Gomes, Cougars beat Ohio State 3-0 for fifth-straight win

COLUMBUS, Ohio – MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Nadia Gomes scored her first goal this season and had an assist as No. 7 BYU beat No. 19 Ohio State 3-0 at Jesse Owens Stadium on Monday night.

"That was a huge result against a really good team, especially on the road," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "A number of great performances tonight, and I'm happy with the way we came out to start both halves."

BYU at Ohio State Box Score

The Cougars (6-1) claimed their third-straight shutout and fifth win in a row by beating the Buckeyes (6-2) on the road. All three Cougar starting forwards—Michele Vasconcelos, Ashley Hatch and Nadia Gomes—found the net, the first time this year all three have scored in the same game.

For Vasconcelos, it was her fifth goal in her last four games. Hatch continued a streak of scoring at least one point in five-straight games. Vasconcelos moved into 13th all-time in career points at BYU, while Hatch jumped up to ninth.

Vasconcelos scored in the eighth minute, taking a pass from Paige Hunt Barker as she gave up a shot opportunity and punched it through to Vasconcelos. From there, the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Week unloaded a quick shot across the front of Ohio State goalkeeper Jillian McVicker that found that net close to the far post.

Hatch and Barker were both credited with assists on the goal.

Hannah Clark made a series of nice saves late in the first half. One came on a Buckeye free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. It sailed through the Cougar defensive wall and looked like it would find the net just above Clark, but she got a hand up just in time to punch it above the crossbar.

Clark and the defense logged their fifth-straight shutout half in a row as BYU led 1-0.

Five minutes into the second half, Ohio State threatened to equalize on a penalty kick, but Clark dove to her left to turn the attempt away.

MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Gomes scored her first goal of the season in the 56th minute. She broke through the Buckeye defense after a takeaway and used a left-footed strike to score to the right of McVicker for a 2-0 Cougar lead.

The combination of Vasconcelos, Gomes and Hatch produced another goal in the 62nd minute to put BYU up 3-0. Gomes received a pass from Vasconcelos and dished to Hatch, who scored on a right-footed effort from just right of the penalty spot.

The Cougar defense held tough over the remainder of the game to preserve the shutout win.

BYU next plays at Utah State on Saturday at 4 p.m. MDT. The radio broadcast is available on the Cougar IMG Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and ESPN 960 AM.