College soccer: Y. outlasts U. in tense, long game

PROVO — Overtime, intensity and a score with 43 seconds on the clock as the crowd was preparing for a second extra period marked the soccer match between the rival Utes and Cougars. In the end, it was BYU coming up with the game-winning goal in the 100th minute of action as the Cougars opened up conference action with the 2-1 victory.

Jessica Ringwood picked up an assist from Alyssa Vander Veur with time running out in the first overtime period and made it count for the match-winning goal and bragging rights for another year for BYU.

"The ball was bouncing around in the box, so I just wanted to put it on frame. There's always a chance. To be able to come out with the win, it was all worth it," said Ringwood after the tense and tiring match.

With a pair of streaks on the line, the Cougars and Utes set to battle at South Field at BYU. The Utes were in possession of four straight trips to BYU without a single loss, while the Cougars were nursing a six-game winning streak this year.

Less than two minutes into the game, it appeared it was the Cougars' streak that would easily stand up to the test as Lauren Anderson scored on a penalty kick before the fans could settle into their seats. But by 30 minutes into the contest, the Utes had tied things up on a solid goal by Kelly Isleib on an assist from Chelsea Forbes.

The score halted the Cougars' other streak of two straight shutout games and set up the rest of the match as a closely contested battle between a Utah team that came in with a 5-6-1 record and a BYU team that was happily sporting a 9-2-1 season mark after a shutout victory over Oregon earlier in the week.

If fans expected a finesse match between the instate rivals, they were in for a bit of a disappointment. But if fans wanted more of a rough and tumble affair, they got an early Christmas present. Bodies were falling left and right as the two teams played with great intensity, and neither one was about to back down from the fight.

The Utes did lose sophomore Lauren Porter to a concussion, and the teams paired up for three yellow cards in regulation, two for the Utes on Lauren Dudley and Lauren Hair, and one for the Cougars on Ringwood.

"We knew coming in that this was a big week for us, playing a ranked opponent and a Mountain West Conference opponent. It's always an exciting and physical match when we play Utah," said BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood.

She noted that her team settled down a bit in the second half then really settled into the game in the overtime, when they started to give the Utes everything they could handle.

Utah goalie Hannah Turpen really had her hands full in the first overtime period. First, she had to make a spectacular save on a shot by Kassidy Shumway that was loaded with velocity and angle, and the rest of the period the Cougars kept the ball on the Utes' side of the field for great chunks of time.

Turpen wasn't able to save the match-winning goal by Ringwood as the quick action inside gave the freshman forward the opportunity she needed.

"All the players on the field gave it everything they had," added Rockwood after her team took the tough victory in their first conference match of the season.

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com