Box Score Sept. 27, 2014 BOX SCORE | SEASON STATS
DALLAS (SMU) - The SMU women's soccer fell to the BYU Cougars, 3-0, in a non-conference matchup on Saturday night at Westcott Field.
BYU (6-3-2, 0-0-0 WCC), who is receiving votes in the latest NSCAA poll, tallied three second half goals to pull out the victory. However, the margin of victory is not representative of the team's performance.
"I thought we played with them for 60 minutes," said Head Coach Chris Petrucelli. "Then, they got their chance and they got it and the game changed."
In the first half, most of the action came in the middle of the field, as both teams had only a few scoring opportunities.
SMU (5-6-0) had a chance in the opening minute when senior Rikki Clarke played a through ball to sophomore Kelsey Gorney. Gorney collected the ball and sent a low shot towards the far post, but BYU goalkeeper Katherine Snyder made the save.
The Mustangs' other opportunities came on corner kicks. On both corners, freshman Lauren Harrington connected with fellow freshman Claire Oates, but both of Oates' attempts could not find the back of the net.
In the opening segment, SMU tallied three shots and the Cougars recorded five. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Anne Head, making her first collegiate start, recorded two saves in the half.
Early in the second half, senior forward Shelby Redman had a chance to put the Mustangs ahead when she received a through ball from Gorney. Redman hit a shot towards the far post, but her attempt narrowly missed wide.
Minutes later, BYU opened up the scoring when Elena Medeiros beat Head with a low shot into the lower right corner of the net.
The Cougars' Ashley Hatch then put away a penalty kick to increase the BYU lead to two. Hatch also scored the third and final goal for BYU, placing a low shot just past the outstretched arms of Head.
Despite allowing three goals, the Mustang defense put together a solid performance.
"It's going to sound funny, but, defensively, I thought we played pretty well," said Petrucelli.
In her first collegiate action, Head recorded four saves.
"She did great," said Petrucelli. "There was nothing she could do on the goals. She made a couple nice saves. She was excited and she was ready to go."
Next weekend, the Mustangs head to the Sunshine State for conference matches against UCF and USF.
"We had nothing to lose here tonight," said Petrucelli about the non-conference matchup. "We'll be ready to go in Florida."
On Friday, Oct. 3, SMU faces off against UCF at 6 p.m. CT. The Mustangs then head to USF for an 11 a.m. CT showdown on Sunday, Oct. 5.
