STILLWATER, Okla. – BYU women’s soccer (7-3-2, 2-2-1 Big 12) beat Oklahoma State 4-1 on Monday night at Neal Patterson Stadium.
Along with Lucy Kesler’s first career brace, Mattyn Summers-Oviatt scored her first goal as a Cougar and Ellie Walbruch notched her fifth of the season.
Walbruch had a season-high six shots to lead the Cougars, with Kesler tying her season-high of five.
Presley Freeman, Mia Goettsche and Emma Hamberlin all picked up their second assists of the year in tonight’s Big 12 victory.
The Cougars outshot the Cowgirls 26-10, with 11 shots on frame compared to OSU’s three. BYU’s Paiton Collins had two saves on the night, while Oklahoma State’s goalkeeper had seven.
First Half
BYU started the match with a strong offensive press, earning a corner kick and a shot by Mackenzee Vance in the first three minutes.
In the ninth minute, an OSU corner kick tipped off the foot of BYU’s Kesler and hit the crossbar as an early chance for the Cowgirls.
Kesler took a shot from 20 yards out in the 15th minute that bounced off the OSU goalkeeper that Walbruch attempted to get it back in, but missed high and wide. Walbruch had another shot just a minute later, straight to the arms of the Cowgirls keeper.
After the ball bounced around in the 18-yard box a few times, midfielder Kesler beat her defender and fired off a shot into the top right corner of the net, giving BYU a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.
In the 31st minute, the Cowgirls earned a corner kick that went over Collins' head and bounced into the net for the equalizer.
Less than 30 seconds later, Freeman beat her defender on the left side of the pitch and found Walbruch in the center of the six, who slid the ball under the hands of the keeper, taking back the lead, 2-1.
The Cougars held possession for the remainder of the half and went into halftime outshooting the Cowgirls 12-5, with six shots on frame compared to OSU’s one.
Second Half
OSU saw the first chance on goal of the second half with a shot in the 51st minute high over the crossbar.
Walbruch took a left-footed shot off a corner kick in the 54th minute, missing just over the top of the goal.
The Cougars earned back-to-back corner kicks in the 67th minute, but saw both cleared out by the OSU backline.
In the 79th minute, the Cowgirls had a corner kick that found the head of Xcaret Pineda who missed just over the top. The Cougars responded immediately with a run up the spine of the field and a shot by Afton Perry, wide right.
The Cougars extended their lead 3-1 in the 82nd minute as Goettsche worked her way to the baseline and sent a cross into the center of the box, tapped in by Summers-Oviatt.
With just two minutes remaining in the match, Hamberlin dropped a ball to Kesler who fired off a long-range shot, straight into the top corner of the net for her first career brace.
BYU’s final ditch effort on goal was a shot by Cassidy Drago as the clock wound down, and the Cougars picked up their first Big 12 road win of the season, 4-1.
Up Next
The Cougars finish their road slate at No. 20 Baylor on Friday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. MT at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.