Nov. 7, 2002
PROVO, Utah - The San Diego State women's soccer team was defeated by Brigham Young University Thursday night, 9-2, in the semifinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
San Diego State was held scoreless by the Cougars until Aztec senior Boo Tinling, a West Valley City, Utah, native, scored twice in the final eight minutes of the game to prevent SDSU from getting shut out. Tinling also notched a team-high six shots, four of them on goal.
"I think Boo epitomizes what being an Aztec is about," said SDSU head coach Chuck Clegg. "She was the highlight of the game. She didn't quit. She battled through."
Cougar Brooke Bowman, this year's Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, gave BYU the early lead, knocking in a goal in the 13th minute. Bowman's goal was followed by four more Cougar goals as Jennifer Fielding, Britney Holman, Jamie Rendich and Lydia Ojuka each found the back of the net to put the Cougars up 5-0 at the end of the first half.
BYU came out strong in the start of the second half, punching in three more goals before SDSU could get on the board. At 82:56, Tinling fired a shot from 23 yards back that got past BYU goalkeeper Ashley Smith. Cougar Davia King scored BYU's ninth goal two minutes later. In the final seconds of the match, Tinling again found the back of the net for SDSU's second goal with assistance from senior Jamie Harlor.
"BYU completely dominated us in all phases of the game," Clegg said. "But we had a few players who knew how important it was to compete to the end. No matter the final score, it should always be about playing for pride."
Clegg also noted that Brigham Young got an extra advantage by earning the bye in the first round of the tournament.
"With the format of the tournament, BYU sat out yesterday and we played last night and came right back to play again tonight," Clegg said. "That makes it difficult. And it makes it doubly difficult when you play as good a team as BYU. They were flawless and we made some mistakes."
With the win, the first-seeded Cougars advance to the championship game where they will face third-seeded New Mexico Saturday at noon on South Field.