“It was a tough match,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “Cal Poly came out and played hard. Obviously, we’re disappointed with not getting the result. We had some opportunities early where we could have made a difference in the game and we didn’t. That’s frustrating.”