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Columbia, S.C. • Expectations for BYU to reach at least the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championships have been high all season, and on Thursday the No. 4-ranked Cougars delivered on those hopes some 2,000 miles away from Provo.

The Cougars got goals from their senior stars, Ashley Hatch and Michele Vasconcelos, and defeated Oklahoma 2-1 in a second-round match at Stone Stadium on the campus of the University of South Carolina. Fourth-seeded BYU (18-2-1) will meet top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday (5 p.m. MST) for the right to play in the Elite Eight.

"You can see their expectations in their eyes. You can see what they want," BYU associate head coach Chris Watkins said. "As a coach, that's awesome."

The Cougars dominated the match, outshooting the Sooners 14-6, including four shots on goal.

But Oklahoma's Rachel Ressler scored in the 82nd minute to cut the deficit to 2-1 and making things interesting in the final seven minutes.

The goal, which ended BYU goalkeeper Hannah Clark's string of four straight shutouts, came when Stephanie Ney broke a shoelace and ran off the pitch thinking the referee had stopped play to allow a substitute to enter the game.

He hadn't, and the Sooners scored while BYU was essentially a player down.

"A weird deal," Watkins told 960 AM radio.

Hatch's header in the 11th minute put the Cougars on the board first and BYU led 1-0 at halftime. The goal was assisted by Vasconcelos and Ney, who made a cross pass in front of the net.

It was the 19th goal of the season for Hatch, a single-season career high. She's now tied for third nationally in goals behind a pair of players who have 21.

Vasconcelos, the WCC Player of the Year, notched her 16th goal of the season in the 64th minute to give the Cougars the 2-0 lead. After the goal by OU (14-7-2), the Cougars fought off some initial shock and kept the Sooners from challenging again.

"Our defenders did a great job of shutting down a lot of what they wanted to do," Watkins said.

It is BYU's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2012, when the No. 1-seeded Cougars lost to eventual champion North Carolina in the Elite Eight.