Mozingo rallies BYU by Michigan State 3-1 for NCAA quarterfinal berth

PROVO — Brecken Mozingo took it personally — and carried the top-seeded BYU women's soccer team back to the national quarterfinals.

Mozingo had two goals and an assist as BYU rallied from a 1-0 second-half deficit to top fifth-seeded Michigan State 3-1 in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday night at South Field.

Ellie Walbruch added a goal for the Cougars, who improved to 5-0 all-time against the Spartans with a 3-0 mark in Provo.

Lynette Hernaez made four saves while going the distance in goal for BYU (19-2-3), which advanced to its fifth national quarterfinal in program history and third win the past six years.

"We were out of out comfort zone a little bit because of Michigan State's pressure, and the way they moved the ball," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "But I'm proud of the way the girls hung with it. … We've found lots of different ways to score. And certainly when Brecken's on the field, there's always a chance that a goal will be scored."

Michigan State tried to break BYU's possession with a high press early, but the Cougars out-shot the visitors 10-7 in the first half. They also had four more fouls than the Spartans' four, while taking the only three corner kicks en route to a 0-0 halftime stalemate.

Rockwood pulled Mozingo midway through the first half, trying to elevate the energy of a slow game with different substitute combinations. By the time Mozingo returned to the game in the second half, that's exactly what she did.

"It's never good when Jen pulls you off in the middle of the first half," Mozingo said. "I knew something had to change, and halftime is just another opportunity for another 45-minute game. I wanted to make sure that we came out and had energy to win that next period."

Gabby Mueller gave Michigan State a 1-0 advantage in the 52nd minute, sliding home a right-footed shot inside the left post on the Spartans' third shot on target. It was the first goal allowed by BYU in the NCAA Tournament after back-to-back shutouts against Utah State and USC.

It was also key to Michigan State's gameplan, even if the lead didn't last long for a Spartan program making its first-ever appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

"It was massive, especially for a kid like that. She's stepped up in some really big moments for us all year," said Michigan State coach Jeff Hosler, who added that the two programs have agreed to a nonconference home-and-home series in the coming years. "It gives your team a bit of confidence that you can go and get a result.

"This is uncharted territory for our program. To play that way we did Thursday and tonight in front of this incredible crowd, I think we grew a lot as a program today."

But five minutes later, Bella Folino earned a foul inside the box — on a play that otherwise found the back of the net, no less. Moments after head official Megan McCain waived off BYU's goal, Mozingo stepped up to the spot and calmly buried her team-high 12th goal of the season to equalize 1-1.

She wasn't done, either.

Mozingo had a shot saved off the temple of a Michigan State center back, then moments late forced a turnover near the top of the box before ripping a shot inside the far post to go up 2-1 in the 60th minute.

The senior from Alta High by way of UCLA put the game away from the corner flag, finding Walbruch's head to send one pat to the goalkeeper for a 3-1 lead in the 80th minute.

"I was so happy she scored that, for real for real," Mozingo said. "We started losing some tempo after we scored that second goal, but as soon as Ellie put that in, we took a deep breathe and started playing like we knew how to play."

The Cougars out-shot Michigan State 21-13, including eight shots on target and 8-2 on corner kicks.

BYU will host the winner of Sunday's match between No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 3 North Carolina in a national quarterfinal next Friday at South Field. The winner will advance to the NCAA College Cup semifinals in Cary, North Carolina.

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