Oh, that BYU Women's Soccer team. They only know how to win 2-0.
Now with their fourth consecutive match with that score, the 4-0-0 Cougars took it to their rival Friday night. Utah fell (that has a good ring to it) to 2-2-1. Their series history is now 20-7-1 in favor of the Cougs. The beautiful, early goals by freshman Madie Siddoway and sophomore Nadia Gomes brought the mighty Utes low in front of a second consecutive record home crowd.
Perhaps such a thing as a "sell out" doesn't really exist for South Field. Perhaps they will just keep packing however many people show up at the gate with a ROC pass or ten-spot until somebody alerts the fire marshal.
And the atmosphere...
Personal experience: I hadn't sat in the ROC student section since my graduation in 2011. With my wife recently passing though the gauntlet of obtaining a masters, she was able to buy them as a student for us. It was fun to talk with the college "kids" before the match, get a feel for how much they knew about the team, about soccer, and about the rivalry... even though it made me feel a little old. Some of them were knowledgeable, some of them were not, but nearly all of them were into it.
Siddoway's goal caught us all a bit by surprise, the way it floated high into the air and dusted the cobwebs out of the far upper corner, and slipped inside the net just above the keeper's fingertips. That thrill of elation when the shout coming from you lips is echoed by hundreds all around you is palpable.
South Field is magical. The size and enthusiasm of the crowd really are the soul of it, but the field itself is pristine, the mountains are beautiful, and the banners of championships and NCAA Tournament runs and former greats hang like tapestries of battles in an ancient great hall. The Y may still lean on football and men's basketball to be the bell-ringers for campus sports, but I would say there are few collegiate soccer experiences anything close to what is to be had at South Field. Perhaps few sports experiences like it in general, even.
And the Cougars are good. Even more than their win record, their style of play is dominating, and their roster deep and talented. Gomes is a magician with her feet--passing, dribbling, turning on a pin for left-footed goals. Elena Medeiros is both quick and fast, and delivers the ball on the money when she isn't putting it in herself. Just try and stop Ashley Hatch--the Ute defenders tried, and had to foul her mere feet outside of the box, leading to Gomes' set piece goal.
And they are only the tip of the spear. There's tons of experience and confidence in Michelle Murphy Vasconcelos, Stephanie Ringwood, Paige Hunt... Marissa Nimmer Linehan, a passer nearly as phantasmal as Gomes, comes of the bench for goodness sake. They can throw 6+ new bodies in the final 15 and not let down.
So if you haven't had a chance to experience this show, I recommend giving it a whirl. The Cougars have something special going, perhaps especially this year. They'll face their stiffest test yet at #2 Stanford Monday. If they can over came this obstacle...
Well, don't be too surprised if they come home with another score of 2-0.
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