SANTA CLARA, Calif. — No. 11 BYU fell to No. 25 Santa Clara in Stevens Stadium on Saturday, for its first loss in West Coast Conference play this season.
“It was super frustrating to lose in that fashion,” said Jennifer Rockwood, BYU head coach, “I felt like we should’ve scored in those first 10-15 minutes, and then it would’ve been a different game. We didn’t have a sense of urgency for some reason. This loss is going to sting, but we have a lot to learn from it.”
“On the flipside, we had plenty of opportunities. They did a great job of shutting down and putting a lot of bodies on Kayla and Jamie. Those two players are so key to our team’s success. [Santa Clara] was playing a different style of game because they were playing very direct, and they weren’t trying to keep the ball. We should've done a better job at being more dangerous in the attacking third which is what we have done all year. With two big games left, we still have a good opportunity to win the championship.”
The Cougars outshot the Broncos 16-10, and each goalkeeper had five saves a piece.
BYU was shut out by an opponent for only the second time this season, with the first taking place at Auburn on August 30.
First half
Two BYU shots hit posts in a matter of moments from senior Makaylie Moore and sophomore Brecken Mozingo. Moore curled a shot from the baseline at 13:24 which came off the woodwork on the right-side, then Mozingo attempted a header at the 13:45 minute mark and bounced off the left side.
Sophomore Kendell Petersen sent a shot from deep in the 20th and hit the crossbar. The Cougars would hit the left-post, right-post and crossbar during the first-half of the game.
Without much action from the 20-40 minute mark, BYU’s closest attempt to a goal afterwards came from Colohan who took a shot that landed towards the side of the net in the 44th minute.
Second half
Five minutes into the second half, Smith had a diving save on Marika Guay’s shot to keep the game at 0-0.
Rachel McCarthy picked up a yellow card in the 74th minute.
The Broncos scored the game-winning goal after a loose ball off of a free kick at 73:50, with a goal from Kelsey Turnbow assisted by Colby Barnett and Alex Loera. It was Turnbow’s ninth goal of the season.
Moore tried to answer with a left-footed shot in the 79th minute, but it was unsuccessful.
An important play for SCU’s defense came in the last two minutes of the game when Brecken Mozingo’s shot was saved by Kylie Foutch at the 87:51 mark.
Colohan took on a free kick with eight seconds left on the edge of the attacking third, but Foutch tipped the ball with her gloves for the ball to escape just over the bar.
BYU sent all its players downfield, including its goalkeeper, towards the end of the game with an opportunity at a corner kick in 90:00, but the Cougars were unable to score an equalizer.
Next week, the Cougars will travel to Oregon to take on the University of Portland on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. PDT. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network and will be broadcast on the BYU Sports Network/BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App.