PROVO, Utah — After a tough loss on the road on Monday, No. 12 BYU women's soccer bounced back in a big way with a 7-0 route of the Marquette Golden Eagles at South Field on Thursday night.
“I’m really proud of the way this team bounced back from a disappointing result earlier this week,” said Jennifer Rockwood, BYU head coach. “The girls just came out on fire and showed a lot of composure.”
This win marked Rockwood’s 410th career victory at the helm of the BYU women’s soccer program.
BYU showed its depth as all seven goals came from different Cougar players.
“It goes to show you how talented we are, both with our starters and with players coming off the bench,” said Cameron Tucker, BYU forward. “It was exciting to see Caroline [Stringfellow] and Addie [Gardner] get their first goals.”
The Cougars put the pressure on Marquette early with four shots in the first ten minutes. In the 11th minute, Tucker dropped a ball tight to the top of the box and Olivia Wade put the Cougars on the board with a laser into the left side of the goal for her first goal of the season.
BYU continued to apply pressure on Marquette, keeping the ball in the offensive third for a majority of the next 10 minutes. In the 21st minute, Bella Folino scored her fourth goal of the season on a perfectly-placed pass from Mikayla Colohan.
Marquette applied some pressure of its own in the 28th minute with a few strong offensive counters, but the BYU back line held strong not allowing a Marquette shot in the first half.
BYU took the Golden Eagles' pressure and countered with Rachel McCarthy setting up Colohan for her third goal of the season to extend the Cougars lead to three in the 34th minute.
BYU came out of halftime and applied immediate pressure to Marquette goalie Chloe Olsen, firing five shots on goal in the first seven minutes of the second half.
After a Marquette foul, Tucker scored her first goal of the season in the 57th minute. Tonight’s game marked Tucker’s first start of the season.
In the 62nd minute, Mozingo beat the Marquette defender up the sideline and sent a rocket into the left side of the goal. That tallied the Cougars' fifth goal of the night and extended the Cougar lead.
BYU kept the foot on the pedal as Addie Gardner sent a shot into the box that was saved by Olsen, but freshman Caroline Stringfellow took the rebound and put it into the back of the net for her first career BYU goal.
BYU tacked on its seventh goal of the night in the 84th minute to seal the deal. Makaylie Moore sent a cross into the left side of the box that was collected by Gardner and sent into the right corner of the goal.
With her goal tonight, Colohan now has 102 career points and ranks seventh all-time in BYU women’s soccer history. She is two goals from passing Elise Flake for fifth all-time in goals scored.
BYU tallied 33 shots and 18 shots on goal and had six Cougars with two or more shots on goal in the 7-0 win.
“We’ve got to find our groove on the road now,” Rockwood said, “but I believe this group will be ready to go.”
This win moves the Cougars to 3-2 on the season. The Cougars take the field next Thursday as they take on the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.