SALT LAKE CITY -- With their final regular season game of 2010, the No. 16 BYU women’s soccer team (14-3-2, 5-1-1) defeated instate rival Utah 2-1 and secured the Deseret First Duel for soccer, Saturday in Salt Lake.
The win also secures BYU’s No. 2 seed in next week’s Mountain West conference tournament in San Diego.
"I think the conditions were tough on the girls but I'm proud of them for really working hard," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood."When you're playing a man down, it's sometimes hard but the girls did a fantastic job of following through and we're really excited to get the win today."
Just three minutes after Utah got on the board off a penalty kick from Lauren Dudley, BYU defender Lindsi Lisonbee took a free kick near midfield that sailed up and into the left corner for the equalizer.
In the 39th minute of action, BYU defender Nicole Gilliam was given a red card after being tackled in Utah’s offensive third and continuing to play the ball while still down. The Cougars would have to finish the game with one less player.
This is the eighth game this season the Cougars have found themselves tied at the half. Both teams had taken six shots after 45 minutes of first half action.
Back in the second half, BYU came out with a quick and fast offense despite being down one player. They controlled much of the tempo, keeping the ball in their possession.
In the 69th minute, BYU’s Lauren Anderson took a corner kick with Utah’s offense clearing the ball to BYU midfielder Jessica Ringwood who shot a bullet right through the hands of Utah goalkeeper, Hannah Turpen, to put the Cougars up 2-1.
With just nine minutes to play, Utah took a corner kick that put the ball high in the box. A series of header attempts from the Utes proved unsuccessful against BYU’s standout goalie McKinzie Olson.
Olson recorded four saves in front of the net for the Cougars.
The Cougars will now prepare to compete in the 2010 MWC tournament in San Diego on November 4-6.
TWITTER - Follow each Cougars game live on Twitter by clicking HERE or visiting twitter.com/byusoccer
TEXTING GROUP - Join the BYU Women’s Soccer texting group by texting “wsoc” to 83043. Members of the group receive 2-for-1 discounts to EVERY game!
FACEBOOK - The BYU Women's Soccer team is on Facebook. Join their Page by clicking HERE or visiting facebook.com/byuwomenssoccer