Cougars fall to USC in overtime 4-3

LOS ANGELES — No. 10 ranked BYU women’s soccer fell to No. 6 USC in overtime, 4-3, on Monday afternoon at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

In the extra time, USC (1-0-0) forward Jennifer Westendorf scored in the 97th minute to secure the victory over the Cougars (1-2-0) after a back and forth battle in the Trojan’s season opener.

“It’s disappointing that we couldn’t figure out how to pull off a win,” coach Jennifer Rockwood said. ”We just have to bounce back, learn from these games, and believe in ourselves a little bit more as we get ready for conference.”

USC senior Tara McKeown scored the first and only goal of the first half in the 11th minute off an assist by sophomore Croix Bethune.

BYU got on the board in the 57th minute with a goal by senior Rachel McCarthy that was assisted by Cameron Tucker. The Trojans quickly answered back in the 59th minute to retake the lead 2-1 with a goal from junior Penelope Hocking.

Cougar forward Bella Folino equalized in the 68th minute with her second goal of the season on an assist from McCarthy. USC wasted no time regaining the lead, 3-2, with a goal on a penalty kick in the 70th minute by forward McKeown.

Folino responded with her second goal of the match in the 77th minute, again assisted by McCarthy, to tie it up at 3-3 and force overtime, where the Trojans ultimately won in the 97th minute. 

The Cougars return to California on Friday, Feb. 20, to open conference play at San Diego. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST and will be carried live on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App with Jason Shepherd on the call. 

Game Notes:

• McCarthy’s goal at the 56:49 mark was her second of the season and third of her BYU career
• Folino’s two goals were her second and third of the season; she now has nine in her BYU career
• Cameron Tucker, McCarthy, and Folino led BYU with two shots on goal each
• BYU is currently 1-2-0 on the season, with road losses to No. 3 ranked UCLA and No. 6 USC

Game Quotes:

BYU women’s soccer coach Jen Rockwood

“We had plenty of chances and created a lot of opportunities, we just missed our target and weren’t as good on some pieces as we needed to be, but I think there are a lot of things we can take away. We had some great performances by some people who hadn’t seen much time out on the field, and that’ll certainly help us as we move forward to conference.”

“We fought brilliantly, I thought, throughout the game. We didn’t quite show up enough in the first half and then had to play catch up the rest of the game, but we had plenty of chances. Sometimes we come on the road and play big name teams and don’t realize how good we can be. It took us awhile to figure that out, and that’s disappointing because we have no reason not to come on the road against big opponents and expect to win.”