PROVO, Utah — Led by Allie Fryer, BYU women’s soccer defeated long-time rival Utah Monday night at South Field.
"It's always a battle," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "I'm really proud of how our team stayed with it tonight. I thought we played really well and fought hard. We are getting smarter, and I like the changes that we made. I thought we were very dangerous."
Fryer recorded the team's first brace of the season, increasing her goal count to five on the year. The last time the Cougars played Utah, Fryer also scored a brace.
True freshman Lucy Kesler recorded her first collegiate start and tallied her first career assist in tonight's matchup.
The Cougars outshot Utah 17-8 with ten shots on goal, their first ten-shot game since the Elite Eight game against UNC in 2023.
First Half
The Cougars had their first chance on goal with a corner in the second minute of the game, but their first shot on target came from Mackenzee Vance in the 11th minute.
After another 10 minutes of back-and-forth play, Fryer and Mika Krommenhoek had BYU’s second and third shot attempts of the game at minutes 22 and 25.
Despite three back-to-back-to-back corners at the 30-minute mark and a shot by Avery Frischkneckt, the match remained scoreless.
In the 34th and 36th minutes, Utah had its first opportunities for a goal, but the first shot flew out of bounds and Lynette Hernaez defended the second.
At the end of the scoreless half, the Cougars recorded four corners, four shots and one save.
Second Half
Utah started the second half with a yellow card, resulting in a free kick for BYU. Vance took the kick but was unable to connect with her teammates for a shot on goal.
In the 50th minute, the Cougars had their first shot on goal of the half by Emma Hamberlin, and the Utes answered with a shot of their own in the 51st minute.
BYU had two more shots on goal by Krommenhoek, the second of which almost resulted in the first goal of the night.
In the 56th and 57th minutes, the Cougars kicked back-to-back corners. Fryer took advantage of the second corner and headed the ball into the top-left corner of the net, off an assist by Kesler. Fryer's goal put the Cougars ahead 1-0.
The Utes answered with a goal of their own by forward Katie O’Kane in the 63rd minute, tying the game 1-1.
Vance and Fryer took three more shots on goal in the 67th, 68th and 69th minutes but missed the mark.
BYU kicked four-straight corners in the 70th minute, but were unable to convert for another goal.
Utah took an unsuccessful shot in the 74th minute, and the Cougars answered in the 77th with a corner and a resulting shot on goal by Krommenhoek.
After two more shots on goal by Vance, BYU finally broke the tie in the 83rd minute with another header from Fryer, assisted by Hamberlin.
The Utes made one last effort to tie the game, but the Cougars maintained possession and secured a 2-1 victory.
The Cougars will return to South Field on Thursday, Sept. 26 for a matchup against No. 12 Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.