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PROVO — Paige Hunt scored the game-winner in the 54th minute to lead the 19th-ranked BYU women's soccer team to a 3-2 exhibition win over Arizona on Saturday night at South Field.
The Bountiful High graduate who recently returned from an LDS Church mission in Indianapolis ran onto a cheeky back-heel pass from teammate Nadia Gomes in the corner and blasted a shot into the top shelf to give the Cougars all the scoring it would need.
BYU's Ashley Hatch opened the scoring less than 15 minutes into the match, finishing a sequence from Elena Medeiros and Jocelyn Loomis inside the far post, for the 1-0 advantage early.
The Cougars doubled the lead just over 20 minutes later when Brittain Dearden headed home Madie Lyons free kick from near the left corner and past Arizona goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute.
The Wildcats pulled one back through Utah native Lexe Selman with two minutes left in the first half. The former Alta High standout pounced on a loose ball in the box to pull Arizona within a goal at halftime.
The Pac 12 school tied the game four minutes after the break. Laura Pimienta ripped a deflected shot from the top of the box that sailed just under the crossbar and past BYU goalkeeper Rachel Boaz for a 2-2 tie.
But Hunt's winner in the 54th minute gave the Cougars a big exhibition win a week before opening the season against two nationally ranked Pac 12 opponents, Stanford and Cal in Hawaii.
Boaz made eight saves in goal for the Cougars, and defender Sarah Chambers Gardner cleared a ball off the line late in the second half to keep the advantage.
