Cougar women to play eight exhibition games this spring

PROVO, Utah — Eight exhibition games are on the BYU women’s soccer team’s spring schedule as it prepares for the 2016 fall season.

The slate of games begins in Provo on Feb. 27 when the Cougars host an indoor tournament with matchups against in-state foes Dixie State and Southern Utah University. The matches are at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, and will be played in BYU’s Indoor Practice Facility.

BYU will next travel to Las Vegas on March 5 to take on UNLV at 10 a.m. The Cougars and Rebels met last year in Provo, with BYU picking up the 2-0 victory.

Then on March 19 the Cougars find themselves in Tempe, Arizona, for back-to-back games against Pac-12 member Arizona State.  The Sun Devils and Cougars will battle at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. ASU finished seventh in the Pac-12 in 2015.

On April 2, BYU is back in Las Vegas for a game against another Pac-12 powerhouse, USC. The Trojans finished the year ranked 11^th nationally, advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament and finished second in the Pac-12 race. Location and time will be announced later.

The Cougars wrap up their 2016 spring schedule playing two games at South Field on April 9. BYU hosts UVU at 1 p.m. and Idaho State at 5 p.m. The Cougars and Wolverines met last year in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Provo. BYU won that contest 1-0.  The Bengals and Cougars have not played each other since the 2011 campaign when BYU traveled to Pocatello and recorded a 3-1 win on Aug. 30.

All games are open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend.

BYU returns 14 players from a 2015 team that won its fourth-straight West Coast Conference title and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Among the returning players will be the WCC Player of the Year Nadia Gomes and the WCC Goalkeeper of the Year Rachel Boaz.