Cougar Season Ends in Compelling 3-2 Overtime Loss to Utah

PROVO -- An incredible tying goal by senior Jeni Viernes with 12 seconds left in regulation was not enough in BYU's first-round NCAA Women's College Cup match against Utah. The Utes scored with one minute remaining in the first overtime period to win 3-2 in Provo Thursday night in front of a frenzied crowd of 1,513.

"It's a disappointing end," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "But we had a lot of success, our players worked hard this year."

With a little over one minute left in the first overtime, Ute defender Maren Harper tapped the ball to senior Megan Maxwell on a free kick. Maxwell then placed a high arching shot over Cougar keeper Mandy Gott for the win.

"This is the best game I've been involved in in five years," Utah head coach Rich Manning said. "BYU showed a lot of character, you have to give credit to them for tying it up."

Utah (13-3-3) struck first at the 35:10 mark when Missy Dennis chipped a shot over a sliding Gott to give the Utes a 1-0 lead. Shauna Gurr-Bingham notched the assist for Utah, but would leave minutes later with a twisted knee and did not return to the match.

BYU (16-6-0) answered with less than two minutes left in the first half when junior All-American Aleisha Cramer-Rose fired a shot from 25 yards out that glanced off a Ute defender and past Utah keeper Lynnsey Asay. Junior Jennifer Henry-Fielding was credited with the assist on the play.

Dennis contributed again late in the second half as she fed Katie Tate whose shot then found the upper-left corner of the net to put Utah up 2-1.

The Cougars fought back with a flurry of shots and offensive pressure in the last 15 minutes of regulation and were rewarded with Viernes' incredible goal with only 12 seconds remaining.

Cramer-Rose lofted a free kick deep into the Utah box. Asay rose high to bring in the ball but lost control as she attempted to gather the kick. Viernes then kneed the ball into the net to send the game into overtime.

Utah will play Portland, a 3-0 winner over Idaho State in the afternoon semifinal, at noon on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Women's College Cup in Provo. Portland scored all three goals on the Bengals in the first half as sophomore All-America forward Christine Sinclair knocked in two goals to lead the Pilots.

Soccer Box Score (Final)
                       The Automated ScoreBook For Soccer
              UTAH vs Brigham Young (Nov 14, 2002 at Provo, Utah)
UTAH (13-3-3 (4-1-1)) vs.                         Goals by period       1  2 OT  Tot
Brigham Young (16-6-0 (6-0-0))                    ----------------------------------
Date: Nov 14, 2002  Attendance: 1513              UTAH................  1  1  1 -  3
Weather: cool, calm                               Brigham Young.......  1  1  0 -  2
UTAH                                           Brigham Young
Pos ## Player                Sh  G  A          Pos ## Player                Sh  G  A
--------------------------------------         --------------------------------------
GK  0  ASAY, Lynnsey.......   -  -  -          GK  30 GOTT, Mandy.........   -  -  -
D   3  WILLIAMS, Jen.......   -  -  -          M   2  THULIN, Brooke......   1  -  -
D   8  MAXWELL, Megan......   1  1  -          D   10 OLMSTEAD, Farrah....   -  -  -
M/F 10 BENEGAS, Bobbie.....   2  -  -          M/F 11 RENDICH, Jamie......   -  -  -
F   11 GURR-BINGHAM, Shauna   4  -  1          D   13 HOECHERL, Annie.....   -  -  -
D   12 HARPER, Maren.......   -  -  1          F   14 FIELDING, Jennifer..   3  -  1
D   18 STRATTON, Tracy.....   -  -  -          D/M 15 BOWMAN, Brooke......   2  -  -
M   19 WILHELM-CARTER, Heat   -  -  -          D/M 17 CRAMER ROSE, Aleisha   6  1  -
D   20 KEDDINGTON, Kari....   2  -  -          F   18 VIERNES, Jeni.......   7  1  -
F   22 TATE, Katie.........   2  1  -          D   19 HOLMAN, Britney.....   -  -  -
M   33 BROWER, Amber.......   1  -  -          M/F 20 OJUKA, Lydia........   2  -  -
     ---------- Substitutes ----------              ---------- Substitutes ----------
    4  DENNIS, Missy.......   2  1  1              8  BIGELOW, Terra......   -  -  -
    6  HERDIC, Julie.......   -  -  -              16 LUI, Charlene.......   -  -  -
    16 IMOTAN, Esther......   1  -  -
    23 FIELD, Lauren.......   -  -  -                 Totals..............  21  2  1
       Totals..............  15  3  3
UTAH                                           Brigham Young
## Player                 MIN  GA Saves        ## Player                 MIN  GA Saves
---------------------------------------        ---------------------------------------
0  ASAY, Lynnsey....... 100:00  2     7        30 GOTT, Mandy......... 100:00  3     6
TM TEAM................   0:00  0     4        TM TM..................   0:00  0     1
Shots by period       1  2 OT  Tot             Saves by period       1  2 OT  Tot
----------------------------------             ----------------------------------
UTAH................  8  5  2 - 15             UTAH................  5  5  1 - 11
Brigham Young.......  9 11  1 - 21             Brigham Young.......  3  4  0 -  7
Corner kicks          1  2 OT  Tot             Fouls                 1  2 OT  Tot
----------------------------------             ----------------------------------
UTAH................  4  2  0 -  6             UTAH................  8 12  1 - 21
Brigham Young.......  2  1  0 -  3             Brigham Young.......  9  5  4 - 18
SCORING SUMMARY:
GOAL   Time Team     ## Goal Scorer              Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1.   35:10 UTAH      4 DENNIS, Missy (9)        11 GURR-BINGHAM, Shauna
 2.   43:20 BY       17 CRAMER ROSE, Aleisha (6) 14 FIELDING, Jennifer
 3.   71:58 UTAH     22 TATE, Katie              4 DENNIS, Missy
 4.   89:49 BY       18 VIERNES, Jeni            Unassisted
 5.   99:11 UTAH      8 MAXWELL, Megan           12 HARPER, Maren
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS:
YC-BY #20 (26:14)
Officials: Referee: Randy Ploeger; Asst. Referee: Gunther Haidenthaler;
Sly Yeates; Alt. Official: Bruce Major; Timekeeper: Jerry Freestone; Scorer: Kathy Jensen;
Offsides: UTAH 0, Brigham Young 2.