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PROVO — BYU women's soccer wrapped up its first regular season in the Big 12 Monday night with an outside chance at the league title.
The Cougars did all they could against fellow newcomer UCF, but fell 2 points short of claiming the No. 1 seed in the Big 12.
Brecken Mozingo had a goal and an assist, and Allie Fryer and Olivia Wade-Katoa each added a goal as the seventh-ranked Cougars held off the Knights 3-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,683 fans at South Field.
With the win, BYU clinched the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in next week's Big 12 tournament. No. 6 Texas Tech (14-0-4, 8-0-2 Big 12) won its first-ever Big 12 regular-season title with a 1-0 road win over Iowa State, guaranteeing the one-seed in Round Rock, Texas.
Four of the Cougars' 11 seniors that were honored before the match had a hand in the Cougars' three goals, beginning with Mozingo and Jamie Shepherd — the heartbeat of the team for the past five years who has started all 100 of her games played.
"Our senior class are all impact players. They're all very mature, and very experienced," BYU associate head coach Brent Anderson said. "For them to come out and play like they did tonight was fitting. I was excited to see Brecken channel her emotion, and it really built her up. She was all over the field, connecting passes.
"And Jamie? What kind of team are we without Jamie? She gets us out of so many situations."
Other players honored in their final regular-season home match at South Field include:
- DF Olivia Smith-Griffits
- DF Zoe Jacobs
- DF Ellie Boren
- DF Kendell Petersen
- FW Bella Folino
- DF Laveni Vaka
- FW Rachel McCarthy
- GK Savanna Mason
But it was the senior midfield duo of Shepherd and Mozingo that helped open the scoring in the fourth minute through Fryer.
Shepherd launched a ball to Mozingo into the penalty area, and the former UCLA transfer slid a cross to Fryer for her ninth goal of the season that ties for the team lead.
"It was a beautiful goal," said Shepherd, who has 14 goals and 20 assists in five seasons. "I think the ball kind of popped out, and once I saw Brecken diving in behind, I just had to put a little clip over the back line and watch her be so composed to take it to the end line and find Allie in the right spot. That's our bread and butter, and Allie was right where she needed to be to slot it home. It was a beautiful team goal."
Olivia Katoa gets one on senior night!!
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) October 24, 2023
📺 https://t.co/bOr9diqYkrpic.twitter.com/CSBSU79usJ
Wade-Katoa doubled the advantage in the 20th minute, tucking a shot inside the far post after Kendell Petersen's pass to stretch the Cougars' lead to 2-0.
Chloe Netzel pulled one back for UCF (9-6-1, 5-4-1 Big 12) in the 34th minute, rocketing a ball from the left side of the penalty box inside the far netting to cut the Knights' deficit to 2-1.
"It was a banger," Anderson said. "We were a little bit careless and gave the ball away in a bad spot, and they took advantage of it. She hit a really nice shot to that far post. … Some goals you just can't stop."
But Mozingo didn't let the game get away. The Alta High product who came to BYU four years ago by way of UCLA took a pass from Tara Warner and launched a left-footed ball that kissed the inside of the left post to give the Cougars a 3-1 halftime lead.
BYU out-shot the Knights 22-13, including 7-4 shots on goal. But Laveni Vaka was called for a foul in the box, and Mia Asenjo converted the ensuing penalty kick to pull UCF within 3-2 in the 80th minute.
Brecken came to play tonight😈
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) October 24, 2023
📺 https://t.co/bOr9diqYkrpic.twitter.com/BOMCKgAnAX
But freshman goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez made two saves to help BYU hold on for the win on senior night
"I can't believe we're at this game; it doesn't seem real," Shepherd said. "But what a fun experience to be surrounded by 10 girls I've grown to love. They're my best friends; we make jokes about how she's picked out our best friends by who she recruits. And these are my best friends. So it was fun to be out here on senior night and celebrate with them."
The Cougars (14-1-3, 7-0-3 Big 12) will open the conference tournament in the quarterfinals Monday, Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m. MDT against the winner of seventh-seeded Oklahoma State and 10th-seeded Oklahoma. All games will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
