BYU Women’s Soccer beats Boise State 5-1 in NCAA First Round

2-seed BYU women’s soccer overcame a sloppy first half to dominate the second half in a 5-1 win over Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars opened with many chances in the opening 10 minutes of the match, but lacked composure in front of goal and came away without a goal. BYU would finally find the opener on a corner when a Jamie Shepherd header was deflected into the net by Cameron Tucker in the 19th minute.

Just a minute later, Tucker added her second as she let an Elise Flake passrun across her body before putting it into the roof of the net.

Boise State wasn’t going to let BYU run away with it in the first half, and an Emily Curry header in the 22nd minute cleared the outstretched arms of BYU goalkeeper Sabrina Davis.

BYU would take the 2-1 lead into halftime, despite poor passing and physicality in the first half. The Cougars struggled with the physical back line of the Broncos, and often made uncharacteristically poor passes from the back line.

BYU would come out flying in the second half, and create a chance within 30 seconds. The Cougars first goal of the second half would come from an excellent strike from distance by Shepherd. A Lizzy Braby pass to Shepherd at 23 yards out gave her the chance and she took it well in the 54th minute.

The Cougars would add two more goals in the half, with SaraJayne Affleck scoring a header in the 64th minute with Flake adding a fifth in the 67th minute.

BYU returns to South Field in the Second Round to host Louisville on Thursday evening.