Through much of Tuesday night's home game against Ogden, the BYU men's soccer team edged closer and closer to getting that elusive first goal.

It was so close - dangling tantalizingly in front of them - that the Cougars kept pressing forward, giving everything they had to get it in.

But that proved to be their downfall when the Outlaws struck back.

Ogden used a huge punt from goalkeeper Jeff Rogers in the second minute of stoppage time to get the ball to the back line of the BYU defense. Outlaw forward Kenan Powell overpowered the lone Cougar defender, then beat the BYU keeper in a one-on-one situation to score the only goal of the contest and give Ogden the stunning 1-0 win.

"We've so often been on the other side," said Cougar head coach Chris Watkins. "We're famous for scoring late-game goals, but giving one up is a little disappointing, especially with the way we controlled the run of play. We made a defensive mistake by not getting back like we needed to. It's a mistake a veteran team shouldn't make."

BYU dominated the stat sheet, getting off 16 shots and nine corners, but with no result to show for it.

"Overall I thought we played pretty well," Watkins said. "We had our chances, including three shots inside the six-yard box that we didn't put in. Our possession was good throughout the game except for that finishing touch."

The Cougars actually put the ball in the back of the net twice, only to have the goals disallowed because of offsides calls.

The first came in the 59th minute of play when Richard Harrison took a pass from Curt Graham and buried it from 18 yards out, but the linesman's flag was up.

The second was even more discouraging. With the final seconds of the contest winding down, BYU created a scrum in the middle of the Ogden penalty box. After a couple of shots were blocked, it appeared the Cougars had scored the dramatic equalizer but once again the goal was nullified.

The home team also had multiple other chances to get in front, but either Rogers made a big save or the ball sailed wide of the mark.

"We need to finish a few more of those shots," Watkins said. "We also weren't able to get anything off the corners, which is something else that needs to be addressed."

BYU (2-3-2) won't have long to think about the result, since the Cougars will square off against the Outlaws (1-3-1) again on Saturday, this time on the road.

"I think we're going to be fired up," Watkins said. "We know that three points got away from us tonight. We're going to make sure our defense knows their assignments."

The game is slated to take place at 6 p.m. at Bonneville High School in Ogden.

Jared Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@heraldextra.com.

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