No. 4 BYU women’s soccer finished its regular season undefeated (17-0-1) after an 8-1 win over LMU. The Cougars gained the WCC title with the win, their seventh in eight years and will now move on to the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division I women’s soccer championship for the 20th time since joining the NCAA in 1995.
“I’m really proud of the team and how they’ve battled and how hard they’ve worked and prepared for this moment,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “It was a great statement for us this last game, and we’re just looking forward to the next part of the season which is the NCAA tournament.”
The action began quickly with BYU tallying five goals in the first 30 minutes. An attempt from LMU was blocked by Sabrina Davis and was followed shortly thereafter with a goal from Elise Flake within the first three minutes of the game. Over the next two minutes, Ella Ballstaedt notched another goal for the Cougars, but BYU’s momentum waned a little when an LMU shot found the back of the net. All three goals were made by the seventh minute.
Over the next eight minutes, BYU tallied three shots while LMU had one. Mikayla Colohan scored BYU’s third goal of the evening off a penalty kick in the 18th minute.
After a long battle in the midfield, Danika Serrassio found an opening and scored BYU’s fourth goal. Lizzy Braby then took the ball up the field to get the fifth goal for BYU just 26-seconds later.
Minute 30 began with a shot from Colohan, but then the ball went back and forth until BYU got the ball close to the goal and a foul from LMU gave the Cougars a corner-kick in the 37th minute. BYU took five more shots before half-time, four of which were within two minutes. BYU finished the first half with 17 shots — nine on target — and 60% possession.
BYU continued on the offensive to start the second half, and Colohan notched her second goal of the game in the 49th minute.
Braby took another shot in the 56th minute that was saved by the LMU keeper, but Braby followed that up with her second goal of the game in the 58th minute. The majority of play remained on BYU’s offensive side with two shots over the next two minutes.
The Cougars scored their eighth and final goal of the evening after a corner kick made its way to Ashton Brockbank, and she kicked it over the LMU keeper’s head in the 65th minute. BYU was on the defense for the next three minutes before bringing the ball back to their offensive end.
The BYU 2019 women’s soccer team finished the regular season with 68 goals, the highest since 2000 when the team finished with 87.
This was the last regular-season game on BYU’s South Field for the team’s seven seniors.
“This senior class has had a huge impact on our program during their time here and certainly this year,” coach Rockwood said. “They’re one of the main reasons why our team has been so successful both on and off the field.”
The 2019 NCAA Division I women’s soccer bracket will be announced Monday, Nov. 11. The first round will take place the following weekend, from Nov. 15 to Nov. 17.
