BYU roundup: Women's soccer stuns No. 1 Virginia 1-0, now top seed in NCAA regional final

PROVO — The NCAA women's soccer tournament is coming home.

Or maybe that's just football.

Cameron Tucker scored the lone goal of the match to open the second half and Cassidy Smith made three saves to make it stand up as the fourth-seeded BYU women's soccer team held off top-seeded Virginia 1-0 in Charlottesville, Virginia to clinch a spot in the national quarterfinals.

Tucker scored the only goal of the match in the second minute of the second half, dipping a ball from the edge of the 18 inside the far post for the 1-0 advantage in the 47th minute.

That was all Smith and the BYU back line needed. Virginia out-shot the Cougars 15-13 with eight corner kicks, but only placed three shots on goal in falling at home.

"It means a lot to win this game," Tucker told BYU Radio. "All we wanted was a rematch with Virginia because we knew we were the better team. It feels really good and we are so excited for the Elite 8."

BYU led the nation in most major offensive statistical categories going into the season, including goals and shots on goal. Led by Mikayla Colohan and her 51 career goals — the third-most in BYU women's soccer history — the Cougars were a scoring juggernaut.

On Saturday night, they only needed one.

Laurel Ivory made four saves for the Cavaliers, who eliminated the Cougars from last season's NCAA Tournament that was pushed to the spring by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am just proud of the way we fought through that," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "Defensively, it was one of our best performances, and it had to be against a team like Virginia. Our outside backs particularly had a handful. And what a goal by Cam. I'm somewhat speechless after that win."

The Cougars (16-4-1) should host the winner of unseeded South Carolina next Friday or Saturday after the Gamecocks' 2-0 win over Penn State in Los Angeles in the other subregional Sunday afternoon.

That leaves BYU as the only seeded team in the bottom corner of the bracket — and one of three schools from the West Coast Conference to advance to the past weekend. By the time the dust had settled on the Round of 16, the bracket was down to two teams each from the ACC, Big Ten, SEC and WCC — including BYU and reigning champion Santa Clara.

The Cougars' regional final date, time and location will be announced at a later date; it could be in Provo, or it could be hosted at another site, depending on a variety of factors, according to a BYU Athletics spokesperson.

The most important thing is that the Cougars will be there.

Women's hoops routs Boise State to improve to 4-0

BYU women's basketball held visiting Boise State to 17 second-half points to improve to 4-0 with an 84-40 win over the Broncos in the Marriott Center.

Shaylee Gonzales and Nani Falatea led the Cougars with 14 points apiece, including four 3-pointers from the freshman Falatea.

"As a coach you like to see everyone on your team go out there, execute and do what they are supposed to, and I thought everybody did that today," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins, whose team shot 55.8% from the field and forced 23 turnovers. "Even the girls who came off the bench at the end did that, and that is what makes a great team, a team that is fun to coach."

The Cougars will host Utah State in the Marriott Center next Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 12 p.m. MT.

No. 4 BYU women's volleyball clinches WCC title

Kenzie Koerber tied a career high with 19 kills to help No. 4 BYU women's volleyball clinch its second consecutive West Coast Conference title with a 25-17, 25-15, 19-25, 25-14 win at Saint Mary's.

Erin Livingston notched 15 kills, and Heather Gneiting added 11 kills on a team-best .643 hitting percentage for the Cougars, who have won six of the past seven conference titles.

Whitney Bower dished out 48 assists and 15 digs for BYU, her 12th double-double of the season.

The Cougars close the season next Tuesday, Nov. 23 at No. 23 San Diego.

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