No. 13 Arkansas hands No. 11 BYU soccer its first loss of year

PROVO — Keegan Smith would prefer she didn't face as many shots as the Arkansas starting goalkeeper did Tuesday night at No. 11 BYU.

But when she did, she was up to the task.

Kyndal Ewertz scored the only goal of the match in the 81st minute, and former SEC All-Freshman goalkeeper Smith tied a career high with nine saves as the No. 13 Razorbacks handed 11th-ranked BYU its first loss of the year, 1-0 in front of a standing room-only crowd at South Field.

Bella Field had four shots for Arkansas (2-2-1), including one of the visitors' four shots on target against a BYU team that out-shot the Hogs 21-16 (9-4 shots on target) in former BYU forward Erin Bailey's return to South Field since transferring in the spring.

But Ewertz's header was the only one that mattered — thanks to Smith, who admitted the result was "definitely something we really needed" five days after a 2-0 home loss to then-No. 3 Duke.

"We've been definitely struggling finding our footing this year," she said, "and I feel like this is going to set the tone of the rest of the season. ... We have such a young team, young talent. I feel like this is a confidence booster for the rest of the season, and I'm so beyond excited for it."

Paiton Collins (0.75 GAA) made three saves in surrendering her first loss as a starter for the Cougars (3-1-1), while Smith "obviously did a fantastic job," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood admitted.

"I was just disappointed with our effort and with the way we play tonight," she said. "We've been consistent in strong starts tonight this season, and for whatever reason, we did not get off to a very good start.

"I thought we played very poorly in the first half, and we came out (and) played a lot better in the second half and had some good opportunities. Just didn't put the ball in the back of the net; I think one would've done it for us."

Smith made three saves to preserve the shutout for Arkansas.

But the closest the Cougars came to breaking the ice in the first half was Halle Dixon's free kick from just outside the box that caromed off the post against a physical Arkansas defense that out-fouled BYU 15-12.

"I didn't notice that they were any more physical than the teams we've played so far this year," said Rockwood, whose team had wins over Minnesota, UCLA and Auburn (as well as a 2-2 draw at Cal Poly) prior to Tuesday night. "I think we expected it, but we just have to come out with more confidence. We need to stick with what we do.

"We had too many people trying to make plays on their own and not working together, but the way we play as a team, it just took away our advantages."

The match was the third of five consecutive home matches to wrap up nonconference play for the BYU, which hosts Utah State on Saturday (6 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).

The Aggies (1-1-2) are unbeaten in four of the last five matches against BYU, including a 2-1 loss last year at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field in Logan that helped vault Utah State into a host bid in the NCAA Tournament.

"They don't get any easier," Rockwood said. "Utah State's had our number for the last 3-4 years. ... You usually learn the most in difficult situations, so hopefully we'll learn a lot about ourselves and see how we react after this game."

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