No. 19 BYU plays home opener against William & Mary

PROVO -- The No. 17 BYU Cougars open their 2009 home schedule by hosting William & Mary this Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. and No. 15 Oklahoma State on Monday, Sept. 7 at noon.

Returning from an undefeated two-game stretch at Penn State where the Cougars defeated No. 20 UConn and No. 9 West Virginia by one point in each, BYU looks to continue it’s winning streak and current shut-out of all its opponents.

BYU is 12-2-0 in home game season openers and has an 115 -24-8 overall home record at South Field. This season, no opponents have had more than five shots on goal against the Cougars and they have yet to allow a goal against them.

Sophomore goalie McKinzie Olson has now had three consecutive shut-outs in a row after BYU’s win over West Virginia. Senior defender Andrea Willis anchors the BYU defense as a 2009 Hermann Trophy Candidate and Preseason All-American. Willis was also awarded Mountain West Conference Player-of-the-Week accolades on Aug. 31.

The William and Mary Tribe come to Provo with a 1-1 record thus far this season after a 3-1 win against Monmouth on Friday, Aug 28. Two William & Mary team members, junior Kaitlin O’Connor and sophomore Diana Weigel, were named to the preseason All-CAA teams for 2009. Weigel leads the Tribe with two assists on the season.

Oklahoma State is currently ranked No. 15 in the TopDrawer Soccer Poll with a 2-1 record after finishing the 2008 season as Big 12 conference champions. Senior forward Kasey Langdon was recently named to the Hermann Trophy Candidate Watch List for 2009.

The Cougars have played William & Mary once before, last year, where they were defeated 1-4 on the road.

This will be BYU’s first contest against Oklahoma State. Monday’s game will showcase two 2009 Hermann Trophy Watch List Candidates with BYU defender Willis and Oklahoma State forward Langdon.

BYU holds a 2-0 record against Top-25 ranked teams this season after its most recent win over No. 9 West Virginia. Freshman Carlee Payne led the Cougars to victory against the Mountaineers with a goal in the 97th minute of that contest. The goal against West Virginia was Payne’s second game-winning goal for the 2009 season.

Both Friday and Monday’s games can be viewed live on BYUTV. Fan can also follow the action on GameTracker by logging onto The BYU Women's Soccer schedule page.

Because All-Sports passes haven't been distributed yet, students will be able able to get into Friday and Monday's game free of charge with their student ID.

To purchase your reserved season tickets now for $30 call 422.BYU1 or visit www.byutickets.com.

Join the official BYU Women’s Soccer Texting group by texting “wsoc” to 83043. Members of the group receive game times and promotions, such as 2-for-1 discounts to EVERY game!

To receive up-to-the-minute updates about each game, follow the BYU soccer team on twitter at www.twitter.com/byusoccer.

Special promotions for this weekend's games

-The first 1,000 fans to Friday's game will receive a Lauren Anderson “I AM BYU” poster, the first of eight to be released at each home game

-Friday’s game is presented by Glenwood Apartments and Raintree Commons. Posters, prizes and cash giveaways will be given out during half time

-The first 500 fans to Monday's game will receive an Ashleigh Jameson "I AM BYU" poster, the second of eight to be released at each home game