No. 7 BYU women’s soccer secured their third conference tie on Thursday against the also seventh ranked Texas Tech after a grueling two periods of a back-and-forth battle.
The Cougars started the first 30 minutes with a lot of power and energy, securing an early lead in the 17th minute with Jamie Shepherd’s first goal of the season off of Brecken Mozingo’s corner kick.
The first half had Texas Tech’s goal facing the student section, which posed a problem for the Raiders. With the help of the ROC, BYU held the Red Raiders to getting their first true shot on goal until the 30th minute.
In those 30 minutes, Texas Tech tallied four fouls with only one going to BYU.
Tides started to change in the ‘38 minute after the Raiders’ Sam Courtwright secured their first goal.
After the goal, Texas Tech tied up the shooting game bringing both teams to 5-5 shots.
In the second half, the Cougars opted to have Ellie Walbruch come in on the start.
“Ellie has proven to hold the ball really well,” said head coach Jennifer Rockwood when asked about the change. “She plays well with her back to goal [and] with the ball at her feet.”
In the second half, BYU struggled to find a rhythm, allowing two shots on goal in the first three minutes.
The Cougars had seven shot attempts in the first 15 minutes of the half without being able to get any of them to land, and eventually allowed a Red Raiders’ goal off of the right foot of Alex Kerr in the 60th minute.
In the 62nd minute, Ellie Walbruch scored the final goal of the night with an assist from Olivia Smith and Brecken Mozingo.
Following the game-tying score, tensions seemed to turn up and in turn resulted in 13 fouls to be called between the two teams and two yellow cards to be awarded to Texas Tech’s Kylie Bahr and Gisselle Kozarski.
The teams kept the pressure and momentum for the remainder of the game but to no avail with the game ending in a 2-2 draw.
The reactions to the draw between the two teams could not have been more different, with the Red Raiders cheering and hugging at the result and the Cougars solemnly accepting the tie.
“We’re playing a top-10 team in the country,” Rockwood said following the tie. “One of the best teams we’ve seen this year.”
“I think some really good soccer for the majority of the game,” she continued. “A couple of minutes let down and it cost us.”
“I think for us we know that we’re better and we can perform better,” Walbruch said. “I think this is just another game that we need to learn and just take away the things we need to do better.”
The tie marks the Cougars’ third Big 12 draw this season and Texas Tech’s first.
BYU returns to South Field to play Kansas St. on Monday at 5 MDT on ESPN+.
