Vasconcelos' early goal gives No. 5 BYU 1-0 win over LMU

LOS ANGELES – Michele Vasconcelos put the only goal on the board early as No. 5 BYU beat Loyola Marymount 1-0 Thursday night at Sullivan Field.

"This was a great win on the road against a really good team," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "We combined really well in the attack today but were a little off target in front of the goal."

BYU at LMU Box Score

The Cougars improved their unbeaten streak to 11 games and notched their eighth shutout of the season in the win.

BYU improved to 11-1-1 (2-0-1 West Coast Conference), as the Lions fell to 7-3-3 (2-1-0).

In the ninth minute, Vasconcelos used a give-and-go to Nadia Gomes to give the Cougars' the advantage. Vasconcelos passed to Gomes at the top of the 18-yard box, who punched a leading pass inside the right corner of the box. Vasconcelos circled around Gomes, possessed the pass, took a dribble and booted it past the arm of LMU keeper Charlee Pruitt to give BYU its eventual winning score of 1-0.

It was the eighth goal of the season for Vasconcelos and ninth assist for Gomes, a MAC Hermann Trophy candidate.

Hannah Clark played goalkeeper in the first half for the Cougars, while Rachel Boaz took over in the second half. Both had two saves as they combined to hold the Lions scoreless.

BYU was the aggresor for most of the game, with 16 shots and 10 on goal compared to LMU's 10 shots and four on goal.

The Cougars stay in Southern California to take on No. 25 Pepperdine on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT. The matchup will feature the only two ranked teams in the WCC. A radio broadcast of the game will be available on ESPN 960 AM, and a video stream can be viewed at TheW.tv.