Holding on: No. 3 BYU women’s soccer claims 1-0 victory against No. 19 Wisconsin in opener
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- BYU’s Allie Fryer (23) celebrates scoring a goal with teammates in a women’s college soccer match against Wisconsin at South Field on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
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- BYU goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez, left in black, is greeted by teammates after a 1-0 victory against No. 17 Wisconsin at South Field on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
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- A BYU women’s soccer fan reacts during a game at South Field against Wisconsin on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
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- BYU’s Allie Fryer (23) leaps around a Wisconsin player during a women’s college soccer match at South Field on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
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- BYU’s Mattyn Summers (27) dribbles the ball upfield against Wisconsin during a women’s college soccer match at South Field on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
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- BYU’s Mika Krommenhoek (18) heads the ball during a women’s college soccer match against Wisconsin at South Field on Thursday, August 15, 2024.
Watching BYU women’s soccer this season has begun as if being played in a mirror universe.
For years, the Cougars earned victories by dominating possession, piling up shots until breaking through with a score while the opponent was left to take whatever was left.
Now, with a young, inexperienced team, BYU found itself chasing No. 19 Wisconsin at South Field on Thursday as the Badgers dominated time of possession.
The No. 3 Cougars took advantage of fewer opportunities, played lockdown defense and squeezed out a 1-0 victory.
“We just wanted to have a lot of energy and control what we can control,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We knew Wisconsin was going to come in and be a good team. I feel like we bent but we didn’t break. We’re not used to being on the side of chasing the ball a lot. Wisconsin moved the ball well against us and we didn’t adjust to it well early.”
Wisconsin (0-1-0) dominated the first half, earning a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks and outshooting BYU 8-5. But the Cougars withstood the early attacking from the Badgers and scored in the 16th minute, pushing the ball quickly into scoring territory from sophomore Addie Gardner to junior Erin Bailey.
Bailey’s pass landed in front of junior Allie Fryer, and Fryer found herself in a one-v-one opportunity against Wisconsin goalkeeper Drew Stover. Fryer’s shot beat Stover to the left corner for a 1-0 BYU lead.
“We were dropped in our half a lot and we weren’t getting a lot of pressure on our attack,” Fryer said. “Finally we got the ball up on a counter and Erin Bailey gets the ball and slots it to me. I got a touch and then after that, I don’t really remember what happened, but the ball went in. I just remember screaming so hard. I lost my vision and I was just on autopilot after that.”
Goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez had two saves in the first half, the second turning away a good look for Wisconsin in the final minute. But Hernaez saved her best for the second half, when she stoned Badgers penalty kick to preserve the 1-0 lead.
In the 50th minute, BYU was tagged with a handball on its own end to result in a penalty kick for Wisconsin. Maryssa Mahrt took the shot but Hernaez dove to her left and deflected the shot away.
“The minute they called the PK, in that moment I was like, ‘It’s OK, there’s no going back,'” Hernaez said. “There’s only so much I can do on a PK. My goal is to slow own the game in my head and just breathe. Pay attention to her, play attention to her body, just anything I can do to reach which way she’s going to go.
“I love to stay big, stay tall and the minute she’ll take it, get set and go for it. In the last second I read her hips opening up and just had to give it my all. I got a hand on it and it was like in slow motion. I saw it go out and I had to celebrate. That was such a big moment for me and I was screaming.”
Hernaez was brilliant all night in goal for the Cougars, ending up with six saves.
“I had so much belief in Lynette,” Fryer said. “We’re roomies and I love the girl to death. I just knew that when she was on that line, she knows what she’s doing and she’s a freaking beast. So I didn’t have any fear in that moment.”
Wisconsin finished with 12 corner kicks to BYU’s one in that category, and outshot the Cougars 17-7 in total but the Cougar defense stood tall.
“The biggest thing is keeping them wide, because they have a terrible angle to shoot,” Hernaez said. “In those moments, the biggest thing is communication. I’m doing everything I can to make a brick wall in front of me. Our defense will always say we’re the brick wall and we have to protect the goal. I’m on Cloud Nine. That was such a fun match for me.”
Both teams were coming off of exhibition losses (BYU 1-0 to Wyoming, Wisconsin 2-0 to Missouri). The Cougars have won seven consecutive openers, with the last loss in 2017 at Penn State (3-1). BYU also entered the night on a 19-match home unbeaten streak dating back almost two years.
“We had some great performances by Erin and Allie to combine for that goal and it was a relief because of pressure we were under,” Rockwood said. “Then Lynette came through for us big time. We told Lynette before the season, we might have to rely on her more than we did last year. And she really rose to the challenge tonight. And I’m really proud of our back line. It’s a new back line that was under a lot of pressure and a lot of attack. It was a good learning experience for us against a really good team.”
The Cougars (1-0-0) have three straight road games next on the schedule, traveling to St. Louis (next Thursday), Long Beach State (Aug. 24) and UCLA (Aug. 28).
