Gritty. Tough. Intense.
On a cool, windless evening on South Field Thursday night, BYU and Oklahoma State battled to a 2-2 tie in a Big 12 women's soccer showdown.
In a foul-heavy game, in which a total of 14 fouls were called, the Cougars and Cowgirls slugged it out for 90 minutes on the pitch. One yellow card was assessed to Oklahoma State forward Logan Heasler on a dangerous tackle.
"We've had a lot of physical games already and so that expererience has been good for us," said BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood. "The girls have learned how to hold their own ground and to be more assertive ... I thought the girls really tried and gave it some good effort especially, in the second half."
The first half was a rugged affair. BYU got the scoring started early on in the fourth minute when Mika Krommenhoek scored on a crosser from Pressley Freeman. Oklahoma State responded in the 31st minute when Xcaret Pineda headed home a corner kick from Nicole Gray. Oklahoma State controlled the final five minutes of the half, keeping BYU in check.
Early on in the second half, Oklahoma State turned up the pressure with three shots in the first eight minutes while controlling the time of possession. BYU's defense proved up to the task in assisting BYU goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez in keeping a clean sheet early on. BYU responded by ramping up the pressure on Oklahoma State with five shots of its own in the next 10 minutes.
However, Oklahoma State struck first in the second half as a loose ball gave Nicole Ray an opportunity to put Oklahoma State up 2-1 as she bounced it pass BYU goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez.
BYU ratcheted up the urgency quickly after conceding. BYU got the equalizer shortly after when Mackenzee Vance put a corner kick home with 12 minutes to go. The ball was loose in the box when Vance connected for the goal.
Both teams continued to attack the rest of the way, with the Cougars and the Cowgirls getting opportunities to put goals away but neither team could break through. BYU finished with 19 total shots compared to Oklahoma State's nine shots. Both teams finished with six corner kicks.
"We didn't really give them any good looks until that goal (Nicole Ray goal) happened," Rockwood said. "We didn't challenge their keeper enough, but we are coming off of two games where we attacked more so hopefully we can continue that."
BYU freshman middle fielder Mika Krommenhoek said, "(Scoring early is) the big focus for our team. We've been working hard. Its written on the whiteboard in our team room, Score first, Score early, Score again.
"Obviously we are a very new team, and it's taken time to learn to work together and learn each other tendencies," Krommenhoek added. "We all are working very well together right now."
BYU's record now stands at 4-4-3. The Cougars are turning their attention to Iowa State, which visits Provo on Monday night.