Utah Soccer Beats BYU 1-0 In Beehive State Battle

Saturday, October 7

Salt Lake City, Utah

1:00 PM

University of Utah

BYU

Utah Soccer Beats BYU 1-0 In Beehive State Battle

10/7/2006 12:00 AM | Soccer

Oct. 7, 2006

Final Stats | Quotes

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah got an early goal from Adele Letro and held off a second-half surge from BYU to get a 1-0 win in a match-up of Top 25 teams Saturday afternoon. A crowd of 1,384 was on hand to break the Ute Field single-game attendance mark.

Utah, ranked 19th in the NSCAA/adidas poll, got its fifth straight win to improve to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference. It was the Utes' fourth consecutive shutout. BYU, ranked 15th in the nation, fell to 10-2-1 and 1-1 in conference play.

The Utes got their fourth win in the last six games against BYU; however, it was their first win ever over the Cougars at Ute Field. BYU was voted the preseason favorite in the Mountain West Conference despite Utah winning the regular season title a year ago.

Light morning showers ceased right before kickoff, making for a soft pitch on a cool autumn afternoon. However, as one would expect in an instate showdown, both teams came out with plenty of energy and warmed up quickly.

Utah set up Letro for a couple of quick shots. Less than three minutes in, keeper Ashley Mason booted a long clear into the Utes' attacking third. Letro tracked down the ball and fired a shot that was kept out of the net by defender Andrea Willis.

Then Melissa Crespo and Letro hooked-up to score the only goal of the game in the 16th minute. Crespo gathered the ball in the midfield and hit Letro in stride with a perfect pass. Letro touched it and took a hard shot from 15 yards out, slipping the ball just underneath Cougar keeper Erika Woodbury. It was only the sixth goal Woodbury had allowed in 13 games this season.

After both teams fired three shots in the first 45 minutes, BYU outgunned Utah 11-5 in the second half. Most of the early stages of the second period were played on Utah's end of the field.

Less than three minutes into the final half, Natalie Nate pounced on a misplayed clear and fired a shot over the crossbar.

Then beginning in the 57th minute, the Cougars then created a series of opportunities over a six-minute stretch. Mason made a play on a header by Annie Zwahlen. Jenavieve Phillips followed with a pair of shots that missed wide to the left and right, respectively.

The Utes didn't get a shot off until Katy Reineke missed to the left of the frame in the 62nd minute. Their best scoring chance of the second half came with just under 13 minutes left when Amanda Feigt took a 15-yard shot that was denied by Woodbury.

Mason, who had four saves for her fourth shutout of the season, also made two alert plays on balls that were headed back toward the goal line by her teammates on clearing attempts.

The Cougars set up two free kicks from within 25 yards in the final 24 minutes. But, Utah's defense was resilient throughout.

Utah plays its next two games on the road, facing Air Force on Wednesday and New Mexico next Sunday. The Utes return home to host TCU on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Ute Field.