CARY, N.C. — BYU women’s soccer’s second trip to the College Cup in three seasons came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.
"This senior group has been really special," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "They worked extremely hard and are very committed. They wanted to do something that a BYU team hasn’t done and that was to win a national championship. It was a little unfortunate tonight but as I said after the game, they can hold their heads high because we really played a great game.”
The Cardinal came out fast and scored the night’s only two goals in the first four minutes of play. BYU threatened frequently for the remainder of the contest but came up empty despite a 20-3 advantage in shots. The Cougars had three shots on goal, forcing three Stanford saves and recorded four corner kicks to the Cardinal’s three.
BYU’s 20 shots were a season-high allowance for Stanford. Meanwhile, the Cougars held the Cardinal to a season-low three shots.
Brecken Mozingo led BYU with six shots while Olivia Wade-Katoa and Allie Fryer each pitched in three shots with one on goal. Rachel McCarthy and Izzi Stratton added two shots a-piece with Ellie Walbruch recording one as well.
First Half
Stanford blitzed BYU from the start as it stormed into the Cougars’ attacking third for two early goals. The Cardinal drew first blood in the second minute with a surge into the BYU 18 and score through the upper right. Stanford struck yet again in the fourth minute with a longball meeting the back of the net and putting the Cardinal up 2-0.
Despite Stanford’s early success, the remainder of the half saw the Cougars turn on their attack and find their footing on defense.
Fryer fired away for BYU’s first shot of the game in the 11th minute. The ball went out top but the Cougars picked up confidence and began dominant possession of the ball in the ensuing minutes.
Mozingo and Olivia Smith-Griffitts got off shots in the 14th and 15th minutes before a second one from Fryer came off the mark in the 22nd. The Cougars’ closest shot attempts of the half came off the feet of Kendell Petersen and Walbruch. Petersen pounded one through the defense and came up just shy of the net in the 23rd minute while the waning moments of the half saw Walbruch narrowly called offside on a shot in the box.
The Cougars battened down the hatches for a majority of the half, holding the Cardinal shotless over a 40-minute stretch until Lynette Hernaez popped one over the top for a save in the 44th.
BYU headed to the locker room with a 2-0 deficit despite outshooting Stanford 9-3 in the opening 45.
Second Half
BYU came out of the locker room with urgency and continued to attack throughout the final 45. Two of the Cougars’ best looks of the night came in the opening minutes of the second half with shots to the bottom center from Fryer and Wade-Katoa. The Cardinal saved both to preserve their 2-0 lead.
BYU came within inches of a goal in the 57th minute when a shot from Boren ricocheted off the post and just missed the goal line. The Cougars had two more good looks in the 68th and 74th minutes with near-misses from Mozingo on a penalty kick and Stratton on a header in the box.
Despite BYU’s barrage of 11 second-half shots, the Cardinal defense held firm and came away with the 2-0 win.