LOGAN, Utah – No. 13 BYU women’s soccer (4-2-1, 0-0 Big 12) lost its final non-conference match at Utah State 4-0 Thursday night at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field.
For the first time this season, the Cougars were outshot and had four goals scored on them. Utah State had 22 shots while BYU had nine.
True freshman Diana Tuilevuka played her first collegiate minutes in tonight’s match.
First Half
Utah State got off to a quick start, earning a corner kick less than a minute into the match that sailed over the crossbar for a BYU goal kick. In the second minute, the Aggies broke through the BYU press and fired a cross into the box that was punched out by Chelsea Peterson.
With its third corner kick of the night in the 10th minute, Utah State found the back of the net off a header to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Cougars earned their first corner kick in the 12th minute, but the Aggies cleared it out. Utah State held a 6-0 advantage in shots through the first 20 minutes.
BYU's first shot of the match came from Sophie Sivulich in the 22nd minute, but it was saved by the Utah State goalkeeper.
In the 34th minute, the Aggies sent a long ball into the box that slipped through Peterson's hands and found a Utah State player, who missed wide.
Utah State recorded its ninth shot of the game in the 40th minute, hitting the outside of the net for a BYU goal kick. With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Aggies earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but BYU cleared it out.
For the first time this season, the Cougars were held to just two shots through the opening 45 minutes, while the Aggies recorded 10. Utah State also held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-2.
Second Half
The Cougars came out of halftime with pressure on the Utah State backline, but an Aggie counterattack in the 48th minute resulted in a left-footed goal to extend the lead to 2-0.
In the 59th minute, BYU earned a corner kick and Afton Perry fired off a shot from the left side of the pitch, missing just wide right. Mia Goettsche hit a shot from the top of the 18 in the 63rd minute, collected by the Utah State keeper.
After winning the ball in the BYU box in the 68th minute, Utah State scored its third goal of the night, the most any team has scored on the Cougars this season.
In the 83rd minute, BYU’s Sydney Snow took a shot from the right side of the pitch, barely missing the goal. Emma Neff rocketed off a shot from the top of the 18 in the 87th minute, missing just over the crossbar.
With less than two minutes remaining in the match, Utah State scored off another corner kick, bringing the final score to 4-0.
Up Next
BYU opens Big 12 play on the road at Arizona on Friday, Sept. 18 at 8:30 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.