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PROVO — BYU women’s soccer opened the season with six goals in its first six matches, which led to a win, two draws and three losses in a challenging early start to 2014.
Then Ashley Hatch got going, and it’s been all positives ever since.
Hatch scored three goals to help No. 23 BYU roll by Portland 3-0 in front of 1,683 fans in the season’s first West Coast Conference match at South Field.
“It felt great. I was definitely pumped by it,” said Hatch, who scored two goals in the team’s first six matches and now has a team-high 11 on the season. “I didn’t know I was coming off, but I knew I wanted another one. I just kept shooting, and eventually got it.”
Hatch scored at least one goal in her fourth-straight match, and notched BYU’s first hat trick since 2005.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore from Gilbert, Arizona, opened the scoring by guiding in a pass from Niki Fernandes less than five minutes past the opening whistle, then added to her tally 10 minutes later as BYU (8-3-2, 2-0 WCC) took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
“The offense is doing a fantastic job,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We’ve found a little more chemistry over these last few weeks. We can tell the girls are very comfortable playing together and with each other, and they’re looking for each other more than they ever have.”
The offense is doing a fantastic job. We've found a little more chemistry over these last few weeks. We can tell the girls are very comfortable playing together and with each other, and they're looking for each other more than they ever have.
–BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood
The Cougars outshot the Pilots 22-2 with an 11-2 margin on frame, as Hatch searched for that last goal to hand her the hat trick. It came on her match-high sixth shot, a blast from the edge of the box that cruised by Portland goalkeeper Taylor Luty.
Freshman forward Nadia Gomes stepped on to the pitch to replace Hatch on the restart.
“I think the whole team has, hopefully, been hungry like that,” Rockwood said. “We’ve talked about being hungry, used that word many times, and being anxious to prove ourselves and have that desire to score goals. It starts with our high pressure; not only did the forwards get the job done on offense, but they started our defensive pressure that helped through 90 minutes.”
BYU’s defense held Portland (5-6-2, 2-1) without a shot on goal until Noel LaPrevotte sailed one right to goalkeeper Kat Snyder in the 50th minute — and the Cougars didn’t allow another one in Snyder’s third shutout of the year.
“It started with all the pressure. Portland is such a great, talented team,” Rockwood said. “We just tried to make them uncomfortable by finding our marks early. If you give them enough space, they can wheel and deal, which they did a few times. Our commitment to winning 50-50 balls was a big part of the game today as well.”
Fernandes and Rachel Bingham each had an assist for BYU.
BYU moved to 2-0 in WCC play with the win over the defending league co-champion Pilots. The Cougars host Gonzaga at 7 p.m. Saturday in a match that will be broadcast on BYUtv and the BYU IMG Network.
“Our team has been working hard at practice and getting to know each other better,” Hatch said. “I wouldn’t score any goals without my team, working off each other and completing passes. We’re standing by each other.”
