MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After an early red card, BYU women’s soccer team came from behind to beat the Golden Gophers 3-1 with just 10 players on the pitch Thursday evening at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
Tonight’s victory marks BYU’s eighth-straight season-opening victory as Mia Lopez, MIa Goettsche and Sophie Sivulich opened their scoring accounts.
Four players had their first career starts for the Cougars tonight, three true freshmen and one sophomore: Paiton Collins, Afton Perry, Lopez and Sivulich. In goal, Collins notched her first-ever saves between the pipes with four on the night.
Freshmen Kate Denney and Goettsche also saw their first collegiate minutes on the pitch tonight.
Sophomore starters Mika Krommenhoek and Lucy Kesler tallied BYU’s two assists in tonight’s match.
The Cougars outshot the Golden Gophers 26-15, with 12 shots on goal to Minnesota’s five. BYU also had six corner kicks compared to Minnesota’s four. The Cougars forced Minnesota’s goalkeeper to make nine saves on the night.
First Half
The Cougars saw an early opportunity on goal in the 10th minute with a long ball through Minnesota’s backline to freshman Sivulich who missed high and wide.
BYU continued to put on the pressure with a free kick from the top of the 18 in the 23rd minute, shot right into the hands of the Golden Gopher goalkeeper. Over the next five minutes, the Cougars had three more shots including Sivulich’s second shot of the night missing just wide right.
In the 31st minute, a red card was assessed to BYU’s junior captain Avery Frischknecht and the Cougars went down to 10 players for the remainder of the match.
After holding much of the possession in the first half, the Golden Gophers found a player at the top of the six, sliding it past BYU goalkeeper Collins in the 33rd minute for a 1-0 lead.
With just 10 players on the field, the Cougars held Minnesota to just three shots for the remainder of the half.
Despite a 1-0 deficit heading into halftime, BYU outshot Minnesota 10-8 with three shots on frame. The Cougars also had two corner kicks compared to just one by the Golden Gophers.
Second Half
The Cougars had the first shot of the second half as Sivulich took her fourth of the night from the left side of the 18-yard box, collected by Minnesota’s keeper.
Sivulich took on her defender on the left side of the box in the 55th minute for another goal-scoring opportunity that was called offside. Just three minutes later, Lopez took on the keeper and fired off a shot from the top of the six for her first collegiate goal, tying the game at 1-1.
The Golden Gophers countered almost immediately with a chance on goal off a header, missing just wide right.
After making a few substitutions in the 63rd minute, Ellie Walbruch and Lucy Kesler connected at the top of the box for a Kesler shot just over the crossbar.
In the 75th minute, Kesler shot from outside the penalty box, hitting off the hands of Minnesota’s keeper and right to the feet of Goettsche who put it in the net for BYU’s first lead of the night, 2-1.
The Cougars continued pressing hard in the final five minutes of the match as Sivulich flicked the ball over her defender to Mika Krommenhoek who dribbled down the right side of the pitch and crossed it back to Sivulich who found the back of the net, extending BYU’s lead, 3-1.
BYU held the possession for the final minutes on the pitch as the clock ran out, winning its season-opener 3-1 against No. 24 Minnesota.
Up Next
The Cougars continue their road slate at Cal Poly on Monday, Aug. 18. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. MT.