Madie Lyons Mathews dribbles past defenders on her way toward the goal. (BYU Photo)
The BYU women's soccer team beat Gonzaga 6-3 in Spokane, Washington, to improve to 3-2-1 in West Coast Conference play.
The high scoring game came on the heels of a disappointing 0-0 (2OT) draw against LMU the previous weekend.
'That was a crazy game and I didn't expect nine goals to be scored,' said coach Jennifer Rockwood. 'It was a lot of fun and I thought they really deserved this win.'
Gonzaga came into the match with a 2-5 record in WCC matches, but the Bulldogs scored first, going up 1-0 in the fourth minute.
The Cougars would answer 30 minutes later with a goal from Cameron Tucker, who was set up with an assist by Elise Flake. Both teams would go into the half tied at 1-1.
That score would hold until the 60th minute when both sides unleashed a barrage of scoring.
BYU would strike first in the second half with a goal from outside the penalty area by Mikayla Colohan.
The Zags tied it up again a minute later, but just 15 seconds later, Flake put BYU back on top.
After the dust settled, three goals had been scored in just over one minute of game time, with the BYU leading 3-2.
The lead increased to 4-2 after Madie Lyons Mathews scored her seventh goal of the season in the 67th minute.
Gonzaga cut the Cougars' lead to one after a penalty kick in the 70th minute.
BYU's final two goals would come from Colohan, her second of the night, and Nadia Gomes, who had been scoreless in conference play up to this point.
Coach Rockwood also mentioned that emotions were elevated in the team's first game against Gonzaga since former BYU assistant coach Chris Watkins left Provo for the Bulldogs.
The Cougars will continue WCC play on the road Saturday, Oct. 28, when they face off against Portland. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. MDT and will be streamed on TheW.tv. It can also be heard on Sirius XM 143 or ESPN 960 AM.