PROVO, Utah — A trio of first half Alabama goals proved too much to overcome for No. 6 BYU women’s soccer as the Cougars fell 3-2 to the Crimson Tide on Thursday night at South Field.

"Alabama came out, put pressure on us early and really flustered us a lot," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "Obviously we have to fix some things and change our mindset, but credit to Alabama because they came out and took it to us in the first half for sure."

The teams traded forays into each’s attacking third from the start. BYU’s Ellie Maughan found Rachel McCarthy open for the game’s first goal in a score that ricocheted off the left post and in, giving BYU the 1-0 advantage in the 11th minute.

The Crimson Tide came in and refused to go out as they responded with a 3-0 onslaught beginning in the 17th minute.

Alabama’s Riley Mattingly-Parker headed a shot into the bottom right with an assist from teammate Gessica Skorka, tying the game at one a-piece. In the 23rd minute, Alabama’s Felicia Knox converted a penalty kick to surpass the Cougars at 2-1. Just seconds later, the Alabama attack again sliced past the Cougar defense for a third goal.

BYU’s efforts to stem the tide fell short with unsuccessful shots from Jamie Shepherd and Erin Bailey at the end of the first half. Despite the Cougars chance to tie the game with a penalty kick in the 43rd minute, Alabama held its lead as Shepherd missed her shot.

Second half shots from Olivia Wade, Allie Fryer and Zoe Jacobs were also off-target. A Brecken Mozingo goal in the 84th minute infused the Cougars with new life late, though not sufficient to overcome an end of game keep-away campaign by Alabama.

BYU outshot Alabama 21-10 and 9-5 on goal. Alabama attempted five corner kicks to BYU’s three, while the Cougars committed 15 fouls to the Crimson Tide’s 12. Amongst these fouls came five yellow cards, three from Alabama and two from BYU. Alabama's seven saves for the game illustrated a stingy defense that held BYU at bay through numerous attacks. 

McCarthy scored her first goal of the season on a night in which she recorded four shots with two on goal. Mozingo's second-half goal was also her first on the season, while Shepherd posted three shots on the night.

With the loss, BYU goes to 2-1-1 with 121 shots to six goals on the season. The loss to Alabama was the Cougars’ first contest giving up three or more goals since a 4-3 overtime loss at USC on February 15, 2021.

BYU continues its five-game homestand as it hosts CSUN on Saturday at 8 p.m. MDT. Tune-in to the Cougars’ matchup with the Matadors with a live stream on the BYUtv App or listen to live play-by-play on BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app/BYU Radio 107.9 FM.

PROVO, Utah — The Cougars prepare to host the Crimson Tide under the lights at South Field on Thursday.

GAME NOTES

Thursday’s matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be carried live on BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app/BYU Radio 107.9 FM. The game will also be streamed on the BYUtv App. 

IN THE RANKINGS. The Cougars jumped three spots in the rankings and are now ranked No. 6 nationally. Along with this national ranking, junior midfielder Jamie Shepherd was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week following her brace against Ohio State on Friday, Aug. 26. Shepherd was also recognized by the WCC as Offensive Player of the Week and has tallied three of the five BYU goals this season. 

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. BYU last played the Colorado Buffs in the 2022 home opener on Monday at South Field. After a clean slate on both sides of the ball going into halftime, the Cougars and Buffs scored two goals a piece in the second half for a 2-2 draw. This was BYU’s first tie of the season. Olivia Wade knocked in the first goal while Shepherd found the back of the net for goal number two.  

BYU vs Alabama

• Thursday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. MDT on South Field
• Radio: BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App/BYU Radio 107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell
• BYUtv App

THE CRIMSON TIDE. Alabama (3-1) began its 2022 regular season with a strong backline, notching three shutouts and allowing just one goal against in four games. With wins against Clemson, Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic, the Crimson Tide comes to Provo ranked No. 5 in the SEC West.

COUGARS VS THE CRIMSON TIDE. The Cougars and the Crimson Tide have competed twice previously with BYU leading the series 2-0. The last time the two teams met, BYU beat Alabama 4-1 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 18, 2021 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Former BYU star Mikayla Colohan notched three of the four goals and assisted former Cougar, Cameron Tucker on the last goal.