For mom: Presley Freeman's 1st career goal keeps No. 11 BYU soccer unbeaten, 2-0 over Auburn

PROVO — You could say things were a bit personal for Presley Freeman when No. 11 BYU women's soccer hosted Auburn.

The former Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year from Atlanta grew up with several of those Auburn players who represented the campus just 42 miles from her hometown.

But that wasn't what drove the BYU sophomore to the brink of tears Friday night — nor even the Cougars' 2-0 win.

Freeman scored her first collegiate goal in the contest, a goal that a special someone among the standing room-only crowd had seen over and over again: her mom Erin.

"She doesn't come out to a lot of games, living in Georgia," Freeman told KSL.com. "We don't really go over there, either.

"But my mom was here, my birthday's on Sunday, and it just couldn't be any better."

The win keeps BYU unbeaten on the season, a 3-0-1 record that includes a pair of wins of ranked opponents in UCLA and Minnesota and back-to-back clean sheets at home by a sophomore goalkeeper in her first year as a starter.

Torn by the transfer portal and the House v. NCAA settlement that forced a dramatic roster reduction for head coach Jennifer Rockwood's side, the Cougars' lineup features 11 freshmen including three starters.

But sophomore goalkeeper and first-year starter Paiton Collins has collected back-to-back shutouts at South Field, making one save and commanding her box with an aggressive abandon against the Tigers while a back line anchored by center backs Avery Frischknecht and Izzi Stratton has allowed just three goals in the first four matches.

It doesn't help when an outside back can finds the scoresheet, either.

"Presley's had a fantastic career for us so far, even though it's still very early," Rockwood said of her sophomore fullback with 25 starts and a pair of assists. "I'm excited for her to score a goal tonight. Any time you can get points from a defender, that's a great thing.

"She's come in, she's worked hard, she's very talented, and she's just going to keep getting better and better. She's shown that when she goes forward and attacks, she can be a handful."

Auburn out-shot the 11th-ranked Cougars 9-6 in the first half. But goalkeepers Paiton Collins and Ayana Yapa each made a save to keep the match scoreless through the first 45 minutes.

"We didn't underestimate them," Freeman said. "We knew SEC teams are going to work really hard and be really strong. We knew they were going to come out flying.

"At halftime, Jen told us we need to be more dangerous, we need to go toward goal, and so I just went in there — and it worked out."

That's exactly what they did.

The Cougars struck quickly in the second half through an Auburn own goal. Mika Krommenhoek's cross into the box in the 57th minute was redirected from the far side of the box into the near post by Asha Means, who simply misjudged her clearance attempt to break the deadlock.

"We're an attacking team, and we need to get the ball forward and get the ball in dangerous spots," Rockwood said. "Obviously, the goal came from a ball in a dangerous spot that's tough to defend. And even the second goal was just putting the ball in a dangerous spot, and you never know."

Tyler Clyburn picked up a yellow card for Auburn in the 74th minute for an infraction against BYU's Halle Dixon, though the play was reviewed for violent behavior (a red card offense) and not upgraded.

Still, the Tigers' frustrations remained.

Freeman doubled the frustration in the 78th minute, pushing a ball into the penalty box that may have taken a touch off Auburn's Taylor Chism. Still, the sophomore was credited with the first collegiate goal of her career — and BYU was credited with another shutout win over a power conference opponent in six days.

Collins and her back line that included a strong performance from Emma Neff off the bench did the rest.

"The zero comes from team defense," Rockwood said. "We made some adjustments on our press in the second half, and I think that was super effective. But Paiton has been phenomenal for us; she brings so much confidence on the field, and really kept us in the game in the first half.

"I really love what she's doing, along with a great back-line defense again."

Auburn (2-2-1) makes the short drive up the road to face Utah Valley at noon Monday, while BYU remains home to face a second SEC opponent — No. 8 Arkansas — at 7 p.m. MDT Tuesday.

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