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PROVO — Things started out well enough for BYU men’s soccer in the opening 20 minutes of its match against Central Pacific Division-leading Fresno Fuego at South Field.
One mistake, though, and a team on a four-game win streak will make anyone pay.
Christian Chaney opened the scoring just 25 minutes into the match, and the Fuego (5-2-0) went on to win 2-0 in a Premier Development League match at South Field.
“Things aren’t going to go well for you every minute of a game, and if they don’t learn how to deal when things go bad, that’s the whole issue,” BYU coach Brandon Gilliam said. “We just don’t know how to turn it on or off, and when it goes off, we don’t know how to get it back or quick enough.
“Soccer-wise, physically, everything is there for this time. But mentally, we have a long way to go.”
Chaney tapped home a shot from inside the 6-yard box after BYU goalkeeper Brenden Ottman made a diving block on a long-range shot just moments before. Chaney nudged the rebound off the front of his boot and gave Fresno a lead it would never relinquish.
The Fuego took a 2-0 lead into halftime after an own-goal caromed into the back of the net just two minutes later.
Soccer-wise, physically, everything is there for this time. But mentally, we have a long way to go.
–BYU coach Brandon Gilliam
BYU started off well, outshooting the Fuego 3-1 in the opening 20 minutes before Chaney’s shot cleared the end line and gave Fresno the advantage.
Ryan Botcherby had BYU’s best chance in the 32nd minute, but his counter-attacking shot was blocked by an onrushing goalkeeper to preserve the Fuego’s shutout.
BYU outshot the Fuego 5-2, but Fresno goalkeeper Agustin Rey made five saves to earn the shutout.
“We have a really good defensive ability, but it seems to play into the intensity of the game,” Gilliam said. “Instead of sitting back, we pressed a bit more to increase our intensity.
“That second goal was once-in-a-lifetime, and you have to be able to bounce back from it. In the first half, we didn’t bounce back. In part of the second half, they did — but it’s hard to come back when they don’t care about scoring anymore. The effort has to be there in the next second rather than the next half.”
The Cougars (4-3-0) host Fresno again Saturday at 7 p.m. at South Field, hoping for a better result on a quick two-day turnaround.
“We’re going to go in hungry, hopefully,” Gilliam said. “We’ve got to find a way to be hungry and not complacent. We’ve got to find a way to beat teams like Fresno, and Saturday will be a test to see if we can.”
Watch a complete replay of the match on live.ksl.com or in the video embedded above.
