SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – BYU women’s soccer came from behind to tie Cal Poly 2-2 at Mustang Memorial Field Monday night.
Ellie Walbruch scored two goals in under 60 seconds to close the first half, giving BYU the 2-1 lead heading into halftime. Emma Hamberlin tallied one assist on the night and Walbruch led BYU in shots with four.
The Cougars outshot the Mustangs 17-8, putting eight shots on frame to Cal Poly’s four. BYU also had a season-high 14 corner kicks to Cal Poly’s six.
Four yellow cards were issued in an aggressive second half in tonight's matchup, three to Cal Poly and one to BYU. 15 total fouls were called in tonight’s game.
First Half
The Mustangs found the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the fifth minute as a bad pass across the BYU backline was taken away by Cal Poly’s offense.
The Cougars remained shotless until a volley in the 18-yard box by Afton Perry was blocked in the 15th minute of the match.
In the 23rd minute, Walbruch was fouled from behind in the box and given an opportunity to equalize with a penalty kick, which she missed wide left. Less than a minute later, Walbruch fired off a curving shot from 20 yards out, saved by Cal Poly’s goalkeeper.
The Cougars worked the ball up the spine of the field in the 31st minute and found freshman Mia Goettsche at the top of the six, who took a shot, blocked and cleared out by Mustang defenders.
Cal Poly countered immediately with a shot from the right-side of the box, tipped out by a diving Paiton Collins.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Walbruch was fouled right outside the 18 and was awarded a free kick. Her shot snuck through the wall of defenders, tying the game at 1-1.
Less than 45 seconds later, Hamberlin dribbled up the left-side of the pitch and found the feet of Walbruch who took on her defender and fired off a right-footed shot for her second goal of the night, giving BYU a 2-1 lead.
Although playing from behind for the majority of the first half, the Cougars went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead and seven shots to Cal Poly’s four. The teams had three corner kicks a piece heading into halftime.
Second Half
In the 53rd minute, BYU saw its first chance of the half as Sophie Sivulich split two defenders to find Goettsche on the run, but was called offside.
In a six-minute span, the Cougars had four corner kicks, unable to capitalize in front of the goal. In the 65th minute, Mia Lopez took on several defenders and created her own chance with a long shot, punched over the crossbar by Cal Poly’s keeper.
In the 79th minute, a long ball found the head of Cal Poly’s Bailey Bracha over the hands of Collins, tying the game at 2-2.
Mika Krommenhoek countered immediately with a shot barely over the top of the crossbar. Another shot off a corner kick by Sivulich hit the back of a Mustang defender and was cleared out, the last shot of the match for BYU.
After fighting back in the final few minutes of the first half to go up 2-1, the Mustangs tied it up in the second half, ending the game in a 2-2 draw.
Up Next
The Cougars return to South Field for their regular season home-opener against No. 8 UCLA Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Greg Wrubell and Carla Swensen on the call.