LOS ANGELES — No. 10 ranked BYU women’s soccer fell to No. 6 USC in overtime, 4-3, on Monday afternoon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

In the extra time, USC (1-0-0) forward Jennifer Westendorf scored in the 97th minute to secure the victory over the Cougars (1-2-0) after a back and forth battle in the Trojan’s season opener.

“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t figure out how to pull off a win,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said. ”We just have to bounce back, learn from these games, and believe in ourselves a little bit more as we get ready for conference.”

USC senior Tara McKeown scored the first and only goal of the first half in the 11th minute off an assist by sophomore Croix Bethune.

BYU got on the board in the 57th minute with a goal by senior Rachel McCarthy that was assisted by Cameron Tucker. The Trojans quickly answered back in the 59th minute to retake the lead 2-1 with a goal from junior Penelope Hocking.

Cougar forward Bella Folino equalized in the 68th minute with her second goal of the season on an assist from McCarthy. USC wasted no time regaining the lead, 3-2, with a goal on a penalty kick in the 70th minute by forward McKeown.

Folino responded with her second goal of the match in the 77th minute, again assisted by McCarthy, to tie it up at 3-3 and force overtime, where the Trojans ultimately won in the 97th minute. 

The Cougars return to California on Friday, Feb. 20, to open conference play at San Diego. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST and will be carried live on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App with Jason Shepherd on the call. 

Game Notes:

• McCarthy’s goal at the 56:49 mark was her second of the season and third of her BYU career
• Folino’s two goals were her second and third of the season; she now has nine in her BYU career
• Cameron Tucker, McCarthy, and Folino led BYU with two shots on goal each
• BYU is currently 1-2-0 on the season, with road losses to No. 3 ranked UCLA and No. 6 USC

Game Quotes:

BYU women’s soccer coach Jen Rockwood

“We had plenty of chances and created a lot of opportunities, we just missed our target and weren’t as good on some pieces as we needed to be, but I think there are a lot of things we can take away. We had some great performances by some people who hadn’t seen much time out on the field, and that’ll certainly help us as we move forward to conference.”

“We fought brilliantly, I thought, throughout the game. We didn’t quite show up enough in the first half and then had to play catch up the rest of the game, but we had plenty of chances. Sometimes we come on the road and play big name teams and don’t realize how good we can be. It took us awhile to figure that out, and that’s disappointing because we have no reason not to come on the road against big opponents and expect to win.”

PROVO, Utah – No 7. BYU women's soccer heads west this week for its next two games against Pac 12 UCLA and USC.

Both games will be broadcast on the Pac 12 Network Stream, with the UCLA game on UCLA Live Stream-2 and USC on USC Live Stream. BYU Sports Network radio coverage will be carried on BYU Radio 107.9 FM, with audio play-by-play also streaming on the BYU Cougars app and at BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio for both games.

IN THE RANKINGS. BYU is ranked No. 7 after being named the Team of the Week by TopDrawerSoccer. The first National Soccer Coaches Association Poll will be released on Feb. 23rd, following the first couple weeks of play.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. Led by a hat trick from Cameron Tucker, BYU (1-0-0) opened the 2020-21 season with an impressive 5-1 win over in-state rival Utah at the Zions Bank Real Academy on Saturday.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK. BYU swept the weekly WCC awards with Cameron Tucker being named the Offensive Player of the Week, and Josie Gelialch receiving the Defensive Player of the Week honor. Gelalich led a stifling BYU defense that held Pac 12 rival Utah to just four shots on goal, while Tucker’s three-goal hat trick contributed to BYU’s 5-1 victory on Saturday.

No. 7 BYU (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) at No. 3 UCLA (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac 12)

• Friday, Feb. 12, at 5 p.m. PST, at Annenberg Stadium
• Steaming: Pac 12 Network Stream — UCLA Live Stream-2
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM (pregame 4:55 p.m. PST)
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE BRUINS. UCLA is coming off a 3-0 victory against Pepperdine in its season opener Sunday, Feb. 7 in Malibu, California. The three goals were scored in the first half and were all assisted by midfielder senior Marley Canales, who missed half of the 2019 season with an ACL injury. UCLA ended the 2019 season with a 18-5-1 record, and lost to Stanford in the NCAA semifinals. Stanford also defeated the Cougars in 2019 in the NCAA quarterfinals, handing BYU its only loss of the season.

COUGARS VS. BRUINS. The Bruins hold a 3-2 series lead over the Cougars. The last time the two teams met was in an exhibition game on Aug. 10, 2018. BYU lost 2-1 and UCLA outshot the Cougars 16-11.

No. 7 BYU (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) at No. 6 USC (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac 12)

• Monday, Feb. 15, at 12:30 p.m. PST, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• Steaming: Pac 12 Network Stream — USC Live Stream
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM (pregame 12:25 p.m. PST)
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE TROJANS. USC will open its 2020-21 season against the Cougars on Monday. The Trojans were originally scheduled to start the season on Feb. 4 vs. Pepperdine, but the game was canceled due to the Waves not meeting the minimum player standard. In 2019, USC finished 17-5-1 after a loss against North Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinals.

COUGARS VS. TROJANS. BYU is 2-3-1 all-time versus the Trojans. In 2017, the teams met in a spring exhibition game with BYU winning 2-0, and in the spring of 2007, BYU defeated USC 2-1 at the College Classic.