PROVO, Utah — Ashley Hatch’s goal and two assists propelled the BYU women’s soccer team to a 5-0 win over a team comprised of program alumni Tuesday night at South Field.
“Ashley played phenomenally,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “She got a great assist, scored a brilliant goal and was very involved in a lot of our attack. To have her, Michele Vasconcelos and Nadia Gomes up top is going to be really dangerous for us this year.”
Gomes put BYU on the board 1-0 in the 14th minute after receiving a pass from Hatch. Gomes dribbled inside the penalty box and cut in front of the goal before taking a well-placed shot. Despite being outshot 11-4 by the Cougars, the Alumni defense held its own to trail just 1-0 at halftime.
BYU opened the second 40-minute half with another goal orchestrated by Hatch in the 45th minute. Hatch crossed the ball to senior midfielder Elena Medeiros directly in front of the goal. Medeiros lightly one-touched the ball, sending it to the back of the net to put the Cougars up 2-0.
Not much later, Hatch fired a 28-yard shot toward the right post from the left corner of the box in the 51st minute, giving BYU a 3-0 lead.
In the 64th minute, Gomes shot the ball right at goalkeeper Sabrina Macias, who knocked it down but couldn't get a hold of it. Vasconcelos put the rebound in the back of the net to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead.
Sophomore midfielder Madie Siddoway received a cross from sophomore midfielder Rachel Bingham before sending it near post to give BYU a 5-0 lead in the 74th minute.
The Cougars outshot the Alumni 21-8 while conceding eight corner kicks.
Following the Cougars’ Blue and White scrimmage last week, Rockwood said playing against the alumni gave the team another opportunity to prepare for the season.
“There are a lot of great memories for all of them,” Rockwood said. “They are all so accomplished and we’re fortunate to have so many great players to play against in the alumni game.”
BYU will conclude exhibition play against UCLA Saturday, Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. PDT at North Athletic Field. Audio of the game will be available through the Cougar IMG Network, and will be broadcast on BYU Radio and ESPN 960, with pregame starting at 3:30 p.m. PDT. Links to the audio can be found on the schedule page.