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- BYU Sports Network
- BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143
- ESPN 960 AM | Provo, UT
Saint Mary's Stadium
Saint Mary's Stadium Moraga CA 94575
MORAGA, Calif. – No. 5 BYU used a goal and two assists from Michele Vasconcelos in a 4-0 win against Saint Mary's at Saint Mary's Stadium Thursday afternoon.
"It was a really solid day," BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "We came out and put the pressure on from the beginning. It was a complete game for us, and it's fun to watch when we put it all together."
BYU vs. Saint Mary's Box Score
Vasconcelos' performance marked the third game in a row she's had at least one goal and one assist.
Ashley Hatch, who is returning from the U.S. Women's National Team after missing two games with the Cougars, made her presence felt quickly with an early goal.
Jocelyn Loomis scored her first career goal at BYU in the waning minutes.
Hannah Clark and Rachel Boaz combined for a shutout in goal for BYU, the 10th of the year for Rockwood's team.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 14-2-1 (5-1-1 West Coast Conference), as the Gaels fell to 3-13-2 (1-6-0).
Hatch turned a great effort into the game's first goal in the 21st minute. She turned past a defender on the end line left of the goal, took a couple of dribbles and ripped a shot toward the far post that Gael goalkeeper Julia McDonald touched but couldn't keep from going into the net.
The game's first scoring strike was Hatch's 16th goal on the season, and the 44th of her career. Vasconcelos, who originally sent Hatch down to the end line with a pass, was credited with the assist as BYU took a 1-0 lead.
Just three minutes later, Vasconcelos earned another assist, as she crossed a pass in from the right side, that Elena Medeiros touched just in front of McDonald. It bounced to her right and in the goal to put the Cougars up 2-0.
For Medeiros, it was her fifth goal on the season and the 19th of her career.
The rain started to fall halfway through the first half and had picked up in strength as BYU took its two-goal advantage into the half.
After holding Saint Mary's scoreless in the first half, Clark was replaced in goal by Boaz for the Cougars.
In the 57th minute, Hatch drove a pass down the left side of the field for Nadia Gomes. Gomes took it close to the end line, and crossed it to Vasconcelos, who used one touch from point blank range to punch the ball in for a 3-0 BYU lead.
It gave Vasconcelos her 11th goal of the year and 28th of her career, while Gomes reached 10 assists in 2016.
In the 87th minute, Madie Lyons sent a corner kick in that was batted around by a few players from both teams before Loomis booted it in to put the Cougars up 4-0.
That goal concluded the scoring, as Boaz and the BYU defense closed out the clean sheet.
The Cougars had 19 players appear in the win.
BYU stays in California to play Pacific in Stockton on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Audio of that game can be heard on the Cougar IMG Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and ESPN 960 AM. A video stream can be viewed at TheW.tv.
No. 5 BYU wraps up road slate with Saint Mary's and Pacific
PROVO, Utah – The No. 5 BYU women's soccer team plays its last two road games of the regular season this week on Thursday at Saint Mary's and Saturday at Pacific.
BYU Storylines
The Cougars (13-2-1, 4-1-1 West Coast Conference) come in off back-to back wins against Portland and San Diego without forward Ashley Hatch, who was playing with the U.S. Women's National Team. She returns this week, now second nationally in goals this season with 15.
Michele Vasconcelos is on a scoring flurry, with a goal in three of her last four games and both a goal and assist in her last two. As she wraps up her BYU career, she's set new bests for goals and assists in a season, with 10 and nine, respectively.
Saint Mary's Storylines
The Gaels (3-12-2, 1-5-0) have struggled in terms of wins, but they are coming off a 3-0 upset of Portland, with all three goals coming in the second half. Two of those goals were the first two of the season for senior Kiana Quarles.
Junior Hannah Diaz, who was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team, leads Saint Mary's with five goals.
Game Information
- Thursday, Oct. 27, at 3:30 p.m. PDT at Saint Mary's Stadium in Moraga, California.
- Radio: The Cougar IMG Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and ESPN 960 AM
- Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play) and Colette Smith (analyst)
- Video Stream: TheW.tv
Series Information
BYU leads the overall series 5-0-1, with the tie coming two years ago on the road. Four of the Cougars' five wins have come by three goals or more.
Pacific Storylines
The Tigers (1-12-1, 1-5-0) got their only win this season against Saint Mary's. After being shut out in four straight games, Pacific scored three goals on Oct. 23 against Gonzaga, but lost 4-3.
Freshman Sigrid Aas leads the Tigers with three goals, one of which came against the Bulldogs.
Game Information
- Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1:00 p.m. PDT at Knoles Field in Stockton, California.
- Radio: The Cougar IMG Network, BYU Radio (Sirius XM 143) and ESPN 960 AM
- Radio Talent: Robbie Bullough (play-by-play) and Colette Smith (analyst)
- Video Stream: TheW.tv
Series Information
BYU leads the overall series 3-1-0, with a 3-0 record in WCC matchups. The loss came in 1997 in Stockton.