No. 11 BYU women’s soccer comes up short against No. 13 Arkansas

Courtesy BYU Athletics
BYU's Halle Dixon (2) is fouled by an Arkansas player during a women's college soccer match at South Field on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
South Field is usually a good place for the BYU women’s soccer team to be, but on Tuesday, the Cougars couldn’t find any offense on the home pitch.
The result was a 1-0 loss to No. 13 Arkansas in front of 4,089 anxious fans and one frustrated coach.
“I was disappointed with our effort and with the way we played tonight,” Cougar head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We’ve been consistent in strong starts this season, and tonight for whatever reason, we did not get off to a very good start. I thought we played very poorly in the first half, and we came out and played a lot better in the second half and had some good opportunities, and just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
The 11th-ranked Cougars had 21 shots on the night, forcing Arkansas goalkeeper Keegan Smith to make nine saves, tying her career high. Freshman Sophie Sivulich and junior Ellie Walbruch led BYU with four shots a piece.
BYU (3-1-1) had nine shots on target compared to Arkansas’ four. An aggressive matchup concluded with 25 total fouls and one yellow card.
The Razorbacks opened with the first shot of the night, blocked by the Cougar defensive line. BYU started off its offensive press with a shot from Sivulich, which soared over the goal in the eighth minute of the game. A corner kick from the Razorbacks was also caught in traffic by goalkeeper Paiton Collins in the 21st minute of the game. Halle Dixon took a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box, narrowly missing the goal in the 42nd minute of the game. Despite Arkansas opening with the first shot of the game, the Cougars ended the half with nine total shots compared to the Razorbacks’ six. Among those nine shots, three were on target but saved by the Arkansas keeper.
In a physical and defensive battle, the first half concluded with fifteen total fouls, including a yellow card awarded to an Arkansas player.
In the 53rd minute of the game, Sivulich moved quickly towards the center of the field and shot on target, but a diving effort from the Arkansas keeper made the save. Seven minutes later, the Cougars worked the ball down the field and Walbruch shot from the left of the pitch. The shot was saved and the ball rolled back to Walbruch, who then shot over the net.
In the 81st minute, Arkansas turned Kennedy Ball’s corner kick into a header from Kyndal Ewertz that found the back of the net for 1-0 lead.
BYU was later awarded with a free kick in the final minute of the game, which proved unsuccessful. As the clock ran out, players from both BYU and Arkansas got into an altercation and the game concluded. With the loss, the Cougars are 0-3-1 all-time against the Razorbacks.
BYU hosts Utah State at South Field on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT, with streaming available on ESPN+.