Cougars tie No. 21 Utes 1-1 in Deseret First Duel

PROVO, Utah — In an action-packed Deseret First Duel, BYU women’s soccer tied with No. 21 Utah 1-1 in double overtime at South Field in front of 5,367 fans on Friday.

“It’s always a close game when we play Utah,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “I thought we took a step forward today. We fought and battled a little bit more, and that is something we have lacked most of the season. We are a work in progress, and we will hopefully take another step forward on Monday.”

The Cougars (0-3-3) recorded their highest amount of shots this season against Utah (4-1-1), tallying 14, while Utah attempted 16 shots.

In the match BYU senior goalkeeper Hannah Clark logged a season-high eight saves, while senior forward Nadia Gomes scored her 19th career goal as a Cougar.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm through the first 20 minutes of the match.  

The Utes nearly scored on a header off of Utah’s second corner kick of the contest in the 21st minute.

After the Cougars pieced together two back-to-back offensive attacks, Utah countered, scoring in the 31st minute. Paola Van der Veen slid the ball past two BYU defenders to Eden Jacobsen. Jacobsen then found the back of the net to give Utah the 1-0 halftime advantage.

In the 57th minute, Gomes capitalized on a misplaced ball in the box. Gomes blocked a clear by Utah goalkeeper Carly Nelson and scored in an open net to tie the game at 1-all.

“It comes down to hustle,” Rockwood said, “and it's something that these players can all choose to do. Nadia did a good job of putting pressure on the keeper. She caused some chaos and put it away. I’m proud that she was able to battle and fight like that.”

After Gomes' goal the match became more physical on both sides of the field. Two yellow cards were given out in the second half. With 15 seconds left in regulation, Clark saved a header off of a Natalee Wells corner into the box to force overtime.

On a free kick in the eighth minute of overtime, Clark recorded her seventh save of the match, as Aleea Gwerder rocketed a ball to goal. No score in the first 10-minute overtime forced a second overtime period.

Both teams put together solid offensive campaigns in the second overtime, but neither side could find the back of the net.

BYU women’s soccer will travel to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on its fourth-straight Pac-12 opponent Oregon State on Monday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network and can be heard live on BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143 and ESPN 960.