Cougs earn shutout victory behind two freshmen goals

PROVO, Utah  – BYU women’s soccer saw freshmen Ella Labrum and Halle Dixon score their first collegiate goals in the Cougars' 2-0 win over Boise State Wednesday night on South Field.

"I love going one on one," said Dixon on her first career goal. "It's my favorite thing. I got my defender going left and then I cut back to the right. I saw there was an open gap and I honestly just hit it."

The Cougar victory was supported by a freshman crew earning both goals. In addition to Labrum, fellow freshmen Emma Hambelrin, Tylie Pratt and Abby Sine saw career starts. 

With the win, BYU ended Boise State’s three-game winning streak. With credit to the Cougars backline, the Broncos received seven offsides calls throughout the match. In an aggressive contest, there were a total of 22 fouls given and three yellow cards. 

First Half

True freshmen Labrum and Hamberlin connected to put the Cougars on the board in the 15th minute of play. Hamberlin made a cross from the right side of the pitch, finding Labrum inside the box, firing a shot into the bottom right of the net. The goal marks Labrum’s career first, as well as Hamberlin’s first career assist. 

Fellow freshman Dixon recorded BYU’s second goal of the night in the 35th minute. Dixon beat her defenders and shot from the outside of the 18, finding the top left of the net just underneath the crossbar. It was another career first goal for the pack of freshmen with Dixon entering the pitch after redshirting last year. 

The first half found both teams in aggressive competition with eight fouls given to the Broncos and four to the Cougars. Three yellow cards were given during the first 45 minutes, with two assessed to the Broncos and one to the Cougars.

Second Half

BYU saw action in the 75th minute when Mattyn Summers dribbled up the spine of the field to attempt a shot which was saved by Bronco goalkeeper Genieve Crenshaw.  The Bronco’s keeper recorded four saves on the night.

Junior transfer Mackenzee Vance gave BYU the last shot of the match in the 88th minute which was saved by Crenshaw.  

The Cougars head to Fayetteville, Arkansas to face the sixth-ranked Razorbacks Saturday night. The match is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT on Razorback Field. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network+.