PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s soccer defeated Utah Valley 3-0 at South Field on Friday night, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars outshot UVU in the match 21-11 which helped give them a 3-0 goal advantage.

"Obviously, we're really excited to move on," said Jennifer Rockwood, BYU head coach. "It was a fantastic game tonight between two really good teams that have had a great season. We obviously congratulate UVU for everything they were able to accomplish this year. I think it's a game that neither of us probably wanted to play in the first round, but we knew it was going to happen. It was inevitable."

BYU keeper Savanna Mason had five saves, posting a clean sheet in her first-ever postseason start.

The rematch between the two teams from earlier in the season added to the drama between the two squads. UVU defeated the Cougars at South Field 4-2 on Sept. 10. It was the last time the Cougars had suffered a loss.

"I think that loss definitely hurt," said Jamie Shepherd, BYU midfielder and captain. "They got us at a time where we were kind of still figuring some things out, and we've come a long way since that game. We've overcome a lot and kind of figured ourselves out and found our identity and know what we're good at. You can see that we're playing some of our best soccer, and we're really excited to have the opportunity to keep going."

First Half

The first shot of the match was from BYU's Ellie Maughan from the top of the box just over five minutes in, sailing over the keeper's head. UVU had its first corner kick of the match about 10 minutes in, leading to their first try of the evening which was stopped by Mason.

A free kick from Brecken Mozingo led to a header by Olivia Wade that struck the crossbar, keeping things tied at zero, fifteen minutes into the match. 

An Olivia Smith cross led to a Bella Folino header, missing the net and keeping the match even at zero 25 minutes in. 

Mozingo had a chance off of a free kick with 12 minutes remaining in the half, which just missed right.

Shepherd ripped a shot for the Cougars from the top of the box that sailed wide right with just over seven minutes to go in the half.

A shot by Zoe Jacobs hit the crossbar and off the ricochet, freshman Allie Fryer scored, giving BYU a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute.

Mozingo nearly put the Cougars up 2-0 with 1:30 remaining in the half with a shot that missed just wide left.

BYU outshot the Wolverines 12-6 in the first half which helped give them a 1-0 lead midway through the match.

Second Half

UVU’s Nicole Ray had a chance about four minutes in the second half but was denied by Mason, as the Cougars still led 1-0.

Wolverine defender Jenna Shepherd received a yellow card in the 50th minute as the card was the first one issued in the match.

Another yellow card was issued to UVU’s Julianna Carter in the 58th minute of the match.

Olivia Wade had a breakaway with just over 20 minutes remaining in the match and her shot was saved by keeper Leah Wolf, the opportunity nearly put the Cougars on top 2-0.

A goal by Tara Warner in the 70th minute got the Cougars their second goal, sneaking in a shot from a tough angle, just inside the left post and past the keeper. The goal was assisted by Folino and Shepherd. It was Warner’s first career goal as a Cougar.

Rachel McCarthy netted one for BYU in the 79th minute, after multiple step overs, eluding UVU defenders, giving the Cougars a 3-0 advantage.

BYU’s Shepherd was issued a yellow card in the 81st minute, the third card issued in the match.

A shot by Carter nearly put the Wolverines on the board late in the match but Mason was able to just get her fingertips on it and deflect the ball over the net.

The Cougars now await their second-round opponent. BYU will play the winner of San Jose State vs. Stanford in the next round in North Carolina.

PROVO, Utah — BYU women's soccer will host the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Utah Valley Wolverines on Friday evening.

GAME NOTES

Friday’s matchup has been scheduled for 6 p.m. MST. The game will be carried live on BYURadio.org, the BYU Radio app and BYU Radio 107.9 FM. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY. Under the direction of head coach Jennifer Rockwood, BYU has previously made 22 NCAA tournament appearances, including five Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights and one College Cup finals appearance, last year in 2021. BYU was the No. 12 seed last year and finished as the NCAA College Cup National Runner-Up, falling in penalty kicks in the championship game. 

SEASON REVIEW. BYU finished its regular season schedule with wins against San Diego (6-0) and Loyola Marymount (2-1) in its final two games. With these two conference wins, BYU notched a 10-2-6 record overall, 6-0-3 in the West Coast Conference. With an undefeated conference record, the Cougars finished the 2022 regular season No. 20 in RPI, earning a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

CONFERENCE RECOGNITION. The WCC awards were released on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and the Cougars took home seven honors. Jamie Shepherd was recognized as WCC Midfielder of the Year, while Laveni Vaka was honored as WCC Defender of the Year. Shepherd and Vaka were two of three Cougars named to the All-WCC First Team, joining forward standout Brecken Mozingo. Juniors Olivia Smith and Olivia Wade received All-WCC Second Team honors. Freshmen Allie Fryer and Izzi Stratton were both named to the WCC All-Freshman Team.

BYU NOTES (10-2-6, 6-0-3)

• BYU finished the 2022 season ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25
• BYU leads the WCC in shots (474), points (131), goals (45) and assists (41)
• Mozingo leads the Cougars in goals (12), assists (10) and points (34)
• Mozingo finds herself in the BYU record book with 10 assists in a single season, which is tied for fourth-highest in BYU history. She is now ranked No. 4 in most shots in a season, with 104, right behind former Cougar Sara Reading's 107. With three multi-goal games this season, Mozingo is also tied for fourth-most multi-goal games amongst Cougars
• BYU has not lost a game since its last matchup against UVU on Sept. 10, 2022 at South Field 

Head Coach - Jennifer Rockwood

• Record at BYU: 434-125-53
• 28th season as head coach of BYU
• Seventh in NCAA Division I active career winning percentage (.754)  

UTAH VALLEY NOTES (14-4-3, 9-1-1)

• UVU finished its regular season No. 1 in the Western Athletic Conference
• The Wolverines last played No. 3 New Mexico State in the WAC Tournament, losing 1-0 in the second round
• Faith Webber leads her team in goals (14), points (35) and shots (99)
• The Wolverines earned their first-ever at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament 

Head Coach - Chris Lemay

• Record as head coach at UVU: 66-51-13
• Sixth season as head coach at Utah Valley University
• Lemay has led the Wolverines to two NCAA Tournament appearances, an NCAA Tournament win, one WAC regular season championship and two WAC Tournament titles

COUGARS VS WOLVERINES. The Cougars and the Wolverines have played eight times previously, with BYU leading the series 7-1. The last time the two teams met was Sept. 10, 2022 when the Wolverines beat the Cougars 4-2 on South Field. BYU started the scoring with a goal by Mozingo in the fifth minute of the match. UVU answered back with two goals of its own, followed by a Fryer goal in the 41st minute. Another UVU goal gave the Wolverines a 3-2 lead heading into the half. In the 79th minute on the pitch, UVU secured its 4-2 victory on South Field.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Friday, November 11, at 6 p.m. MST on South Field
• Radio: BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App/BYU Radio 107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Jason Shepherd
• TV Stream: ESPN+