KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 23 BYU women's soccer earned its first win of the season Friday night beating Tennessee 1-0.
Sophomore midfielder Elena Medeiros scored the gamewinner in the 17th minute as she found space on the right side of the box off a service from Niki Fernandes and put the shot past the keeper to the far post. It was her first goal of the season and the first by the Cougars (1-0-2) in the opening half of a game this year.
"We started with a tremendous amount of energy," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "We came out and were able to get the ball wide as we have been practicing and Niki served a great ball to Elena."
The BYU defense made the goal stand up as only two Volunteer (1-2-0) players attempted shots and only one, Anna McClung, put a shot on goal.
For the game, the Cougars outshot Tennessee 13 to 6 and earned four more corner kicks than did the Volunteers (6-2).
For the second straight game, BYU goalkeepers Katherine Snyder and Hannah Clark combined on a shutout. The pair only needed 90 minutes and two saves Friday after the overtime shutout on Monday against Washington State.
"The energy from the team tonight was amazing," Rockwood said. "We were able to cycle a lot of players through and we had some great minutes off the bench. We didn't let the pressure down (for the rest of the game)."
Sophomore Michele Murphy led the Cougars with three shots and one on goal. Medeiros and Stephanie Ringwood each had two shots, while Nadia Gomes added a lone shot on goal.
All six BYU corner kicks came in the second half, including a stretch of four in the final five minutes to help run the clock down. Tennessee had one final chance off a free kick in the 90th minute, but McClung's header sailed over the goal.
Avery Calton and Carla Swensen made their seasons debuts on Friday. Calton hadn't played since the Oregon game of last season on Sept. 12. Freshman forward Swensen played six minutes in the second half to log her first minutes in a Cougar uniform.
"It was a big win for us and for our conference," Rockwood said. "Now we look forward to another opportunity to play at home on South Field against another tough opponent."
The Cougars host Baylor on Monday at 1 p.m. MDT at South Field. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio on Sirius XM channel 143. The Cougar IMG Sports Network will broadcast the game live on BYUcougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.