No. 12 Cougars take down No. 16 Pepperdine 1-0 in double OT thriller to win WCC title

PROVO, Utah — No. 12 BYU women’s soccer honored six seniors as they took down the No. 16 Pepperdine Waves 1-0 in a double overtime thriller and clinched a share of the West Coast Conference Championship for the eighth time in 11 years on senior night. 

It was senior forward Cameron Tucker who had the golden goal in the 104th minute of the match, on BYU's 25th shot, sending the packed crowd at South Field into a frenzy.

"I just saw it rebound and thought to myself, there's the one I've been waiting for all night," said BYU forward Cameron Tucker. "I just tried to stay calm and composed and put it in the back of the net."

With Santa Clara also earning an overtime victory earlier in the day, the Cougars and Broncos share the WCC Championship with identical 8-1 records in WCC play.

"I'm so proud of our team, so proud of our staff and how hard everyone has worked this season," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "This was a great college match between two great teams, and I guess Cam just wanted to make it dramatic and score when it really counted."

The Cougars applied early pressure with three shots in the first five minutes of the game, none found the frame.

BYU controlled the first 15 minutes of the match taking seven shots, two of which were on goal compared to Pepperdine’s lone shot.

In the 32nd minute Brecken Mozingo sent a free kick into the box finding Mikayla Colohan, but her header sailed wide. The Waves had a chance of their own in the 34th minute off a corner kick, but Colohan cleared the shot over the goal line out of bounds.

In the 44th minute, Ellie Maughan served a corner kick into the box to Jamie Shepherd whose shot was deflected by a Pepperdine defender across the goal line for another Cougar corner.

BYU outshot Pepperdine 12-2 in the first 40 minutes but couldn’t capitalize entering the halftime break deadlocked with the Waves. The Cougars hadn't won a game this season without holding a halftime lead.

In the 56th minute, Grace Johnson was called for a hand ball just outside the BYU box giving Pepperdine a free kick. The Waves sent the free kick directly into the BYU wall and the rebound was sent weakly to Cassidy Smith for her third save of the night.

Tucker shook her defender just outside the box in the 59th minute and sent a rocket toward the left side of the goal which the goalie got a hand on. It was deflected out to Mozingo whose shot was blocked by a Pepperdine defender out to Jamie Shepherd who took a third shot that was saved by the Pepperdine keeper.

The Waves applied pressure in the 67th minute, earning three straight corner kicks, each of which gave them good opportunity to score the go-ahead goal, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The final shot of the Waves possession was a rocket from the right side that found the woodwork before being cleared by the Cougars.

The Cougars made a late charge, controlling the ball during the last six minutes, taking three shots in the 87th minute, yet they still couldn’t find the back of the net. The Cougars' last shot of regulation came from Colohan, whose shot missed wide sending the match to an overtime session.

It was BYU’s third trip to overtime this season, the others a double-overtime thriller against Utah that ended in a draw and a loss to Utah State on South Field.

The Cougars earned a corner kick in the 92nd minute that led to a BYU offsides call. Tucker took a shot just two minutes later that was one of the Cougars best scoring chances of the match.

In the 99th minute, Mozingo played a cross into the box that pinballed around, finding the foot of Colohan, whose shot was narrowly saved by the Pepperdine keeper.

The first overtime period ended, and it was still 0-0.

A yellow card was issued to Pepperdine’s Carlee Giammona in the 104th minute. Mozingo sent the ensuing free kick into the box which was deflected by the goalkeeper right to the foot of Tucker who dribbled into the bottom right corner of the goal giving the Cougars the win and a share of the WCC Championship.

BYU will now await its NCAA Tournament seeding which will be announced during the NCAA selection show on Monday at 2:30 p.m. MST at NCAA.org.