BYU’s offense came to life in the second half of its Sweet 16 game Saturday night at South Field against fifth-seeded Michigan State as the Cougars earned a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.
The No. 1 seed Cougars scored all three goals after halftime, catapulting them into the Elite Eight.
“I’m proud of the way we fought,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “It wasn’t an easy game for us. We were a little out of our comfort zone because of the pressure from Michigan State and their ability to move the ball, but the girls, I thought, stuck with it.”
After BYU scored 11 goals in its three contests leading up to the NCAA Tournament, the nation’s top-scoring offense had slowed somewhat.
The Cougars had used two shutouts and just three goals in the first two rounds to advance to the Sweet 16. The Cougars didn’t secure a shutout on Saturday, but they didn’t need it.
Neither team got into the game in the first half and went into the break tied. Both schools had chances to score in the first half, but were unable to capitalize on them.
BYU had three shots on goal and three corners, while Michigan State had two shots on goal and no corners in the first half.
Everything changed in the second half. Michigan State drew blood first, taking a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute on a right-footed shot from senior midfielder Gabby Mueller.
“I think everyone (on our team) believed we would find a way to score,” Rockwood said. “We’ve been scoring points all year.”
BYU did just that, tying the game just a few minutes later on senior forward Brecken Mozingo’s penalty kick in the 55th minute.
Mozingo said she was motivated to help her team have a better second half after a scoreless first half.
“There are two different periods of the game and I wanted to make sure we came out as a team and had the energy to win the next period of the game,” she said.
The Sandy senior ended up being the deciding factor in the Cougars’ win in the second half. After that first goal, Mozingo gave BYU the lead with a steal and a second goal in the 60th minute – this time hitting the net from the edge of the box.
“Postseason football is a fragile thing,” Michigan State coach Jeff Hosler said. “Once you give a team like BYU that many opportunities, they’re going to find ways to capitalize on it.”
An experienced Cougars team capitalized on its chances Saturday, just two days after battling past No. 8 USC to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
Things weren’t so pretty last year when BYU fell to North Carolina in Chapel Hill. When BYU played in front of a sellout, Cougar-friendly crowd of 3,695 this year, it produced a much different result than it did a season ago.
“Last year we were one of the top teams in the country when it came to creating opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage of them,” Rockwood said. “We have players who can come off the bench and score. We can score points in many different ways. … I think we have the deepest bench we’ve ever had on a BYU team.”
The Cougars’ third goal was scored by sophomore reserve forward Ellie Walbruch, who headed in a Mozingo corner in the 80th minute. From there, BYU secured the two-point victory.
The win gives the Cougars their fifth all-time Elite Eight appearance, three of them in the last five seasons.
BYU faces a familiar opponent regardless of the outcome between No. 3 seed North Carolina and No. 2 seed Texas Tech, who will battle for the chance to meet the Cougars at South Field on Sunday.
BYU will face the winner on Friday at 6 p.m. with a spot in the national semifinals on the line.