BYU's Nadia Gomes controls the ball during the Cougars' recent win over Kansas. (Savannah Hopkinson)
The BYU women's soccer team beat UVU 3-0 on Friday, Sept. 22, in the Cougars' final non-conference game of the season.
Nadia Gomes, Elise Flake and Bizzy Bowen all scored for BYU. The first came in the 15th minute from Gomes, who curved an untouched free kick into the lower left corner of the net.
'I've been practicing free kicks a lot,' Gomes said. 'It was the perfect setup, it was right on my left foot (and) I was like, I'm just going to bend this.'
And bend it she did. Gomes leads the Cougars in goals scored, with Friday night's efforts bringing her to four on the season. Her performance last week earned her WCC Player of the Week honors.
Despite going ahead early, BYU struggled to control the ball early in the match. UVU outshot BYU 6-3 in the first half, though they would fail to score on any of those attempts.
Ball control was a different story in the second half of play. BYU came out strong and was able to maintain possession for a majority of the half.
Flake scored the second goal of the match and her second of the season for the Cougars in the 55th minute.
That was followed in the 59th minute by a third and final goal from Bowen, which was her first this year.
'In the second half, we came out and did what we've trained to do and that is playing in our two-touch rhythm and playing the ball wide, letting our forwards run at the goal,' said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood.
It remains to be seen what a victory like this means for a BYU team that has been struggling to perform consistently. Despite the slow start, the team is excited for the rest of the season, according to Bowen.
'To get two wins in a week heading into conference, it's exactly what we need,' Bowen said. 'We know that's going to be our way to the tournament this year.'
BYU's record now stands at 3-4-3, a slower start than recent years.
The Cougars are five-time defending WCC champions and have not missed the NCAA tournament since 2011.
Conference play opens at home for the Cougars on Friday, Sept. 29, against San Diego.
The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. MDT at South Field. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on ESPN 960 AM for radio listeners.