PROVO, Utah – Rachel McCarthy recorded three shots, an assist and a goal in her first career start as No. 17 BYU women’s soccer dominated Portland in a 4-0 win at South Field on Saturday.

“[McCarthy] is really coming into her own and playing with a lot of confidence,” said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood.

The sophomore forward displayed such confidence with her second shot of the afternoon in the 17th minute. McCarthy ripped the shot from 20 yards out and watched as it flew into the top left of the goal, just past the outstretched fingers of Portland goalie Madison Zamora.

“[McCarthy’s goal] was unbelievable,” said Rockwood. “She can score in a lot of different ways. I’m really happy for her.”

McCarthy’s long ball put BYU up 2-0 and came just moments after Bella Folino opened the team’s scoring with a goal in the 15th minute.

While the Cougar offense shined to start the game, goalie Cassidy Smith and the defense made critical stops in the ensuing action to preserve BYU’s shutout.

Smith recorded two saves on Portland shots in the 18th and 37th minutes along with a saved penalty kick following a Pilot breakaway in the 19th.

BYU’s final two goals came with help off the bench. Brecken Mozingo checked into the game and promptly extended the Cougars lead to 3-0 at the half following her goal in the 33rd. Though Cameron Tucker was unable to score a goal for the sixth game in a row, she got in on the action with an assist to Ashton Brockbank-Johnson who put BYU up four in the 54th.

The Cougars showed off their depth on Saturday with each of their four goals coming from different players.

“This team is very deep,” said Rockwood. “We can score from a lot of different areas and a lot of different people in a lot of different ways.”

With the win, No. 17 BYU (11-3-1, 7-1-1 WCC) finishes second in the WCC behind only No. 11 Santa Clara. The Cougars now await a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will learn of their post-season fate during the Division 1 women’s soccer selection show on Monday at 11 a.m. MDT.

The selection show can be live-streamed at NCAA.com.

Game Highlights

Senior Night

Natalie Clark-Ball and Josie Guinn-Gelalich bid farewell to South Field on Saturday as the team’s only two graduating players.

The following seniors will return for the fall 2021 season: Makaylie Call, Mikayla Colohan, Grace Johnson, Cassidy Smith and Cameron Tucker.

Scoring

Saturday’s win over Portland marks the Cougars’ sixth game this season scoring four goals or more and the program’s 53rd consecutive game with at least one goal scored.

PROVO, Utah – No. 17  BYU women's soccer will take on Portland on Saturday, April 17 at South Field for its regular season finale.

Saturday’s matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT in Provo, Utah. The game will also be broadcast on BYUtv, with radio coverage on 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.

IN THE RANKINGS. BYU is ranked No. 17 in the National Soccer Coaches Association Poll. In the TopDrawerSoccer national rankings, BYU is ranked No. 21.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK. Senior forward Cameron Tucker was named the WCC Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. Tucker is now on a five-game goal scoring streak, tied for the fifth-longest all-time in BYU women’s soccer history, scoring in every game for the Cougars extending back to the March 24 win at San Diego. She has also added four assists in those five games.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. Against No. 25 Pepperdine on Saturday, Tucker scored a game-winning goal to give No. 16 BYU a 2-1 victory as the Cougars and Waves battled for second place in the WCC. It was the Cougars’ first victory in Malibu since 2012. In the 26th minute, Mikayla Colohan sent a long pass to Cameron Tucker down the field, who then passed it to Ashton Johnson in front of the goal. Johnson one-touched the ball into the net for her first goal of the season and eighth career goal. In the 60th minute, Colohan sent a pass through defenders to Tucker, as Tucker shot in the bottom right corner of the net to give BYU the 2-0 lead. Pepperdine had a shimmer of hope in the 68th minute when Leyla McFarland scored on a breakaway to put BYU on edge and the score at 2-1, but BYU’s defense and goalkeeper Cassidy Smith kept the Waves from equalizing.

No. 17 BYU (10-3-1, 6-1-1 WCC) vs Portland (3-3-3, 2-3-3 WCC)

• Saturday, April 17, at 1 p.m. MT at South Field
• Broadcast: BYUtv
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE PILOTS. Portland is coming off a 1-0 loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Saint Mary’s got on the board in the 11th minute, and though the Pilots outshot the Gaels 10-4, the Pilots were unable to equalize. Portland’s two conference wins this season were against Pacific and San Diego.

COUGARS VS. PILOTS. The last time the Cougars and Pilots met was on Oct. 23, 2019, when BYU shutout Portland 2-0. BYU scored twice in the first 32 minutes and outshot the Pilots 14-7. The Cougars are 10-4-0 all-time against the Pilots.