This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • It was only an exhibition match, but last week's 3-2 win over Arizona provided a pretty good indication of what is in store for the No. 19-ranked BYU women's soccer team this season.
The Cougars should be able to score on anyone, but they will need to get sharper defensively if they hope to return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and 10th time in the past 11 seasons.
"It is always good to start out the season with a win," coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "It was a really tough battle and Arizona was a tough team to play. We rarely give up that many shots on our goal, but we scored three goals. We just have to clean our defense up a little bit and we will be ready to go."
The Cougars flew to Hawaii on Wednesday and will begin playing for real on Friday night against No. 18 California in the Outrigger Resorts Soccer Classic. They will spend the weekend on Oahu and tangle with No. 3 Stanford on Monday.
Rockwood said the tough early-season matches against ranked Pac-12 opponents will show her seasoned crew exactly where it stands as it embarks on one of the toughest schedules in program history. The Cougars will also play against Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Oregon State, among others, before West Coast Conference play begins on Oct. 1 at Gonzaga.
BYU is picked to win the WCC for the fourth straight year in a preseason coaches poll. Junior forwards Ashley Hatch and Michele Murphy Vasconcelos were named to the 2015 All-WCC Preseason Team.
Hatch is the reigning WCC Player of the Year and scored a goal last week against Arizona. Brittain Dearden and recently returned LDS missionary Paige Hunt also notched goals against the Wildcats.
Hatch scored 18 goals and made six assists last year, including 11 goals and three assists in WCC play, and makes the Cougars go offensively. She's on the MAC Herman Trophy Watch list. Vasconcelos had six goals and six assists last year after missing the 2013 season while recovering from knee surgery.
Hatch's sister, Brianna, joins the team this year as a promising freshman.
The Cougars are also expecting big things from sophomores Bizzy Phillips, Madie Lyons and Nadia Gomes. They combined for eight goals and five assists as freshmen last season.
Elena Medeiros and Marissa Nimmer Linehan are two of the better midfielders in the conference.
The biggest questions are on defense. Junior Rachel Boaz, a transfer from San Diego State, has nailed down the starting goalkeeper spot after the Cougars struggled a bit in that position last year. Another sophomore, Taylor Campbell Isom, returns to shore up the back line.
"We are in a different spot than we were last year with a lot of players returning, so I was happy to see them back on the field again," Rockwood said after the intrasquad scrimmage.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU's 2015 schedule
All times Mountain
Friday • vs. California at Waipahu, Hawaii, 8:30 p.m.
Monday • vs. Stanford at Waipahu, Hawaii, 11 p.m.
Aug. 28 • vs. Colorado, 7 p.m.
Aug. 31 • at Nebraska, 6 p.m.
Sept. 4 • vs. Utah, 7 p.m.
Sept. 10 • vs. Utah St., 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 • vs. UNLV, 6 p.m.
Sept. 17 • vs. Oregon St., 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 • at Cal Poly, 8 p.m.
Sept. 26 • at Long Beach State, 8 p.m.
WCC Games
Oct. 1 • at Gonzaga, 5 p.m.
Oct. 3 • at Portland, 8 p.m.
Oct. 9 • vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 • vs. Pacific, 7 p.m.
Oct. 22 • at San Francisco, 8 p.m.
Oct. 24 • at Santa Clara, 2 p.m.
Oct. 29 • vs. Pepperdine, 7 p.m.
Oct. 31 • Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m.
Nov. 7 • Saint Mary's, 5 p.m.