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Provo • The BYU women's soccer team had to wait an extra day to play its first ever game as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, on account of South Field being covered in snow Friday afternoon.

The 24-hour delay hardly made a difference.

The Cougars finally hosted Utah State on Saturday, and a pair of first-half goals sparked BYU to a 2-1 victory and ensured they would be hosting their second-round game as well.

"It was a huge win for us in our first NCAA Tournament game this year," said coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We drew a really tough opening round against Utah State and we knew that it was going to be a battle once we found out we were going to play them."

Senior Jessica Ringwood put the Cougs on the board with about 15 minutes left in the first half, thanks to an assist from sophomore Jaiden Thornock. Marissa Nimmer doubled the advantage 10 minutes later.

USU's Jackie Tillotson made it 2-1 a minute into the second half after putting in a deflected free kick, but BYU's defense limited the Aggies' chances thereafter.

The Cougars will next face Auburn on Thursday at 6 p.m.

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