LOS ANGELES — No. 7 ranked BYU women’s soccer fell to No. 3 UCLA, 2-1, Friday evening at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. 

A late goal by UCLA freshman Sunshine Fontez in the 74th minute off an assist by teammates Reilyn Turner and Delanie Sheehan gave the Bruins (2-0-0) a come from behind victory over the Cougars (1-1-0).

“It was a high energy, fast paced, tough battle,” said BYU women’s soccer coach Jen Rockwood. “We’re obviously disappointed in the outcome, but I thought we brought a lot of energy and had a chance to tie it at the end against one of the top teams in the country.”

BYU sophomore Jamie Shepherd scored the first goal of the match less than three minutes into the second half. The goal came off a corner kick by sophomore Brecken Mozingo that pinballed around in the goal box before Shepherd put it in the back of the net.

Bruin senior Marley Canales scored UCLA’s first goal of the game off a penalty kick from 15-feet inside the top of the box in the 59th minute to even the score at 1-1. 

Trailing 2-1 after the Fontez goal, the Cougars had a couple of chances over the last 16 minutes to score the equalizer, but a shot by Mikayla Colohan was saved by Bruin goalie Lauren Brzykcy and another by Cameron Tucker just missed high. 

The Cougars remain in Pac-12 country over the weekend to face No. 6 ranked USC on Monday, Feb. 15, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PST and will be carried live on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App with Greg Wrubell on the call. The game will also be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network. 

Game Notes:

• Shepherd’s goal at the 47:27 mark was her first of the season and third of her BYU career
• UCLA transfer sophomore Brecken Mozingo had the first assist of her BYU career
• Tucker and Colohan led BYU with two shots on goal each
• The 2-1 loss is the first regular season defeat for BYU since falling to Pepperdine 2-1 on Oct. 13, 2018
• The Cougars' only loss during the 2019 season came to eventual national champion Stanford in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament
• The scoreless first half was back and forth, as the Bruins held the advantage in total shots 8-6, while the Cougars led in shots on goal, 4-3

Game Quotes:

BYU women’s soccer coach Jen Rockwood
“I was pleased with the way we competed tonight. We had a lot of movement and were attacking well. This is a young team, but we battled to the end and gave it everything we had. It was a great experience for us to play a very talented team like UCLA.”

“USC will definitely be a challenge. We love the opportunity to play two top-10 teams early in the season. It will definitely make us better. We look forward to playing USC on Monday in such a storied venue like the L.A. Coliseum.” 

BYU sophomore forward Olivia Wade
“UCLA is very strong and super talented. I thought we gave it our best effort and I’m proud of the way we competed tonight. It’s great to play a team as talented as UCLA early in the season to see what our strengths are and where we can improve.”

“USC is always very strong. We are very excited play them on Monday in the Colosseum.” 
 

PROVO, Utah – No 7. BYU women's soccer heads west this week for its next two games against Pac 12 UCLA and USC.

Both games will be broadcast on the Pac 12 Network Stream, with the UCLA game on UCLA Live Stream-2 and USC on USC Live Stream. BYU Sports Network radio coverage will be carried on BYU Radio 107.9 FM, with audio play-by-play also streaming on the BYU Cougars app and at BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio for both games.

IN THE RANKINGS. BYU is ranked No. 7 after being named the Team of the Week by TopDrawerSoccer. The first National Soccer Coaches Association Poll will be released on Feb. 23rd, following the first couple weeks of play.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. Led by a hat trick from Cameron Tucker, BYU (1-0-0) opened the 2020-21 season with an impressive 5-1 win over in-state rival Utah at the Zions Bank Real Academy on Saturday.

WCC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK. BYU swept the weekly WCC awards with Cameron Tucker being named the Offensive Player of the Week, and Josie Gelialch receiving the Defensive Player of the Week honor. Gelalich led a stifling BYU defense that held Pac 12 rival Utah to just four shots on goal, while Tucker’s three-goal hat trick contributed to BYU’s 5-1 victory on Saturday.

No. 7 BYU (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) at No. 3 UCLA (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac 12)

• Friday, Feb. 12, at 5 p.m. PST, at Annenberg Stadium
• Steaming: Pac 12 Network Stream — UCLA Live Stream-2
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM (pregame 4:55 p.m. PST)
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE BRUINS. UCLA is coming off a 3-0 victory against Pepperdine in its season opener Sunday, Feb. 7 in Malibu, California. The three goals were scored in the first half and were all assisted by midfielder senior Marley Canales, who missed half of the 2019 season with an ACL injury. UCLA ended the 2019 season with a 18-5-1 record, and lost to Stanford in the NCAA semifinals. Stanford also defeated the Cougars in 2019 in the NCAA quarterfinals, handing BYU its only loss of the season.

COUGARS VS. BRUINS. The Bruins hold a 3-2 series lead over the Cougars. The last time the two teams met was in an exhibition game on Aug. 10, 2018. BYU lost 2-1 and UCLA outshot the Cougars 16-11.

No. 7 BYU (1-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) at No. 6 USC (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac 12)

• Monday, Feb. 15, at 12:30 p.m. PST, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• Steaming: Pac 12 Network Stream — USC Live Stream
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM (pregame 12:25 p.m. PST)
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE TROJANS. USC will open its 2020-21 season against the Cougars on Monday. The Trojans were originally scheduled to start the season on Feb. 4 vs. Pepperdine, but the game was canceled due to the Waves not meeting the minimum player standard. In 2019, USC finished 17-5-1 after a loss against North Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinals.

COUGARS VS. TROJANS. BYU is 2-3-1 all-time versus the Trojans. In 2017, the teams met in a spring exhibition game with BYU winning 2-0, and in the spring of 2007, BYU defeated USC 2-1 at the College Classic.