BYU forward Nadia Gomes fights for the ball against Utah State on Sept. 10. Gomes led the Cougars with seven shots in their draw with Santa Clara on Oct. 24. (Ari Davis)
The showdown between No. 5 BYU and No. 20 Santa Clara ended in a 0-0 tie after playing two overtime periods at the Broncos' Senior Day.
Santa Clara outshot BYU 15-7 in 90 minutes of regulation play and 17-11 overall, but both teams fought physically and pressured the ball throughout the game.
Forward Nadia Gomes led the Cougars with seven shots while midfielder Elena Medeiros had two. Gomes, Medeiros, forward Jocelyn Loomis and midfielder Michele Murphy Vasconcelos had each one shot on frame.
The first overtime 10-minute period had potentially game-changing plays from both teams, but neither was able to put the ball in the back of the net.
BYU's best overtime scoring opportunity came when forward Madie Lyons crossed the ball in front of the goal to defender Avery Calton, who headed the ball just wide of the right goalpost.
Santa Clara soon responded with an opportunity of their own as midfielder Jenna Holtz took a shot with one minute remaining in the first overtime period. Holtz's shot hit the cross bar as well as BYU goalkeeper Rachel Boaz's hands and went right post.
Both teams continued to battle for the win in the second overtime, but after 110 minutes of play, the score remained 0-0.
Santa Clara won three of its four overtime games this season while BYU's overtime games have both resulted in draws. The Cougars also came away with a 1-1 draw against Cal Poly earlier this season.
Defender Stephanie Ringwood anchored the defensive line and blocked shots multiple times, preventing the Broncos from getting to Boaz. Both Boaz and Santa Clara goalkeeper Andi Tostanoski had four saves each.
Five different BYU players came in off the bench and the Cougars had as many minutes played by substitute players in the first half as they did in the entire University of San Francisco loss two days before. Constantly having fresh legs in the game kept energy alive throughout the long game.
BYU (12-2-2, 4-1-1) and Santa Clara (11-5-1, 4-1-1) are currently tied for first place in the WCC with 13 points each, one point ahead of the University of San Diego and Loyola Marymount. USD plays Saturday night and Loyola Marymount will play on Sunday and a win will give either team enough points to take the lead.
The Cougars return to South Field to play Pepperdine on Thursday, Oct. 29 and Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff for both games begins at 7 p.m. MDT. They will be broadcast on BYUtv, the Cougar IMG Sports Network, ESPN 960 AM and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.