The former UCLA transfer scored the go-ahead goal for the No. 24 BYU women’s soccer team against No. 25 USC, then assisted on the second in a 2-1 victory at South Field on Thursday.

“Brecken has just come in a completely different player this year,” Cougar coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “She brings so much energy and she’s playing with a lot of confidence. It was definitely a breakout game for her and there’s more to come.”

This spring, Mozingo played in all 16 BYU games and started three, scoring three goals and adding three assists. She’s taking on even more of the offense this fall, especially since high-scoring forward Cameron Tucker is still recovering from a knee injury.

“I’ve been showing up day in and day out, giving it my all,” Mozingo said. “I think this game did put a staple on my playing and my commitment to myself. I know I need to show up and play how I did this game every game.”

BYU led 2-0 at halftime and withstood plenty of offensive pressure from the Trojans in the second half. A handball resulted in a penalty kick goal by USC’s Croix Bethune in the game’s 82nd minute and there were some anxious moments as the Trojans pushed for the equalizer. But the Cougar defense was up to the task and made the 2-1 lead stand up.

“The second half we folded a little bit defensively and gave up some pretty good looks,” Rockwood said. “But we held strong. USC is a phenomenal team with a lot of speed and they are really good in the counters. I was proud of our back line. They had their hands full tonight.”

The standing-room only crowd of 5,347 – bolstered by an army of baby-faced freshmen who spent the day moving into their campus apartments – was treated to a pair of spectacular first-half goals by the Cougars.

“The energy the crowd brings radiates to us,” Mozingo said. “Throughout the game the more they cheered the more we were able to finish the job.”

In the game’s 13th minute, Olivia Smith made a tremendous defensive play to stop a possible 1v1 opportunity for USC’s Simone Jackson. BYU launched a quick counter with Olivia Wade sending a long pass to Mozingo. The sophomore forward threaded her run through three Trojan defenders and powered a left-footed shot from just inside the 18-yard line into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It was a fantastic ball from Liv,” Rockwood said. “We’ve been talking about going up and over and behind the back line. Brecken hit an unbelievable shot that we see her hit all the time in practice. It was fun to see her hit it in the game.”

In the 40th minute, Smith was taken down just inside the corner flag and Mozingo’s free kick found the head of Bella Folino, whose aim was true for a 2-0 BYU lead.

“It felt so awesome,” Mozingo said. “I try and put it in good spots every time but really it was down to Bella and her freaking head. She freaking did it and it was so good.”

USC (0-2-0) actually outshot the Cougars 20 to 19 but BYU had seven shots on frame to the visitors three. The Cougars also survived 11 corner kicks by the Trojans.

The win was a good response to a disappointing 2-1 loss at Auburn on Saturday.

“We’re dogs,” Mozingo said. “We’re straight up dogs. We just want to not have a repeat of last season (when the Cougars lost in the NCAA second round). We wanted to come out and better. We want to become the best team we can and keep it rolling.”

BYU (2-1-0) travels to Arkansas on Monday. The Razorbacks are 0-2-0 this season but the losses were to No. 6 Duke (3-1) and No. 3 North Carolina (1-0 in overtime).

USC will stay in the Beehive State and take on Utah Valley University on Saturday.

University Photographer A standing-room only crowd of 5,347 at South Field in Provo watch the BYU women’s soccer team take on USC on Thursday, August 26, 2021. (BYU Courtesy Photo)