BYU Women’s Soccer Crushes Boise State In NCAA Tournament

PROVO, Utah – The lone undefeated team in the Women’s Soccer NCAA Tournament, remains just that, undefeated. BYU women’s soccer cruised to a dominating 5-1 victory over Boise State on Friday night at South Field.

The 3,682 fans in attendance saw BYU host their first NCAA Tournament game in three years. BYU delivered as they have throughout the year with a dominating performance that saw the Cougars pull away in the second half.

BRIGHAM YOUNG ⏩⏩⏩

BYU secures the 5-1 victory over Boise State to head to the Second Round!#NCAASoccer | @byusoccer_w pic.twitter.com/k8dMHqDeI9

— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) November 16, 2019

BYU jumped on the Mountain West Conference champion Broncos early after a pair of goals from junior forward Cameron Tucker in the 18th and 19th minute respectively.

Boise State, who like BYU won 18 matches on the season, didn’t go down without a fight. Scored a goal of their own by Emily Curry in the 21′ minute to cut the deficit down to 2-1.

BYU held the one-goal lead at the half before the second half offensive fireworks took place.

In the 53rd minute, Jamie Shepherd scored a goal to put BYU up 3-1 off an assist from Lizzy Braby. The two-goal lead likely felt insurmountable for the Broncos going up against a BYU team that had only given up nine goals the entire season heading into Friday night’s match.

The BYU defense was suffocating and the Cougars kept attacking at the offensive end. SaraJayne Affleck and Elise Flake finished off the scoring for BYU in the 63rd and 66th minutes to put BYU up 5-1.

Elise Flake makes it 5-1 with her 19th goal of the season.#BYU#GoCougs #NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/g18hlFHa1p

— BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) November 16, 2019

Flake’s goal was her 19th of the season, which puts in the top 10 nationally for most goals by a player this season.

“Exciting night for BYU soccer. The girls have worked really hard to get to the point to host an NCAA Tournament game at home. Great fans, great environment, and especially our second half our girls came alive and put a lot of pressure on Boise State. Really pleased with the way we finished the game and excited to move on,” said Jennifer Rockwood.

Friday night’s win was BYU’s first NCAA Tournament victory in three years. That season, BYU advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to North Carolina.

Next Up: Second Round of NCAA Tournament

BYU will host the Louisville Cardinals from the ACC in Provo at South Field on Thursday night.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.