PROVO, Utah – No. 4 BYU women’s soccer scored early and often in a dominating 7-0 win over Denver on Thursday, extendingthe Cougars’ win streak to seven games. It is also the third-straight game in which each of the three starting forwards scored a goal.
“Our first 15-20 minutes were brilliant," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "I’m really proud of the way they played. We’re getting better at the small things, trying to get a little bit better each time we step on the game field.”
Forward Ashley Hatch put the Cougars on the board early with a low shot in the fifth minute after dribbling and cutting past multiple Denver defenders. A pass from Nadia Gomes led to Hatch’s 11th goal of the year and 39th career goal.
Midfielder Elena Medeiros followed up with BYU’s second goal three minutes later, scoring her third goal of the year. Medeiros took the shot near the penalty area and kicked it to the left side of the goal to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. Forward Michele Vasconcelos and defender Stephanie Ringwood Ney received credit for the assist.
Vasconcelos scored her seventh goal in the last six games to put BYU up 3-0 in the 16th minute. Fellow forward Gomes recorded the assist.
A ball from Gomes’ left foot connected with the top right corner of the net in the 29th minute to put BYU up 4-0. Thirty yards out from the goal, Madie Lyons passed the ball to Denver transfer Jocelyn Loomis in the corner, who then crossed it to Gomes in front of the goal. This was Gomes' third goal of the year and third in three games.
The game took a 30-minute delay towards the end of halftime due to lightning near the field and play resumed about 8:50 p.m. in the pouring rain.
Gomes opened the second half with her second goal of the night in the 49th minute, putting the Cougars up 5-0 on a shot to the left corner of the goal. Hunt Barker recorded her second assist of the night on the play.
Midfielder Bizzy Phillips Bowen scored her first goal of the season on a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 53rd minute. Bowen’s goal gave BYU a 6-0 lead.
Freshman forward Elise Flake netted her first career goal in the 90th minute after dribbling past Denver goalkeeper Cassidy Rey and sending the ball in to an open net. Flake's goal gave the Cougars a final score of 7-0 and was the first goal scored by a freshman this year.
BYU goalkeeper Hannah Clark earned her fourth shutout of the season. Sophomore Sabrina Macias also saw playing time in the goal for the Cougars.
The nonconference season continues as BYU hosts Long Beach State Saturday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. (MDT) at South Field. The game will be televised on BYUtv and can also be heard live on the Cougar IMG Sports Network, ESPN960 and BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143.