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BYU Women’s Soccer wins season opener in overtime

By Shaun Gordon

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 20: A soccer ball sits at the back of the net during a Melbourne Heart A-League training session at La Trobe University Sports Fields on March 20, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 20: A soccer ball sits at the back of the net during a Melbourne Heart A-League training session at La Trobe University Sports Fields on March 20, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) /
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BYU Women’s Soccer started the season right, taking down Cal State Fullerton in overtime as they try to rebound from a disappointing 2017 season.

The BYU Women’s Soccer team opened the 2018 season on the right foot, taking down the Cal State Fullerton Titans 1-0 in overtime.

The game-winning goal came off a penalty kick by senior Maddy Siddoway Gates, who was fouled in the box by the Titans’ Sarah Davidson.

BYU dominated possession of the ball throughout the game, and outshot Fullerton by a significant margin. The Cougars took 20 shots to the Titans’ 12, and BYU had 12 shots on goal while Fullerton only had one.

That 12th shot proved to be key, and it came approximately seven minutes into the first overtime period. In college soccer, a tied game results in two ten minute overtime periods, with a tiebreaking goal ending the game. If neither team scores in those 20 minutes, then the game ends in a draw.

It was fitting that Gates would get the game-winning kick, since she led the Cougars in both shots (6) and shots on goal (5). Sophomore Mikayla Colohan also had good opportunities, with two of her five shot opportunities being on goal.

The Titans’ Tianna Sanders was lights-out in the net, though, finishing with 11 saves before surrendering the goal on the penalty kick.

Two Cougars split time at goalie, with junior Sabrina Macias Davis getting the start and sophomore Cassidy Smith replacing her just after halftime.

The field wasn’t the only place that the Cougars dominated the Titans. There were many more BYU fans at the road match than there were Fullerton fans, and the team’s Twitter account had some fun with it:

https://twitter.com/byusoccer_w/status/1030667624961560577

This win is a good start to the season as the Cougars try to rebound from a disappointing 2017 campaign. Last season, BYU went 7-8-4, their worst record in more than a decade.

The Cougars will travel to Nebraska next, where they’ll take on the Huskers on Monday night. They’ll finish off a three-game road trip at No. 11 Texas A&M before coming home to play No. 1 Stanford in the home opener on August 30th.

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