PROVO, Utah -- The No. 5 BYU women's soccer team picked up its first West Coast Conference win Thursday, beating the University of San Francisco 3-1 at South Field while remaining unbeaten at home.

"This is our first conference win of the year so it's a huge game for us," head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "The girls played really well tonight. We had good opportunities and I knew they were hungry after not scoring in the first 45 minutes."

Video Highlights and Interviews

After a scoreless first half, BYU (12-1-1) came out of the break and immediately put pressure on the San Francisco defense, scoring the first goal of the game 18 seconds into the period. Michele Murphy scored the goal, her sixth of the season. 

In the 66th minute, Kyleigh Royall scored her first goal of the year on a cross from Carlee Payne Holmoe to give the Cougars a two-point lead. The assist was the seventh on the season for Holmoe who is the Cougars' assist leader this season.

USF pulled within one goa,l in the 73rd minute, when forward Kelsey Moe found Rochelle Weerackoon in the box to put the Dons on the scoreboard. BYU answered in the 81st minute as Royall scored her second goal of the night.

"Kyleigh scored two huge goals for us tonight," Rockwood said. "She's been playing great for us off the bench and I'm really happy for her."

The Cougars controlled the tempo in the first half, taking 12 shots and four corner kicks. The home team seemed to be on the attack constantly, while the visitors failed to register a single shot attempt in the opening period. By the end of the game the Cougars had taken 23 shots while the Dons had attempted only two.

The Cougars are at WCC powerhouse Portland on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. 

Stay up to date on BYU women's soccer by following the team's Twitter page.

PROVO, Utah - The No. 5 BYU women's soccer team continues West Coast Conference play this week with a game at home on Thursday at 7 p.m. MDT against San Francisco and a game on the road against Portland on Saturday at 7 p.m. PDT.

Jaiden Thornock, Michele Murphy and WCC Player of the Month Jessica Ringwood lead the BYU squad (11-1-1, 0-0-1) with five goals apiece. Ringwood and Thornock lead in the shot category with 45 each. 

The Cougars are out-scoring their opponents 26-6 and have recorded seven shutout wins this season. The team is currently on a 10-game unbeaten streak. 

Goalkeeper Erica Owens has spent 1,141 minutes in front of the net and made 43 saves so far this year. Owens is ranked 12th in the NCAA for her GAA at .473 and 20th for her save percentage at .872. 

Opponents
San Francisco comes to Provo with a 5-5-3 overall record and an 0-2-0 record through league play. The Dons are on a two-game losing streak.

Mackenzie Kriser leads the team with seven goals, 46 shots and 16 points. Three other players have recorded double-digit shots this season.

San Francisco goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel has made 62 saves and spent 960 minutes in front of the net so far this year.

The University of Portland boasts a 6-3-2 record this season and will begin WCC play on Oct. 11 before hosting the Cougars on Oct. 13.

Amanda Frisbie leads the squad with seven goals while teammate Kaila Cameli’s six goals is a close second. Frisbie leads with 38 shots and 18 points. Four other players have recorded double-digit shots and nine others have recorded at least one shot.

The Pilots have gone 0-2-1 in their last three games but are 2-1-1 through games against ranked opponents. Portland is averaging 3,390 fans at their home games, just slightly above BYU’s average of 3,298.

How to Watch
Thursday's game against San Francisco will be broadcast live on BYUtv and online for free at byutvsports.com/gameday. Live stats will also be available. 

Saturday's game at Portland will have live stats, live audio and live video all through Portland's athletic site. 

Follow both games on Twitter by following the BYU women's soccer team. 

Promotions
Anyone wearing PINK to Thursday's game can get in for $2. Thursday's game is BYU's PINK game in support of "Breast Cancer Awareness Month".