SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The BYU women’s soccer team closed out the regular season with a 2-0 shutout victory over Utah Thursday night.
Freshman Mia Lopez scored her sixth goal of the season at Utah, her second-consecutive game with a goal. Senior Mackenzee Vance also got on the scoresheet for the Cougars with her second of the season.
Despite outshooting the Utes in the first half, Utah finished the game outshooting the Cougars 18-13, with five on frame to BYU’s six. The Cougars held the edge on corner kicks with seven to Utah’s two.
In a physical battle, four yellow cards were assessed, three of which went to BYU players.
First Half
After eight minutes of back-and-forth on the pitch, Vance got the ball wide on the right side of the pitch and sent it into the box. After ricocheting off a few Utah players, Lopez took the ball from a Ute defender and fired off a shot past the Utah goalkeeper, putting BYU up 1-0 in the ninth minute.
Utah’s first shot on goal came in the 17th minute from outside the 18-yard box, collected by BYU goalkeeper Paiton Collins.
In the 21st minute, Vance took a left-footed shot from inside the box, punched over the crossbar by the Ute keeper.
Vance continued to press high, beating three Utah players in the 26th minute to score BYU’s second goal of the night from the middle of the 18.
Utah’s final chances on goal in the first half came courtesy of two corner kicks in the last five minutes, one cleared out by Afton Perry and the other grabbed out of the air by Collins.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Collins went down with an injury, replaced by Utah transfer Chelsea Peterson.
The Cougars went to the locker room with a 2-0 lead, outshooting the Utes 6-4, with four shots on target compared to Utah’s two.
Second Half
With Collins out, Peterson returned to the pitch to play the full second half.
Utah held possession to start the second half, firing off the first two shots in the 51st and 53rd minutes, one blocked and the other saved by Peterson.
The Cougars responded with a run by Vance down the right side of the pitch, beating her defender on the endline and sending a cross into the box, barely punched out by Utah’s keeper.
Peterson was tested early as Utah’s offense pressed hard with seven shots in the first 15 minutes of the second haf.
In the 67th minute, Utah was awarded a free kick 25-yards out, cleared just as far as Utah’s forward who sent the ball right back in. Peterson punched it out to keep the Utes out of the box.
As the Cougars struggled to keep possession of the ball, Utah continued to send balls over the BYU backline with hopes of a chance on goal.
The Cougar defense held strong and Peterson tallied three saves to hold the 2-0 shutout victory to end Big 12 play.
BYU’s final chance on goal was a cross from Ellie Walbruch in the 89th minute, finding the feet of Mika Krommenhoek who missed high and wide.
Up Next
With Cincinnati and Houston losing their final regular season Big 12 matches, the Cougars await the result of the Arizona vs. Arizona State match to determine a place in the Big 12 Tournament.