Cougars shutout Lions to extend winning streak to nine

LOS ANGELES- The No. 19 BYU women’s soccer team extends its winning streak to nine with a strong 3-0 team win over Loyola Marymount on the road on Saturday night. 

"A great effort from our girls on the road in a very physical match," BYU women's soccer head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "Our team defense continues to improve, tonight we didn't allow a single shot on goal." 

BYU’s (10-3-2, 4-0-0) shutout over LMU (8-5-2, 1-3-1) puts the Cougars on top in the West Coast Conference and continues an 11-game winning streak against WCC opponents dating back to last season.

The Cougars outshot the Lions 20-6 with Elena Medeiros leading with five shots and putting three on goal. Ashley Hatch followed it up with four shots, scoring one and putting two on goal. Freshman Elisabeth Phillips shot two, scoring one with Niki Fernandes scoring one and adding an assist.

BYU had a slow nine-minute start but followed it up with an aggressive ten minutes with five shots coming from Avery Calton, Phillips, Medeiros and Hatch.

Phillips made her third goal of the season with a shot over LMU’s goalie with the assists coming from Madie Lyons and Jaiden Thornock in the 41st minute to give BYU a 1-0 lead. The Cougars entered halftime leading the Lions in shots, 9-5, with five shots on goal.

BYU’s aggressive first half continued in the second half with sophomore Michele Murphy passing to Fernandes in the box on the open field for the second goal of the game in the 49th minute. Fernandes’s fourth goal of the season put BYU up 2-0.

After her assist to Murphy, Fernandes assisted the third goal with a pass to the right corner of the box to Hatch in the 62nd minute. Hatch gave the Cougars a three-point lead with her 12th goal of the season.

BYU kept the Lions scoreless for the remainder of the game and didn't allow a shot on goal to stay undefeated in conference play.

The Cougars return to South Field to play Santa Clara on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio on Sirius XM channel 143. The Cougar IMG Sports Network will broadcast the game live on BYUcougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.