PORTLAND, Ore. ­­– A pair of first half goals was all the No. 4 BYU women’s soccer team needed to stay undefeated on the season and take a 2-0 win over Portland Wednesday night at Merlo Field.

"It was quite a battle for us tonight," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "A lot of respect for Portland, defensively they did a great job shutting things down for us. This wasn't an easy game by any means. It was physical, fast and a little hectic at times but we found a way to make it happen."

MAC Hermann Trophy nominee Elise Flake put the Cougars (14-0-1, 4-0-1 WCC) on the board in the 20th minute as Mikayla Colohan took the ball to the end line and sent it back to an open Lizzy Braby before finding Flake with her back in front of the goal. A quick turn and the forward sent the ball into the top of the net for the 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Ashton Brockbank scored from outside the 18-yard box after sneaking the ball through the hands of Portland’s (4-5-1, 0-3-2 WCC) keeper, giving BYU a 2-0 advantage.

After the first half, the Cougars outshot the Pilots 7-3 while both goalkeepers recorded a save apiece.

The first 20 minutes of play in the second half featured back-and-forth possession between the two teams with both recording a shot on goal.

In the final 10 minutes of play both teams offensive pressure picked up, but the defenses prevailed as neither team found the back of the net and BYU’s first half goals proved to be enough.

After 90 minutes of play, the Cougars recorded 14 shots compared to Portland’s seven. Sabrina Davis tallied two saves on the night.

The Cougars return to South Field as they host San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be available on BYUtv and audio broadcasts can be heard on BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App, 107.9 FM and ESPN 960 AM/ESPN 960 App.

GAME NOTES

• Elise Flake scored her 34th career goal, claiming the No. 8 spot in the BYU record book.
• Ashton Brockbank has now found the back of the net five times this season.
• Lizzy Braby continues to lead the offense in assists, recording her eighth of the season.
• The Cougars have outscored conference opponents 23-3.

PROVO, Utah – The No. 5 BYU women's soccer team continues West Coast Conference action at Portland on Wednesday, Oct. 23 before returning home to play San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 26.

IN THE RANKINGS. Top Drawer Soccer has BYU ranked No. 4 in this week's poll and the NCAA RPI rankings place the Cougars at No. 20. The United Soccer Coaches' poll will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 22. 

TOP 100 PLAYERS. Top Drawer Soccer recently released its Top 100 Players and Top 100 Freshmen, placing Mikayla Colohan at No. 17 and Elise Flake at No. 61 in the Top 100 Players. Jamie Shepherd and SaraJayne Affleck claimed the No. 10 and 48 spots in the Top 100 Freshmen poll.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. The Cougars took a dominant 8-0 victory over Saint Mary's last week at South Field as six different players found the back of the net. Danika Serassio scored the first goal of the match before Hermann Trophy nominees Colohan and Flake scored back-to-back goals within a minute of each other. Ellie Maughan rounded out the scoring in the first half, giving BYU a 4-0 lead at halftime. In the second half Colohan and Flake scored their second goals while Ella Ballstaedt and Lytiana Akinaka recorded goals in the final minutes of the game.

OFFENSIVE STRENGTH. BYU is second in the nation in scoring, tallying 50 total goals, just one behind Stanford. The Cougars are averaging 3.57 goals per game while the Cardinal lead the way with a 3.64 average. Flake leads the team with 13 goals and Colohan has recorded 10.

WCC UPDATE. In conference action, the Cougars lead the way with a 3-0-1 record. Pepperdine (3-1) and Santa Clara (2-0-2) follow in second and third with Gonzaga and San Francisco (2-1-1) tied for fourth place.

No. 5 BYU (13-0-1, 3-0-1 WCC) at Portland (4-4-1, 0-2-2 WCC)

• Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. PDT, at Merlo Field
• Video: WCC Network
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM and ESPN 960 AM/ESPN 960 AM App
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play) and Elena Medeiros (analyst)

THE PILOTS. Portland is coming off of back-to-back 1-1 ties against Saint Mary's in Moraga, California and No. 20 Santa Clara at its home turf. The Pilots started conference play with losses against Pepperdine (2-1) and Gonzaga (1-0). Taryn Ries leads the offense with five goals and four assists. Defensively, Portland has allowed 16 goals.

COUGARS VS. PILOTS. BYU has won eight consecutive games to lead the series 9-4. In 2018, the Cougars earned a 3-0 win at South Field and outshot the Pilots 35 to seven.

No. 5 BYU (13-0-1, 3-0-1 WCC) vs. San Diego (6-6-1, 2-2-0 WCC)

• Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. MDT, at South Field
• Video: BYUtv
• Video Talent: Spencer Linton (play-by-play) and Carla Haslam (analyst)
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM and ESPN 960 AM/ESPN 960 AM App
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play) and Elena Medeiros (analyst)

THE TOREROS. Last week San Diego took a 3-2 win over Loyola Marymount for its second win in conference action. The Toreros also beat Saint Mary's 5-0, but fell to Gonzaga and Santa Clara 6-0. This week's WCC Player of the Week is Moses Milan, she leads the Torero offense with seven goals and scored a hat trick against the Lions.

COUGARS VS. TOREROS. BYU leads the series 8-3 and most recently recorded a 2-1 overtime win in 2018 with Flake scoring the game-winner in the 98th minute.