No. 10 BYU Women’s Soccer crushes Utah with dominant first half

No. 10 BYU Women’s soccer crushed rival Utah on Saturday evening at the RSL Academy by a score of 5-1, thanks to a dominant first half that saw the Cougars go into halftime up 4-1.

BYU opened the scoring early in the 5th minute when Cameron Tucker finished a cross into the Utah net, but an own goal from the Cougars equalized the game for the Utes in the 18th minute, when Anna Escobedo’s shot was deflected into the net off the head of BYU goalkeeper Cassidy Smith.

The Cougars responded in the 27th minute when a Cameron Tucker shot was blocked by Utah goalkeeper SJ Edwards and fell in front of an empty net. Sophomore Rachel McCarthy was the first to the ball and easily finished to restore the Cougars’ lead.

The Cougars got another one in the 32nd when a BYU cross was knocked into the Utah net by Utah’s Makayla Christensen.

A quick run down the left side from McCarthy in the 37th minute led to a pass to a wide open Cameron Tucker, who was waiting alone in the middle of the penalty area. The goal gave the Cougars a 4-1 advantage over the Utes going into halftime.

A much slower second half resulted in just one goal for the Cougars, which came from Tucker in the 74th minute when the ball ricocheted around the box before falling kindly at her feet. The goal completed the hat-trick for the senior.

The Cougars have dominated the rivalry, with a record of 23-7-2 all time against the Utes. The Cougars are 1-0 on the season and will now travel to southern California to play UCLA on Feb 12, USC on Feb 15, and then San Diego on Feb. 20 in their WCC opener.