SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A dominating BYU offensive performance, including a hat-trick from Rachel McCarthy, led BYU soccer to a 6-0 shutout victory over San Diego Wednesday afternoon in California.

“It was a great win and a real good team effort,” said BYU head coach Jen Rockwood. “I’m really pleased with how we played, and it was a really solid performance all the way around.

Cameron Tucker started the scoring early for the Cougars in the eighth minute, off of an incredible cross from Makayla Colohan that soared from the left sideline, overtop of the defense and right onto Tucker’s outstretched foot. The goal ended a scoring drought for Tucker, since her hat-trick against Utah on Feb. 6. Tucker’s goal was her fourth goal of the season and 22nd of her career.

“We wanted to get Cam going,” Rockwood said. “She’s one of our top forwards, and if we can get her scoring goals, we will be in a much better situation.”

Colohan scored a goal in the 16th minute, giving goals in seven straight games now. The All-American’s goal was the 33rd of her career, making her ninth in all-time BYU scoring, tying her with Michele Vasconcelos, who now plays for Kansas City in the NWSL.

In the 34th minute, Olivia Wade scored her first goal of the season, and first goal since Sept. 21, 2018 against UVU, following some time away from the program with a church mission to Houston, Texas.

“Olivia is continuing to get better with each game, and I know she’s been hungry for the first goal,” Rockwood said. “I’m really excited for her to get that goal today, and if we can get her and Cam a little bit more dangerous, we will be that much better.”

McCarthy snuck in a goal before the half, in the 44th minute, off an assist from Brecken Mozingo, and continued to dominate going into the second half. The Cougars’ four goals in the first half tied USD’s goals for the entire season.

The second half started out slower than the first, but McCarthy quickly came out firing. In the 64th minute, Tucker ran the ball down the right side of the field toward the goal and at the last second, after drawing the goaltender toward her, as well as a second defender, passed it to McCarthy, who put the ball into the open net for a one-touch goal.

McCarthy wasn’t finished yet, scoring again just 1:20 later, in the 65th minute, off an assist from Wade,, completing her hat-trick for the afternoon. The midfielder’s goal was her eighth of the season and the first hat-trick in her career.

“Rachel has been coming off the bench for us, and you kind of don’t want to mess around with that because she’s been so successful coming in,” Rockwood said. “The defense is already a little tired chasing down our attack, and then Rachel is coming in. She’s so strong, fast, skilled, and has become such a great finisher.”

BYU continued to have opportunities to score, with San Diego having 17 saves in comparison to BYU’s five.

BYU outshot the Toreros 27-8 in total shots and 23-5 in shots on goal.

BYU’s defense and goalie Cassidy Smith remained perfect to earn the shutout, and second shutout of the season. Smith now has seven shutouts in her career.

The Cougars are averaging 3.4 goals per game this season.

The Cougars are now 7-3-0 on the season and 4-1-0 in conference play. BYU will return home to South Field on Saturday to take on Gonzaga.

“They’re rolling right now,” Rockwood said about the Bulldogs. “They look good and they’re playing well. They’ve got to be confident coming in, but I sure love the way we are playing right now. We are going to be a handful.”

The game set to kick off at 1 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on BYUtv, with radio coverage on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM, and audio play-by-play also streaming on the BYU Cougars app and at BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio. Limited fans will be in attendance.

PROVO, Utah – No. 16 BYU women's soccer will remain on the road in California to take on San Diego at Torero Stadium on Wednesday, March 24 and return home to South Field to face Gonzaga on Saturday, March 27.

Wednesday’s game against San Diego was originally scheduled for Feb. 20, but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. PDT and will be broadcast on the WCC Network for live video streaming. The game will also be on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App, with Greg Wrubell on the call following the conclusion of the BYU women’s basketball game in the NCAA Tournament.

Saturday’s matchup against Gonzaga in Provo is scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT will be broadcast on BYUtv, as well as radio coverage on BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM with audio play-by-play also streaming on the BYU Cougars app and at BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio.

IN THE RANKINGS. After a disappointing loss to Santa Clara and two redeeming victories over UVU and Pacific, BYU is ranked No. 16 in the National Soccer Coaches Association Poll. In the TopDrawerSoccer national rankings, BYU is ranked No. 24. Many of the teams ranked higher than BYU played a fall soccer season.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. A dominating second-half performance, including four goals, led the Cougars to a victory over Pacific, 5-1, on Saturday, March 20 at Knoles Field. Pacific scored the first goal of the game in the seventh minute, but were held scoreless for the remainder of the game. Bella Folino scored BYU’s first and third goals, with Brecken Morzingo and Rachel McCarthy also adding goals. Mikayla Colohan scored the final goal of the game off a penalty kick, making her 4-for-4 in PKs in the last four games.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK. Senior forward Colohan was named the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. The All-American was also named the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News, announced Monday. Against UVU, Colohan factored in on all four BYU goals, scoring two and assisting on the other two. Colohan scored the first and second goals of the game, giving her another game-winner, the seventh of her career. It was also the seventh multi-goal match of her career. She also led the way in shots in the game with seven. In BYU's WCC matchup against Pacific, Colohan assisted on BYU's first goal of the game in the 27th minute. In the 56th minute, Colohan assisted on another goal to give BYU the 3-1 lead. The midfielder put the game away with her fourth made penalty kick in four straight games in the 78th minute to give BYU the 5-1 victory. Colohan now has 31 goals in her career.

No. 16 BYU (6-3-0, 3-1-0 WCC) at San Diego (1-4-0, 1-2-0 WCC)

• Wednesday, March 24, at 1 p.m. PDT, at Torero Stadium
• Streaming: WCC Network
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE TOREROS. San Diego will be coming off a one week break after having its matchup against San Francisco on Saturday postponed. The Toreros last game was against Saint Mary’s, a 2-1 loss. Saint Mary’s took an early 2-0 lead, and San Diego got on the board in the 53rd minute, but ultimately couldn’t tie things up.

COUGARS VS. TOREROS. The last time the Cougars and Toreros met was Oct. 26, 2019, with BYU winning 3-1. The Toreros struck first in the 12th minute, but BYU answered within 22 seconds as Cameron Tucker crossed the ball to Colohan to equalize the game at 1-1. Tucker scored the second goal, with Elise Flake scoring BYU’s final goal of the night. BYU is 9-3-0 all-time versus the Toreros.

No. 16 BYU (6-3-0, 3-1-0 WCC) vs Gonzaga (6-2-0, 4-1-0 WCC)

• Saturday, March 27, at 1 p.m. MDT, at South Field
• Broadcast: BYUtv
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE BULLDOGS. The Zags are coming off a 1-0 shutout against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, March 20. Gonzaga capitalized on a penalty kick in the 61st minute for the game’s lone goal.

COUGARS VS. BULLDOGS. The last time BYU and Gonzaga met, BYU defeated the Zags in a shutout, 3-0, on Nov. 6, 2019. BYU took the early 3-0 lead in the first half, with Flake, Jamie Shepherd and Colohan scoring the goals. The Cougars are undefeated against the Bulldogs, holding a 12-0 record all-time.