The eleventh ranked BYU women's soccer team came from behind in stunning fashion to knock off the 3-5 Oklahoma Sooners 3-2. Scoring three goals in a five minute span put the Cougars up for good with two minutes to play, and the Sooners couldn't recover. With the win, the Cougars improve to 5-1-1 as they try to build their national ranking back up after dropping 5 spots from the loss last week.
First Half
The first half was full of excitement and missed opportunities for the Cougars as they found themselves in a 2-0 hole. The Sooners scored on their only two shots on goal in the half. With a number of chances to score the Cougars just couldn't finish as they had scrums and even a shot off the top cross bar. In the 9th minute the Sooners scored their first goal on a kicked rebound on the right side from just outside the box. Their second came on a kicked deflection on the right side that snuck past Erica Owens. The Cougars had their first good shot in the 14th minute when they had a shot after a foul about 25 feet out. After squandering this opportunity, they kept aggressive but couldn't find the net. Another foul 18 feet out in the 43rd minute gave the Cougars another chance but it went off the crossbar, off a Sooner and out of bounds. With the ensuing corner kick a scrum took place and the Sooners again deflected any goal attempts. In the confusion, Sarah Chambers injured her wrist but she was able to return in the second half. With the 2-0 score at half, it marked the first time since 2008 that the Cougars were down 2-0 at home.
Second Half
The second half was more of the same from the Cougars as they were aggressive but unsuccessful. The defense kept the Sooners from recording a shot in the second half and kept the ball on the Sooner side for most of the half. BYU had a shot at scoring when a yellow card was awarded to the Oklahoma goalkeeper after a collision just outside the box. Yet again the kick was wasted as the Cougars went away scoreless. Facing a situation of being shut out for the third straight game,for the first time in history, the Cougars continued to attack. In the 74th minute the Cougars finally found the back of the net but the goal was nullified by a very close offside call. With consecutive home losses on the line, something that hasn't happened since 2004, the Cougars finally broke through in spectacular fashion in the 83rd minute.
The Comeback
On a long kick from the left corner, Ella Johnson forced the ball off the hands of the goalkeeper and scored her first goal of her career. A minute and a half later, the Sooners Kathryn Watson was given a red car and ejected for taking down Ashley Hatch on a breakaway in the box. With the tie on the line, Paige Hunt slipped the shot past the goalkeeper to tie the game. With momentum suddenly on their side, the Cougars kept the pressure on and in the 87th minute a deflected shot let to a rebound shot by Jaiden Thornock that provided the difference in the game. With Thronocks first goal of the season, the Cougars came back from a 2-0 deficit to win or tie a game for the first time since 2003.
The amazing Cougar defense kept Oklahoma to 4 shots for the game and only 2 shots on goal. The Cougars recorded 13 shot and 7 on goal. Both teams recorded a 50% scoring rate on the shots on goal.
Next Game
The Cougars next travel to Long Beach State on Sept. 21st at 8pm MDT. There is no television broadcast.
The next home game is on Sept. 26th at 7pm MDT against Denver at South field. This game is on BYU Radio but no television has been announced.