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PROVO — The BYU women's soccer team has had a goal all season: score three goals and put a team away on the offensive end.
Through 16 games in 2015, the goal escaped them — gutting out 1-0 and 2-0 wins a dozen times through the end of October.
Elena Medeiros made sure it wouldn't escape them again Thursday night.
Medeiros notched the first two-goal game of her career, and Brittain Dearden earned her first marker of 2015 as the 13th-ranked Cougars put together its highest goal output of the season with a 3-0 win over Pepperdine in front of 1,825 cold, rain-soaked fans at South Field.
"Our focus this week was to take people on and go faster in our attack," said Medeiros, who leads the team with seven goals on the season. "That desire to go forward paid off for us tonight, and got us those goals.
"Our goal from the beginning of the year is to score three goals per game. We've been close all through this year, and it was super nice to finally get that goal of ours."
The win gave BYU its 15th straight at South Field, the second-longest home winning streak in the nation to Florida State and its 16th-straight result at home.
"Our number-one priority is team defense," said Medeiros, whose team outshot the Waves, 30-8. "Our defense is huge in keeping that zero, and Rachel Boaz is so good in goal when we need her."
The Cougars (13-2-2, 5-1-1 WCC) nearly struck in the opening minute, when Madie Lyons' shot barely 20 seconds after the whistle sailed just over the crossbar.
Our goal from the beginning of the year is to score three goals per game. We've been close all through this year, and it was super nice to finally get that goal of ours.
–BYU midfielder Elena Medeiros
The Waves (8-7-2, 3-4 WCC) nearly struck first off Meghan Schoen's effort less than 15 minutes in, but Rachel Boaz stuffed the attempt in the 14th minute to preserve the shutout.
BYU didn't wait much longer to find the opener. Lyons got a touch on a ball inside the box, and Medeiros was there to clean up the rebound in the 32nd minute to give BYU a 1-0 lead.
After a first half when BYU outshot the Waves, 16-2, the Cougars came flying out of the halftime locker room. Lyons sprinted to the end line on a long through ball from Jocelyn Loomis, then crossed the ball into the box where Dearden and Nadia Gomes were crashing the six. Gomes got a touch, but Pepperdine goalkeeper Hannah Seabert was there — but just out of position to keep Dearden from striking home the rebound into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
Medeiros scored her second of the match with 12 minutes remaining, finishing off Bizzy Phillips' counter attack inside the left post slide home the third goal of the match for the first time in 2015.
"Elena's a special player," Rockwood said. "Everyone can see her quickness and agility, and tonight she showed her composure in front of the net. Tonight we talked about everyone stepping up and finishing some of the opportunities we were creating. For Elena to get two goes a long way."
Boaz made five saves in the shutout for BYU, splitting the shutout with Hannah Clark for the final 10 minutes.
"I'm really pleased with our performance for the full 90 minutes. I thought we played well," said Rockwood, whose team hosts WCC-leading Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. Saturday. "Certainly they got rewarded for scoring three goals for the first time of the year. It finally came."
