SALT LAKE CITY -- With their final regular season game of 2010, the No. 16 BYU women’s soccer team (14-3-2, 5-1-1) defeated instate rival Utah 2-1 and secured the Deseret First Duel for soccer, Saturday in Salt Lake.

The win also secures BYU’s No. 2 seed in next week’s Mountain West conference tournament in San Diego.

"I think the conditions were tough on the girls but I'm proud of them for really working hard," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood."When you're playing a man down, it's sometimes hard but the girls did a fantastic job of following through and we're really excited to get the win today."

Just three minutes after Utah got on the board off a penalty kick from Lauren Dudley, BYU defender Lindsi Lisonbee took a free kick near midfield that sailed up and into the left corner for the equalizer.

In the 39th minute of action, BYU defender Nicole Gilliam was given a red card after being tackled in Utah’s offensive third and continuing to play the ball while still down. The Cougars would have to finish the game with one less player.

This is the eighth game this season the Cougars have found themselves tied at the half. Both teams had taken six shots after 45 minutes of first half action.

Back in the second half, BYU came out with a quick and fast offense despite being down one player. They controlled much of the tempo, keeping the ball in their possession.

In the 69th minute, BYU’s Lauren Anderson took a corner kick with Utah’s offense clearing the ball to BYU midfielder Jessica Ringwood who shot a bullet right through the hands of Utah goalkeeper, Hannah Turpen, to put the Cougars up 2-1.

With just nine minutes to play, Utah took a corner kick that put the ball high in the box. A series of header attempts from the Utes proved unsuccessful against BYU’s standout goalie McKinzie Olson.

Olson recorded four saves in front of the net for the Cougars.

The Cougars will now prepare to compete in the 2010 MWC tournament in San Diego on November 4-6.

TWITTER - Follow each Cougars game live on Twitter by clicking HERE or visiting twitter.com/byusoccer

TEXTING GROUP - Join the BYU Women’s Soccer texting group by texting “wsoc” to 83043. Members of the group receive 2-for-1 discounts to EVERY game!

FACEBOOK - The BYU Women's Soccer team is on Facebook. Join their Page by clicking HERE or visiting facebook.com/byuwomenssoccer

PROVO -- The No. 16 BYU women's soccer team will play its last two games of the regular season on the road this week against No. 10 Santa Clara on Thursday and instate rival Utah on Saturday.

The Cougars are traveling with a 13-2-2 overall season record and a 4-1-1 record in conference action. BYU is 6-2-0 when they play on the road this season.

Senior Kassidy Shumway leads the Cougars with 17 points on six goals and five assists with teammate Jennie Marshall leading the team with seven goals. BYU has seven players recording double-figure shots after 17 games this season.

The Cougars have kept all their 2010 opponents, but three, to single-digit shot performances. Marquette, TCU and New Mexico are the only teams to have recorded double-figures against them.

In a preview of next year's West Coast Conference soccer action, No. 10 Santa Clara will host the Cougars with an 11-3-2 overall record this season and a 4-0 all-time series record against BYU. The last time the Broncos and Cougars played was in the third round of the 2000 NCAA College Cup with Santa Clara taking the 2-1 overtime victory.

Rival Utah will meet BYU with a 5-13-1 season record and 3-2-1 conference record with its most recent outing ending in a 3-0 victory over UNLV. Lauren Hair leads the offense for Utah with five goals and five assists in 19 games. Teammate Erin Dalley adds three goals to the team's 15-goal total.

Saturday's game will be a part of the annual Deseret First Duel between the University of Utah and BYU. The Cougars lead the all-time series against Utah with a 16-5-1 record. The Duel was first introduced in 2007 as a rivalry series including competition in the 12 sports the two universities competed head-to-head with during regular-season play.

After finishing the regular season, the Cougars will travel to San Diego, Calif., for the Mountain West Conference tournament November 3-6. The conference seeding and schedule will be announced after the end of the regular season.

TWITTER - Follow each Cougars game live on Twitter by clicking HERE or visiting twitter.com/byusoccer

TEXTING GROUP - Join the BYU Women’s Soccer texting group by texting “wsoc” to 83043. Members of the group receive 2-for-1 discounts to EVERY game!

FACEBOOK - The BYU Women's Soccer team is on Facebook. Join their Page by clicking HERE or visiting facebook.com/byuwomenssoccer

VISIT - byutickets.com for single game tickets.