SPOKANE, Wash. — BYU women’s soccer defeated No. 16 Gonzaga 6-1 in the first West Coast Conference game of the season for both teams Saturday night. The Cougars knocked the Bulldogs out of their eight-game winning streak at home, and scored four goals in the first 14 minutes of the match.

“The girls really stepped up tonight, “ said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. “We booked a tough non-conference schedule and have struggled on the road this year, and we wanted to come out and prove to ourselves that we could get off to a good start. I’m really proud of the way we played.”

The Cougars came out forcefully by taking shots early, with a Cameron Tucker attempt three minutes in, but narrowly missed the goal above the crossbar on the right side.

Sophomore Brecken Mozingo collected the first goal of the night in the seventh minute, with the ball landing in the bottom left corner of the net. It was Mozingo’s fourth goal of the season.

Gonzaga took a shot on goal in the eighth minute, but Cassidy Smith was able to make the save. Smith would go on to have three total saves in the contest.

The second goal of the night came from Bella Folino as the ball nicked off the crossbar and went in at 11 minutes. Two minutes later, a left-footed bullet by Mozingo bending inside the right post took the Cougar lead to 3-0.

Tucker scored the fourth goal for the Cougars at the 14 minute mark. 

BYU went up 5-0 with Rachel McCarthy finding the back of the net for the 12th goal of her BYU career in the 31st minute.

“It was an unbelievable goal by Rachel tonight, “ Rockwood said. “I think there’s more to come from Rachel this season. She can strike it, and we’ve seen her do it many times. We’re excited to see that from her a few more times in conference play.”

The Zags scored their first and only goal of the night off a penalty kick that flew inside the right post by Haley Archuleta in the final second of the first half.

In the second half, Mikayla Colohan scored a left-footed goal in the 56th minute off an assist from Tucker. Colohan’s goal was No. 43 for her career, and her eighth goal of the season. 

“This was a huge game,” Rockwood said. “Obviously, Gonzaga came in ranked and on quite a roll. We wanted to come out and show that we’ve played some challenging teams and challenged ourselves. But, the girls really showed up tonight.”

BYU owned 51 percent of the possession in the game, and outshot Gonzaga 22-14, with a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal. Tonight’s offensive performance by the Cougars resulted in the Bulldogs being outshot by an opponent for the first time this season.

BYU’s next game will be at home on South Field against Saint Mary’s on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. MDT and will be available on the BYU Sports Network -- BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App and BYUtv.org

SPOKANE, Wash. — BYU women's soccer will open up conference play this week and travel to Spokane, Washington to face No. 16 Gonzaga on Saturday, Oct. 2 at Luger Field.

Saturday’s matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT on the WCC Network. The game will also be carried live on the BYU Sports Network — BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Cougars App.

IN THE RANKINGS. BYU received 53 votes in this week’s NCAA DI women's soccer poll, but was not included in the Top 25 rankings. Overall, six new teams who were previously unranked are now in the Top 25.

LAST TIME ON THE FIELD. On Saturday, Sept. 16, the Cougars fell 2-1 in overtime to Utah State. It was BYU’s first loss to Utah State in program history. The Cougars fired 30 shots in the game, compared with Utah State’s six. Mikayla Colohan led with 12 shots, five on target. Cameron Tucker followed with five shots.

BYU (5-3-1, 0-0-0 WCC) vs No. 16 GONZAGA (10-1-0, 0-0-0 WCC)

• Saturday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. PDT at Luger Field
• Streaming: WCC Network
• Radio: BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App/107.9 FM
• Radio play-by-play: Greg Wrubell

THE BULLDOGS. The Bulldogs are off to their best start to a season in program history at 10-1-0, and have shut out eight opponents. Gonzaga is currently ranked at an all-time program high of No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Their only loss of the season came to Purdue. The Zags held possession for 51 percent of that match, but lost 2-1. Gonzaga’s freshman forward Kelsey Oyler is the newest WCC Offensive Player of the week after her game-winning goal in the 65th minute to win 1-0 over University of Nebraska Omaha on Saturday, Sept. 25.

COUGARS VS. BULLDOGS. Overall, the Cougars and Bulldogs have met 13 times and BYU has never lost. Nine times out of 13, the Bulldogs have gone scoreless against the Cougars. Last season’s matchup between the two teams resulted in a 4-0 BYU victory with goals from Colohan, Jamie Shepherd, Tucker and Mikaylie Moore. The largest margin of victory took place in 2016 when the Cougars defeated the Zags 6-0 on South Field.

ATTENDANCE. In accordance with federal, state, and local guidelines, and to provide a safe environment for student-athletes, coaches, staff, and spectators, Gonzaga University Athletics has instituted the following policy related to fan attendance for all ticketed athletic events:

• Fans ages 12 and older are required to provide proof of vaccination, including a CDC-issued Vaccination Record Card (or photo of the card) to enter ticketed Athletic events.
• Fans ages 12 and older who cannot provide proof of vaccination may present proof of negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours instead of proof of vaccination.
• Fans ages 11 and under do not need to provide proof of negative COVID-19 test.
• Fans over the age of 5, regardless of vaccination status, must wear face mask coverings over their nose and mouth while inside the venue.