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Provo • One team hadn't played in the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament since 2006, while the other was making its fifth-straight postseason tournament appearance, and 18th overall.
It showed.
With a goal in each half, No. 4-ranked BYU dominated Mountain West Conference champion UNLV Friday and picked up a 2-0 win in a first-round match at South Field in front of 3,276 fans.
BYU improved to 17-2-1 and will meet Oklahoma (14-6-2) in a second-round match on Thursday in Columbia, S.C.
"I thought the girls did a great job," said BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We came out strong against a very good UNLV team that was very athletic and obviously had one of their best seasons ever. It was a big challenge for us."
UNLV dropped to 16-4-3 and had its 12-match unbeaten streak snapped.
"Even though we didn't get a result, I still thought the girls showed a lot of heart," said UNLV coach John Shaw.
The Rebels entered the game averaging 17.82 shots per contest, but got just seven. Leading scorer Lily Sender, the MWC Player of the Year, had just one shot.
"The more offense we played, obviously, the less offense they could play," Rockwood said.
"BYU is a very dynamic, attacking team," Shaw said.
The Cougars' starting back line of Stephanie Ringwood Nay, Taylor Campbell Isom, Danika Bowman and Alyssa Jefferson made goalkeeper Hannah Clark's job easy. She posted her sixth shutout.
After missing several chances in the first half to get a two-goal cushion, the Cougars pounced quickly in the third minute of the second half.
Elena Medeiros took a cross from Paige Hunt and buried it in the back of the west net to make it 2-0.
"It was a pretty easy goal," Medeiros said. "Paige set it up perfectly for me."
The Cougars dominated in the first half and had plenty of scoring opportunities, but found the net only once.
Michele Vasconcelos' shot in the 20th minute was slightly deflected before screaming past UNLV goalkeeper Jordan Sallee. It was assisted by Ashley Hatch, who a minute earlier had a scoring opportunity herself but saw her left-footer just miss to the left.
It was the 15th goal for Vasconcelos, who has scored in six straight matches.
The Cougars finished with 18 shots — seven in the second half when they lost a bit of focus after Medeiros' goal.
"The game got a little away from us in the second half," Rockwood said.
BYU thought it had taken the lead seven minutes in when Hatch found Nadia Gomes for a goal, but the referee ruled Gomes was offside and the goal was disallowed.
"With this group, it makes them more hungry to go after another one," Rockwood said.
With nine minutes remaining in the first half, Maddie Lyons won a ball and set up Medeiros in front of Sallee, but her shot was wide and UNLV escaped going into halftime down by two.
Medeiros made amends early in the second half, though, and the Cougars cruised from there — all the way to South Carolina.
Twitter: @drewjay —
Storylines
R BYU strolls past UNLV in an NCAA Tournament first-round match.
• The No. 4 Cougars improve to 17-2-1 and will meet Oklahoma in the second round.
• BYU outshoots the Rebels 18-7 and gets six corner kicks to UNLV's one.