No. 3 BYU Soccer Open Season With Win At Cal State Fullerton
Aug 18, 2022, 10:30 PM
BYU Soccer star Bella Folino scored BYU's lone goal against Cal State Fullerton to give the Cougars a win. (Donovan Kelly/BYU Photo)
(Donovan Kelly/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s soccer opened the 2022 season with a victory on the road.
The No. 3 ranked Cougars, who finished last year as the national runner-up, defeated Cal State Fullerton 1-0 at Titan Stadium.
A WIN for our season opener🙌 pic.twitter.com/8kRSj0GBlo
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) August 19, 2022
It was a hard-fought match for BYU as they continue to get used to life without superstar Mikayla Colohan (Cluff), who graduated after last year’s magical run.
BYU was held scoreless in the first half, but then fifth-year midfielder Bella Folino got BYU on the board with a header in the 61st minute from Zoe Jacobs’s assist.
“I think it showed right from the get-go a lot of resiliency with this group because it was a bit frustrating to not score when we had some pretty good looks,” said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood during the BYU Sports Network postgame show. “…But you know, we kept fighting through and Zoe put a beautiful ball across for Bella, and you know, it only takes one goal to win.”
BYU nearly got a second goal in the 88th minute after a header from Jamie Shepherd that the Titans saved.
The win puts BYU at 1-0 on the season, their fifth consecutive season-opening win, and gives them three points.
It was a good bounce-back victory after the humbling exhibition loss BYU suffered to soccer powerhouse North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Next Up: BYU soccer travels to Ohio State
Next up for BYU is another road tilt on Friday, August 26, against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes were an NCAA Tournament team last season.
“Really excited to have a chance to play Ohio State. We’ve done a home and home with them in the past,” said Rockwood to the BYU Sports Network. “…It’ll be nice to have a weekend off after our two-a-days we’ve been going on since we started and a little rest and recovery and then we’ll just get back at it. We’ll have some great time to prepare before we head out there.”
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (MT) on August 26.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
