The BYU women?s soccer team won an intense Sweet 16 match over Marquette Saturday night, finally triumphing on the eighth kick of a shootout to continue in the NCAA tournament.
Despite a combined 38 shots on goal, the teams dueled scoreless through regulation and two overtimes before an energetic crowd of more than 3,100 fans to bring on the shootout.
Back and forth the kicks went. The Golden Eagles grabbed the early advantage in the first round but missed the third attempt and the Cougars made theirs to put the teams back on even ground.
Both teams missed the fourth kick, when a make would have meant victory. Marquette then made the next three, forcing BYU to match each time to stay in it.
Then, Marquette?s eighth try sailed over the net. All the Cougars had to do was make the next shot to win.
Reserve Kayla Varney, who?d played just 13 minutes in the contest, calmly stepped up and buried the ball in the back of the net, touching off an enthusiastic celebration.
?More than anything, I was excited for the team,? Varney said. ?I?m just happy to keep the season going for the seniors.?
Before that dramatic moment, BYU fans held their collective breaths when goalkeeper Erica Owens collided with a Golden Eagle attacker near the end of regulation play. Owens was very slow getting up, but she did continue and finished out the evening.
Like Owens, Marquette goalie Amanda Engel had a fantastic game and really challenged BYU?s offense. She had nine saves on the night, and Owens had seven.
The Cougars started the game in attack mode and outshot the visitors 12-5 in the first half, but they weren?t able to find the target.
The situation reversed at the beginning of the second half, when Marquette dominated play for the first portion of the period.
Senior defender Lindsi Cutshall played what BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood termed ?one of the best games I?ve ever seen her play? to keep the Cougars in it along with the back line, despite a very aggressive offensive push by the visitors.
?Nothing gets by Erica,? Cutshall said. ?People made big saves when they had to tonight. At this level, physicality is part of the game. I think we handled it and it didn?t change anything we normally do.?
The Cougars will host their final home game Friday night, with the time and opponent to be determined.
?Obviously this was a huge, emotional battle for both teams,? Rockwood said. ?The fans were phenomenal. We?re really looking forward to the opportunity to play a team like Baylor or UNC at home.?
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com.
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