No. 1 BYU Defeats Utah State In NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament
Nov 10, 2023, 8:27 PM
BYU women's soccer defeated Utah State, 2-0 in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. (Matthew Norton/BYU Photo)
(Matthew Norton/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – No. 1 BYU women’s soccer got revenge against Utah State.
One of BYU’s two losses this season was against the Aggies. That took place on September 16 when BYU was the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Got it done😤 pic.twitter.com/qdHKlumwq5
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) November 11, 2023
BYU 2, Utah State 0
But on Friday night, in front of a sold-out crowd at South Field, BYU, as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, exacted that loss against Utah State.
BYU defeated Utah State 2-0 in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Soccer NCAA Tournament opening round.
Final from Provo#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/UnwY2YxIAG
— USU Soccer (@USUsoccer) November 11, 2023
The Cougars got on the board early in the match, thanks to a goal from Kendell Petersen in the 10th minute. Petersen booted the kick from an assist by Jamie Shepherd and Olivia Katoa.
Utah State struggled to get the equalizer. The Aggies finished with three shots on goal. BYU overwhelmed the Aggies, who entered the tournament Top 50 in RPI and were Mountain West Conference Tournament champions.
Despite 12 corner kicks, BYU didn’t score its next goal until the 73rd minute when senior captain Oliva Katoa buried one home to put the match out of reach for good.
BYU Women’s Soccer advances to face USC
BYU moves on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will host 8-seed USC on Thursday night at South Field. USC defeated Grand Canyon on its home pitch Friday night to advance.
BYU is playing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. Being a No. 1 seed, BYU can stay on its home pitch at South Field until the College Cup next month in North Carolina.
Utah State’s season comes to a close with a final record of 14-7-1.
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 Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
