No. 4 BYU comes back to tie Santa Clara 2-2 in WCC opener

SANTA CLARA, Calif. ­­– Despite giving up a pair of goals in the first half, the No. 4 BYU women’s soccer team earned a 2-2 draw with Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference opener on Saturday.

“The girls battled extremely hard and I thought we played very well,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We were a bit unfortunate with a couple of defensive mistakes that led to their goals, but for the most part defensively we were very solid. I am just proud of the way we fought through.”

The Broncos (6-5-1, 0-0-1 WCC) got on the board in the sixth minute as Santa Clara was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Kelcie Hedge blasted a shot to the left of a diving Sabrina Davis to take the 1-0 lead.

In the 34th minute, the Broncos extended their lead to 2-0 after taking on the Cougar (10-0-1, 0-0-1 WCC) defense and sneaking the ball into the back of the net.

Sophomore Ashton Brockbank managed to score in the 42nd minute off an Ellie Maughan corner kick as Santa Clara was unable to clear the ball and she tucked it into the back of the net, bringing BYU within one, 2-1.

After 45 minutes of play, the Cougars outshot the Broncos 7-4 with five on frame.

BYU continued to put pressure on the Santa Clara defense in the second half and in the 68th minute senior Elise Flake brought the ball down the field and passed it to an open junior Cameron Tucker who blasted a shot into the back of the net, evening the score at 2-all.

Neither team was able to put together a dangerous attack through the remaining minutes of regular play as both defenses held strong, sending the game into overtime.

The Cougars controlled the first overtime period, but the most dangerous opportunities were called offsides as SaraJayne Affleck and Flake attempted to take on the goalkeeper one-on-one.

BYU continued to put pressure on the Broncos’ defense but was unable to score as the teams closed the match with a tie.

On the game, the Cougars recorded 13 shots and five corner kicks while Santa Clara tallied seven and five. Davis recorded a pair of saves in goal.

The Cougars return to South Field as they host Pepperdine on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be streamed on the BYUtv App and audio broadcasts can be heard on BYU Sports Network/BYU Cougars App, 107.9 FM and ESPN 960 AM/ESPN 960 App.

GAME NOTES

• This was the first game the Cougars trailed at halftime.
• Ashton Brockbank tallied her third goal of the season and fourth in her career.
• Cameron Tucker has found the back of the net for the fifth time this season as Elise Flake recorded her second assist on the year.