Utah Soccer Stopped by No. 10 BYU, 2-0

Monday, September 5

Salt Lake City, Utah

3:30 PM

University of Utah

3-2-0

Brigham Young

4-1-0

BYU

Utah

9/5/2016 6:05 PM | Soccer

Box Score

Utes out-shoot Cougars 18-13

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Soccer was unable to find the back of the net in a 2-0 setback to No. 10 BYU this afternoon. In the 2016 installment of the Deseret Duel series, the Utes out-shot the Cougars, 18-13, in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,064 people.

"We played very well today," head coach Rich Manning said. "We fought hard, worked together and made some plays. We're disappointed not to get a result, but look forward to getting back to training tomorrow and continuing to improve."

"It's a tough result," senior Katie Rogers said. " I thought we showed a lot of fight and determination. We never gave up even after the second goal and I think that will help us moving forward."

After the teams eased into the contest, the pace quickened once BYU found the opener.

In the 21st minute, Michele Vasconcelos sent a corner kick on the ground toward the edge of the 18-yard box and Taylor Campbell Isom came up to boot it to the right of Utah goalkeeper Carly Nelson on one touch, handing the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Utah pressed for an equalizer with Paola van der Veen and Natalie Vukic forcing saves from Clark. On the half hour, Max Flom also tested the BYU keeper with a stinging shot.

At the other end, Nelson made a pair of huge saves to keep the Utes within one before the halftime horn.

In the second half, Utah started aggressively with Hailey Skolmoski and Flom putting Clark under pressure. Van der Veen had a pair of shots on goal but unfortunately, Clark was there again to close down the efforts.

BYU scored again just past the hour mark, with the play starting through Bizzy Phillips Bowen. She set up Nadia Gomes, who feigned a shot and dished to Ashley Hatch, running toward the right post. Hatch gathered the pass and put it home for a 2-0 lead.

Utah kept the heat on in the final 10 minutes with Skolmoski denied twice by Clark and Van der Veen thwarted once more. The best chance may have occurred in the waning seconds when Skolmoski pinged a try off the crossbar.

"This is my second year playing in this rivalry game and it's always hard-fought," Skolmoski stated. "A lot of us have grown up playing with and against one another, so there's that connection. Everyone seems to have parents, friends, relatives that went to one of the schools and it was a great atmosphere here today."

"I want to thank the folks that came out to support our team and women's soccer," Manning added. "It was a fantastic environment for our players. We invite everyone to come back and see our team play again. I love our fighting spirit and team attitude and have confidence that good things are ahead."

Utah now embarks on a three-game road swing, starting with a trip to Purdue. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET on Friday.