WACO, Texas - Behind a Brecken Mozingo brace, No. 6 BYU women’s soccer (8-1-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) collected its second shutout of the season, defeating the Bears 4-0 on Thursday evening.
The Cougars had a season-high 29 shots with 11 on frame compared to Baylor’s nine shots in tonight's matchup. BYU also tallied a season-high 11 corner kicks while the Bears added four.
"Really proud of the way the girls bounced back tonight," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We had some tough adversity last weekend, but the girls were really sharp tonight. We had a few girls in different spots tonight and we had a really good overall team performance."
In her first start of the 2023 season, senior Rachel McCarthy scored her fourth goal of the year. Sophomore forward Allie Fryer added to the BYU stat sheet, notching her sixth goal of the season.
Senior forward Mozingo converted a penalty kick in the first half and scored from outside the 18-yard box in the second half for her fourth and fifth goals this season, two from successful PKs.
Freshman transfer goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez had her first career start as a Cougar in tonight’s contest against the Bears, posting a career-high six saves in the net.
First Half
The Cougar offense came out strong against the Bears with four shots and two corner kicks in the first seven minutes on the pitch.
In the 13th minute, senior Ellie Boren beat her defender and sent the ball into the 18-yard box to the feet of McCarthy who put it in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
BYU continued its high press, putting eight more shots on Baylor goalkeeper Makinzie Short through 20 minutes of play. Fryer’s pressure on Baylor’s backline led to a turnover that she converted into BYU’s second goal of the night, extending the Cougar lead, 2-0 in the 21st minute.
BYU continued its high pressure on the Bear backline with four more corner kicks. In the 36th minute, senior Zoe Jacobs took a shot from outside the 18, tipped over by Short for another Cougar corner kick.
In the 40th minute, Baylor’s offense had its first good look of the game, with a shot by Salma Simonin, tipped by Hernaez and off the post for a BYU goal kick.
BYU earned its ninth corner kick of the night in the 43rd minute. As sophomore Erin Bailey ran in to take a shot, she was fouled in the box and BYU was awarded a penalty kick. Mozingo took the penalty for the Cougars, sliding the ball past Baylor’s keeper in the bottom right corner of the net for a 3-0 BYU lead going ino halftime.
BYU controlled most of the possession in the first half, holding the Bears to just three shots and two corners. The Cougars more than quadrupled their numbers against Baylor, taking 20 shots through the first 45 on the pitch, adding nine corners and three goals.
Second Half
Baylor saw its first shot on goal of the second half, with a run down the left side of the pitch and shot by Tyler Isgrig, collected by Hernaez for her second save of the night. Baylor added three more shots on frame, saved by Hernaez who continued to hold onto BYU’s clean sheet through 60 minutes on the pitch.
In the 60th minute, Kendell Petersen sent a ball behind the Baylor backline, finding the feet of Fryer that she sent into the back of the net, but was called offside, keeping the score at 3-0.
The Cougars tallied five more shots through the first 20 minutes of the second half and added their 10th corner kick.
As the BYU offense continued to press, Mozingo collected a ball from teammate Ellie Walbruch outside Baylor’s 18 and fired a shot into the goal, notching her first brace of the season in the 77th minute.
As the clock ran out, the Cougars continued to battle with a shot by Walbruch in the final minute, missing just wide. BYU held onto its four-goal lead, notching its second shutout of the season and first win in Big 12 conference play.
BYU next travels to Austin,Texas to face the Longhorns on Monday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on the Longhorn Network.