Utah Soccer loses to BYU 2-1 in Provo

PROVO, Utah – The University of Utah women’s soccer program lost to conference rival Brigham Young University 2-1 for the third consecutive year on Sept. 23 at South Field.

The adrenaline levels were high between the Beehive State rivals as the first half got off to a rocky start with both teams struggling to keep their feet on the field.

The Utes and Cougars had a slow offense in the first half, with both teams managing one shot each in the first half and reaching the 45-point mark with the score tied 0-0.

“I want to commend BYU for playing with so much energy the entire 90 minutes,” said head coach Hideki Nakada“I felt like the game was even two-thirds of the time, but we lost control when we needed it most.”
In the 57th^th In the minute, the Cougars took advantage of a corner kick and scored the first goal.

Experienced striker Katie O’Kane broke through two BYU defenders and stole the ball in the 63rd minute.^rd Minute and with a shot to the right side of the net, O'Kane equalized the game to 1:1.

The Cougars hit the net again in the 83rd.^rd Minute after he returned a Utah goal kick, creating a 2-1 deficit.

“It's been a challenge to stay healthy,” Nakada said. “We need to get players back, but we need to make it easier on ourselves by taking care of the ball because we're so much better on the ball than we showed tonight.”

Striker with university degree Taliana Kaufusi tried to tie the game, but was stopped each time, allowing the Cougars to remain in the lead until the end of the game.


senior Kasey Wardle spent the entire ninety minutes in goal and set a new season record with eight saves and 17 blocked shots.


“We are looking forward to being back home on Thursday evening,” said Nakada.

Next
Utah completes its three-game week, hosting Iowa State at home at Ute Field on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.



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