Freshman Afton Perry notched her first career goal during the 60th minutes of the Cougar’s 2-0 win over UVU on Friday. The Westlake High School product was the beneficiary of a great ball from sophomore Camryn Jorgenson in the box and wasted little time burying the ball into the back of the net to top off her team’s scoring in style.

It’s a moment Perry won’t soon forget.

“Honestly, my first reaction I was kind on the verge of tears,” Perry related. “I’m just so thankful to be here and I love South (Field), so in front of the fans it’s extra special. I’m thankful and this is my dream. It means a lot to me.”

“She drilled it. It was a fantastic goal,” added BYU Coach Jennifer Rockwood. “It’s always big to score your first college goal in front of a (home sellout.) I’m sure Afton has been thinking about that for a long time and I think it will make that much more motivated to go score another one.”

About 20 minutes prior it was BYU junior Ellie Walbruch putting the first goal on the board, deftly making quick work of a ball deflected by UVU’s goalkeeper for her fourth goal of the season.

“We got that first goal and that’s always huge for us,” Rockwood said. “Ellie came through. She hadn’t scored in a few games, so I think that was big time for her to put a ball in the back of the net and then we just gutted it out the rest of the way.”

Key to the Cougars gutting it out was a tenacious defense anchored by sophomore goalkeeper Paiton Collins.

Collins had several standout moments, but perhaps none as notable as a save she made with just over six minutes remaining in the game. UVU’s Kate Shirts made a long kick toward the goal, just under the crossbar that the 5-foot-10 goalkeeper just got a glove on, using all of her length and instincts in order to do as much.

“That’s what you want from your keepers, to make the big saves to keep you in games help you win games,” Rockwood said. “So Paiton has really come through for us in every game that we’ve played. I think this is our fourth shutout. It’s more than we had last year and it’s even more than we had going into conference play the season before. She’s a big reason for it.”

Turns out Rockwood’s math is correct with her team notching shutouts in four of its just seven games played so far this season. It’s an aspect BYU presents that should prove positive as the team enters Big 12 Conference play next week when taking on Arizona State.

“We got the big shutout, and that’s what I’m really impressed with,” Rockwood said. “Paiton did another great job and our backline had their hands full (because) UVU has some very dangerous players, and to keep a zero on the board…is a big accomplishment for our team.”

UVU Coach Chris Lemay, meanwhile, wasn’t impressed with his team’s performance overall.

“We never gave ourselves a chance,” Lemay said. “Our effort was low. We didn’t really compete and I don’t think it has anything to do with the environment…It looked like we were scared to play and you’re never going to get a result against a good team when you don’t even give yourself a shot to.”

With the win BYU improves to 5-1-1 on the season after completing a relatively competitive slate of non-conference games, leaving Rockwood optimistic as her team turns to take on Arizona State next Thursday.

“It’s a team that really battles,” Rockwood answered when asked what she’s learned about her team so far this season. “Sometimes we’ve struggled, and there have been different momentum shifts, I just told the girls that we played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country…and I’m really proud of how we came through that schedule. I think it’s really prepared us to go into conference play…I’m really impressed with this group.”