PROVO, Utah – No. 16 BYU women’s soccer won its fourth straight match on Saturday with a 4-0 shutout of Gonzaga at South Field.

“It was a great game for us, right from the beginning,” said head coach Jen Rockwood. “We’ve played a few full 90-minute games here recently, and I think the team is really making progress.”

The Cougars were on the attack from the moment they stepped on the pitch. Makaylie Call opened the scoring for BYU with a goal in the 10th minute. Call’s second goal of the season came off an assist from Cameron Tucker and followed two straight shots from Tucker that went off the crossbar of the net.

Tucker continued leading BYU’s scoring onslaught with another assist to Jamie Shepherd for a goal in the 25th minute. The Zags would counterattack moments later, only to be stopped by Cassidy Smith with the first of her three saves on the day. Another save from Smith in the 42nd minute, kept BYU in command, 2-0, at the half.

BYU wasted little time in the second half before extending its lead to 3-0 with a Mikayla Colohan goal off an assist from Rachel McCarthy in the 49th minute. Tucker went from assisting to scoring in the 67th minute, as she recorded her fifth goal of the season to put the Zags away at 4-0.

“Cam [Tucker] is such a hard worker,” Rockwood said. "We told her to just go out there and do what she does, which is run hard, both on offense and defense. She went out and did that and good things happened.”

Tucker’s goal came off an assist from Call and gave BYU its fourth straight match scoring at least four goals.

Despite BYU keeping much of the game on Gonzaga’s side of the field, the Zags slipped past the Cougar defense and nearly broke the shutout with 43 seconds remaining. Once again, Smith stymied the Zags’ attack with her third save of the day to preserve the shutout.

“I’m really proud of the clean sheet that we kept today,” Rockwood said. "I thought Cass [Smith] had a stellar game today and her best full 90 minutes. She was challenged and came up with big saves. She distributed well, and that’s what you need from your keeper.”

With the win over Gonzaga, BYU (8-3, 5-1 WCC) stands alone at second place in the WCC behind only Santa Clara. The Cougars now face a four-match stretch on the road, beginning with crucial matches at Santa Clara on Wednesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. PDT and at St. Mary’s on Saturday April 3 at 1 p.m. PDT. Both games will be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network – BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App.

Game Notes

• The Cougars exceeded their shots per game average of 20.7, with 25 against the Zags on Saturday.
• Mikayla Colohan scored her 10th goal of the season and 34th of her career on Saturday. With this latest goal, Colohan continues her ascension up BYU’s all-time career scoring list. She now sits alone at ninth, having passed former Cougar-great Michele Murphy Vasconcelos’s (2012-16) 33 career goals.

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.