HOUSTON, Texas – The BYU women’s soccer team saw its first draw in Big 12 conference play, tying Houston 1-1 Thursday night.
Avery Frischknecht scored her first goal of the season off a corner kick in the final minute of the first half to tie the game up at 1-1.
Ellie Walbruch and Halle Dixon led BYU in shots with three apiece. Goalkeeper Paiton Collins tallied three saves on the night.
Despite being outshot in the first half, the BYU Cougars came from behind and outshot Houston, 13-9 with four shots on frame and seven corner kicks.
In an aggressive matchup, 21 fouls were called and two yellow cards were awarded to Houston.
First Half
The Houston Cougars saw the first chances on goal, with two shots in the two minutes of the match as BYU gave the ball away in the middle of the field.
BYU had its first chance on frame with a shot by freshman Mia Goettsche off a Dixon corner kick, into the hands of Houston’s goalkeeper.
Houston had two more shots in the 13th and 14th minutes, one hitting off the crossbar and the other missing high and wide.
After another Houston shot in the 24th minute, Dixon countered with a shot of her own at the top of the arc, missing just over the crossbar.
The Cougars from Provo struggled to keep possession of the ball as UH continued to put pressure on the BYU backline, forcing goalkeeper Collins to make two diving saves.
With eight minutes left to go in the first half, Houston’s offense got inside of BYU’s 18-yard box and Casey Maddox put one away, taking the 1-0 lead.
BYU had a chance on goal with six minutes remaining in the half as Walbruch sent a ball through the Houston backline to Mattyn Summers-Oviatt, called offside. In the 37th minute, Walbruch took a shot from outside the box, bouncing off the hands of Houston’s keeper.
In the final minute of the first half, BYU had back-to-back corner kicks. With the second corner kick bouncing around in the box, Frischknecht was able to get her head on the ball and put it in the back of the net for the late first-half equalizer.
UH outshot BYU 7-6 in the first half, with four shots on frame compared to BYU’s three. BYU held the edge on corner kicks with two, while Houston was held to zero.
Second Half
The BYU Cougars came out of the locker room with more urgency, having two shots in the first seven minutes of the second half by Walbruch and Dixon, both missing over the crossbar.
In the 61st and 62nd minutes, the BYU Cougars had two more corner kicks, unable to capitalize on either.
With less than two minutes remaining in the match, Mia Lopez fired off a shot, missing just wide and cleared out by Houston.
Despite having much of the possession in the second half and taking the lead in shots, BYU was unable to put another one away, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie.
Up Next
The Cougars continue their road slate with a game at Oklahoma State on Monday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.