Isom, Hatch lead No. 10 BYU soccer to first win at Utah since 2010


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SALT LAKE CITY — Rivalry week got off to a bang on Labor Day with a road win in a women’s soccer match for the first time in six years.

Taylor Campbell Isom had a goal, and Ashley Hatch scored her team-high eighth goal of the season to help the 10th-ranked BYU women’s soccer team to a 2-0 win in front of an overflow capacity crowd at Ute Field.

With fans peering over the fences as stadium officials turned aside the over-capacity crowd of 2,064, the Cougars (4-1) won their first match in Salt Lake City since 2010 — the first in Hatch’s career.

“It definitely feels good, especially in my last chance,” the senior from Gilbert, Arizona, said. “It’s good to get the win here.”

BYU leads the all-time series 17-6-1, but the past five matches going into the Labor Day contest were all won by the home team, with four coming by a one-goal margin. The Cougars won last year’s contest 2-0 in Provo, but hadn’t won at Ute Field since both teams’ final regular-season game in the Mountain West Conference.

“It’s been awhile since we have been able to collect a win up here,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “It’s a big rivalry game, and we got the job done. I’m proud of the girls.”

The Utes (3-2) outshot the visitors 18-13, including by an 11-7 margin in the second half. But goalkeeper Hannah Clark made a career-high 10 saves, and the back line led by Isom helped keep BYU’s first shutout of the season.

“We knew this would be a crazy game; rivalry games always are,” Hatch said. “We just had to try to keep the ball and not let our emotions get the best of us. Just be calm, and that’s what we tried to do.

Photo: Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo
Photo: Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

Isom opened the scoring just 20 minutes into the match on a set piece. Michele Vasconcelos whipped a corner kick from the right flag that found Isom’s boot for a one-touch goal inside the far post.

“I just hit it, and I don’t know what happened after that,” Isom said. “My teammates were jumping all over me, and it was really fun. It was a goal I’ll never forget.”

The early concession woke up the Utah offense, though, which countered with three-straight shots against goalkeeper Clark. Pao Van der Veen smashed a 20-yard free kick in the 25th minute that Clark did well to save, then Max Flom provided instant offense on a 30th-minute counterattack that Clark tapped out for a corner kick.

“Our goal was to keep a shutout on the board, and we were able to do that,” said Isom, who also blocked a shot off the line with her head. “Hat’s off to Hannah for keeping the clean sheet and the rest of our defense.”

Hatch doubled the advantage on the Cougars’ first shot of the second half. The Utes came out aggressive in the second half, outshooting their rivals 6-1 in the first 15 minutes after the break.

But Hatch found an inch of space inside the box to poke home a goal after Nadia Gomes set up the play with a through ball from Bizzie Bowen.

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Haley Skolmoski nearly pulled one back in the final 30 seconds for the Utes, but her shot on a counterattack caromed off the crossbar to give Clark the first complete-game shutout of her career in just her second start.

“There are so many soccer fans in the state, and it’s great to see the fans come out and support,” Rockwood said. “Utah gets a great crowd, we get great crowds, and it seems like everyone comes out when we play each other. It’s a great environment for women’s college soccer.

“We’re just trying to grow the sport and get as many fans out as we can.”

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