Nimmer wins overtime thriller for BYU

LOS ANGELES - An overtime goal in the 103rd minute from freshman Marissa Nimmer gave the No. 4 BYU women's soccer team a 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount, Thursday, on the road and a continual hold on first place in the West Coast Conference standings. 

With the win, the Cougars clinch at least a share of the 2012 WCC title. 

BYU is now 2-0-1 in games that go into overtime and have won their last six-straight games in conference play. 

Quality shots were taken from the BYU side in the first half but none were able to get past the Lion defense and find the back of the net. The Cougars controlled much of the first-half tempo, taking six shots to LMU's four at the end of the first half. 

The Cougars went into the locker room at halftime without a goal for just the fourth time this season. 

The second half started slow but after about 15 minutes, BYU got two good chances in a row.

Rachel Manning took a shot that went off the right post and bounced away from BYU possession but not for long. One minute later LMU's goalkeeper tried to bat the ball away from harm but missed it and Michele Murphy retrieved it. She attempted to pass the ball to Jessica Ringwood, in front of an open net, but a Lion defender intercepted and cleared the ball. 

A few more good shots were taken by BYU, especially late in the second half, but a 0-0 score led the game into overtime. 

Two shots were taken by each team in the first overtime but another zero-goal performance put them into a second overtime. Nimmer's golden goal for BYU came just three minutes into the second overtime and secured the 1-0 victory for BYU. Nimmer's goal came off a pass from teammate Jaiden Thornock. 

The Cougars finished the game with 20 shots to LMU's nine. 

Up next for BYU is its final game of the regular season. The team travels to No. 22 Pepperdine for a game on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. PDT.