PROVO -- Two goals off the foot of BYU junior forward Katie Larkin propeled the No. 3 Cougars over the No. 2 Aztecs, 2-0. BYU advances to the Mountain West Conference Soccer Tournament Championship on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. MT at South Stadium on the campus of BYU. The Cougars match-up with the top-seeded UNLV Rebels will be televised via same-day tape delay on The Mtn. at 5 p.m. MT and tape-delay on CSTV on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. MT. The game will also be streamed live on the Mountain West (www.themwc.com) and CSTV (www.cstv.com) Web sites.
"This is a huge victory for our program," said BYU Head Coach Jennifer Rockwood. "As of late, our program has had a history of coming up short in the post season. I think the momentum of last night's game really helped us get out to a fast start today. We were closing out space and putting pressure on them right away which made a big difference."
After a first half that saw no goals by either side, Larkin recorded her 14th and 15th goals of the season within the first 15 minutes of the second half. Both goals came from assists by freshman Kassidy Christensen as the Cougars avenged their earlier loss, 2-0, that came at the hands of the Aztecs on October 18 in San Diego.
In the 52nd minute Larkin broke through for her first goal of the game. She received the ball from the left side on a well-placed through-ball from the foot of Christensen. Larkin put the ball away in the far post to earn the game-winner.
Less than six minutes after the first goal from Larkin, she found the back of the net again to knot her third goal in the last two games. After a pass from Christensen on the left side, Larkin took the one-touch shot with her left foot landing the ball in the back of the net. Larkin's two goals against the Aztecs came on the heels of her game-winning goal against TCU on Wednesday.
The Aztecs had a few chance opportunities to score, including a wide-open look from junior Alicia Piz. Piz found herself with a look from just inside the 18-yard line in the 54th minute. She sailed the ball over the crossbar in her only shot attempt of the game.
BYU edged the Aztecs in shots, 16-9 and corner kicks, 8-5. The Cougars improve to 16-3-2 overall, while the Aztecs finish their season at 9-8-3. BYU goalkeeper Erika Woodbury recorded her 13th shutout this season, beating her own school record of 12 shutouts last season.