SALT LAKE CITY – No. 1 BYU women’s soccer took down in-state rival Utah 6-1, courtesy of braces by Allie Fryer and Olivia Smith-Griffitts Saturday night at Ute Field, moving the Cougars to 7-0 on the season.

“I am super proud of how our team came out tonight,” said Jennifer Rockwood, BYU head coach. “Utah is a great team, a really solid possession team, so we knew we had to come in and match their intensity in front of a sold-out crowd on their home field. I’m super proud of our starting group for coming out and getting an early goal, which is something we have been able to do in each of our games this season. Our bench, our game-changers, came in and did a fabulous job as well. Great team effort tonight, with some phenomenal goals.”

The win was the Cougars’ second six-goal performance in a row, coming off of a 6-1 win over Utah Valley last Saturday. In the seven games played this season, BYU has outscored its opponents 28-7.

Smith-Griffitts’ brace was the first of her career, while Fryer’s was her first of the 2023 season. Senior midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa notched her fifth goal of the season, while senior Rachel McCarthy put away her second goal of the year.

Brecken Mozingo tallied her second assist of the season, while defender Kendell Petersen tallied her seventh, leading the team in assists through seven games. The South Weber, Utah native has had an assist in four-consecutive games.

The Cougars outshot the Utes 22-6, tying their season high for shots on goal with 15.

The Utes started the game aggressively, firing off the first shot of the match in the second minute, collected by BYU goalkeeper Savanna Mason.

The Cougars answered back with a run down the right side of the field by Mozingo, crossing the ball into the box for a Fryer goal in the fourth minute of play.

BYU continued to pressure the Utah defense, taking four more shots through the first 10 minutes on the pitch.

In the 25th minute, Wade-Katoa intercepted a Utah pass, made a move toward goal and sent the ball into the back of the net, extending BYU’s lead, 2-0.

BYU’s offensive press did not let up as McCarthy won a ball in the air in the 32nd minute, moved in and rocketed a shot into the top of the net from outside the 18, giving the Cougars the 3-0 advantage.

Just four minutes later, Utah tore down the spine of the field, putting pressure on BYU’s backline. BYU senior defender Laveni Vaka was called for a foul in the box, giving Utah a penalty kick in the 36th minute. Utah’s Katie O’Kane took the PK, sending the ball into the top left corner, bringing the score to 3-1.

Despite a last-minute shot by the Utes, BYU went into halftime with a 3-1 advantage. The Cougars outshot Utah 9-4 through the first 45 minutes and tallied four corner kicks to Utah’s zero.

The Cougars hit the ground running, with Smith-Griffitts dribbling the ball all the way down the right side of the field and crossing it in for Bella Folino who got a touch before being collected by Utah goalkeeper, Kasey Wardle.

In the 53rd minute, Smith-Griffitts collected a ball off a Utah deflection and took a shot, hitting off the hands of Wardle into the back of the net for BYU’s fourth goal of the night.

Just seven minutes later, Petersen sent a long ball from the left side of the pitch, over the Utah defenders and into the box, finding Fryer for her second goal of the night, extending the Cougar lead to 5-1.

Smith-Griffitts won a ball 25 yards outside the box and fired off a shot, slipping through the hands of Wardle for her first-ever brace.

BYU freshman Jacey Wood saw her first minutes as a Cougar, entering the game in the 82nd minute.

The Cougars held onto possession for the remainder of the game, ending the night with a 6-1 win over the Utes.

The Cougars will return to South Field for the first Big 12 Conference matchup across all sports on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. MDT as they take on the TCU Horned Frogs. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

BYU women’s volleyball drops first match in 2023 to No. 12 Washington State

No. 8 BYU women’s volleyball suffered its first loss of the 2023 season to host and No. 13 Washington State (25-18, 19-25, 21-25, 19-25) in a top-15 matchup in the Cougar Classic at Bohler Gym on Friday night.

Outside hitter Erin Livingston and opposite hitter Kate Prior were named to the Cougar Classic all-tournament team. Together they teamed up to total 65 kills across BYU’s three matches, just under 50 percent of the team’s offensive productivity in the Palouse.

The Cougars of Provo (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) hit just .169 to Wazzu’s .302 in the match, on a night when they were also out-blocked (11 to eight) and out-dug (58 to 48) by WSU.

Livingston finished with 21 kills, one off of her career-high, on a .341 clip. Prior and middle blocker Whitney McEwan-Llarenas each added six kills, while setter Whitney Bower and outside hitter Elyse Stowell contributed five.

Whitney Bower totaled 38 assists and libero Kamaile Hiapo tallied a game-high 20 digs. McEwan-Llarenas carded a team-high five blocks. Livingston and Whitney Bower both posted two service aces.

The Cougars will return home to host in-state rival Utah at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. MDT. The game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Cougar swimming kicks off season with alumni meet

BYU swim and dive showcased its 2023-2024 team during its annual Alumni Meet at the Richards Building Pool on Saturday morning.

Former BYU swim and dive greats Jake Taylor, Jorge Azevedo, Payton Sorenson and Josue Dominguez were among the alumni to compete alongside the current Cougars.

Taylor, a five-time All-American (2011, 2014-16) spoke to the team following the meet and came away from the event encouraged by the state of the program.

“The program has been taking leaps and bounds in the last couple of years,” Taylor said. “I’m very impressed with this coaching staff as they keep bringing in great talent. I have high expectations that most of my school records won’t be there at the end of this season.”

Diego Camacho Salgado, Jacob Ballard, Tama Tuitama and Tennessee transfer Jordan Tiffany each won two or more events. Camacho Salgado came out on top in the 50 back and 100 free with times of 23.47 and 46.68, respectively. Ballard and Tuitama tied for first in the 50 breast at 27.42 while Ballard won the 100 breast and Tuitama the 100 individual medley.

Tiffany took event wins in the 50 fly (21.27), 50 free (20.09) and 100 back (47.00). Freshman Carson Hamblin won the 100 fly at 52.21.

The squad of Payton Plumb, Hamblin, Jack Burke and Abraham Barragan won the 200 free relay at 1:29.52.

Julia Bartell showed out for the BYU women with wins in the 50 fly (26.30), 100 fly (59.99) and 100 free (53.85). Addison Richards took first in both 50 and 100 breast with times of 31.34 and 1:07.61, respectively.

Lily Flint, Kate Hansen, Emma Marusakova, Mia Tandingan and Victoria Schreiber rounded out the women’s individual winners. The 200 medley relay squad of Liza Slade, Abi Furqueron, Tahis Ibanez and Kara Martinson combined to win at 1:50.87 while Jess Nyborg, Richards, Elle Decker and Kylee Conrad teamed up for the 200 free relay win at 1:36.35.

Cougar swim and dive will offer another preseason showcase event with its Blue/White Meet at the Richards Building Pool on Sept. 15 at 2:45 p.m. MDT.