Oct. 16, 2003
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - A header by defender Noelle Jouglet, her first goal of the year, gave San Diego State its first women's soccer victory over the Brigham Young Cougars since 1999 on Thursday, 1-0. Defender Shannon McBride's direct kick from 35 yards went right to Jouglet's head six yards out. The Aztecs (6-7-1, 1-1-0 MWC) had lost six straight to the Cougars (10-4-1, 2-1-0 MWC), including 5-1 and 9-2 setbacks last year.
The SDSU defense played well the entire game, limiting the powerful BYU offense to 10 shots, their second lowest total of the season (the Cougars had eight shots against No. 2 Florida in a 3-2 overtime loss on Sept. 26).
The teams locked up in a tense defensive battle with most of the action and possession taking place in the middle third of the field. There were droughts of 18:39, 15:46 and 14:14 in which neither team had a shot.
In the second half, the Cougars out-shot the Aztecs 6-2, including four shots in the final 10 minutes, but could not get the ball in the net.
Aztec goalkeeper Stephanie Pearson had four saves, including a kick save of a shot from BYU midfielder Aleisha Rose at the 33:54 mark, and recorded her fifth shutout of the season. Pearson also got to a rolling ball in the box at the 43:05 mark just before a Cougar had a chance to get to the ball and let off a shot.
BYU came into the game with impressive credentials. The Cougars are ranked No. 12 in the country by Soccer America and No. 25 by Soccer Times. They have won all four MWC regular season and tournament titles, have qualified for the past six NCAA Tournaments and are an impressive 153-42-4 all-time (.779 winning percentage).
"We battled and fought hard like we did against Arizona State (a 1-1 double-overtime tie against the No. 12 Sun Devils on Oct. 3)," head coach Chuck Clegg said. "Both teams had two serious opportunities to score. We just happened to put one of ours in."
The win improved SDSU's MWC record at the three-year old SDSU Sports Deck to 9-2-0.
San Diego State continues to have earned more wins against BYU than any team in the country and with the win today cut the Cougars' lead in the all-time series to 7-6.
San Diego State continues to host top-quality MWC teams as Utah comes to the SDSU Sports Deck at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Utes (11-2-0, 2-0-0 MWC entering tonight's match at UNLV) are ranked No. 19 in this week's NSCAA/adidas national poll and No. 25 by Soccer America.