LARKIN IS HEADED TO LOS ANGELES

Katie Larkin was picked number 19th in the Women's Professional Soccer Draft by the Los Angeles Sol.  She just finished her Senior year with the Cougs, and ended the season with 11 goals, 23 points, and 66 shots in 22 games.  She was an All-American her sophomore, junior and senior years and the MWC Offensive Player of the Year and Tournament Player of the Year in 2008.  Larkin will have the opportunity to play with some of the world's best players, and showcase her skills at the Home Depot Center, a 27,000 seat stadium which is also home to Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy.  

     

Larkin is excited to continue her career and take off to warm, sunny, California!  We wish Larkin the best and will keep our readers up to date on how things are going with the LA Sol. Their first game is against the Washington Freedom at the Home Depot Center Sunday, March 29 at 3:00 PM.  Good luck Larkin!  

The Cougs Go Down Fighting!

Now that the dust has settled, and we can pull ourselves together, I can write about the final game of the season.  The Cougs took on the defending National Champions, USC, on their home field last weekend.  BYU hosted the first 2 rounds of the tournament, and USC and Boston University played, and BYU played Virginia Tech.  It was a battle until the end with Virginia Tech, and they were a very good team.  The Cougs came out on top, 2-0, and went on to face USC.  

It was a perfect day for soccer, the field looked great, the sun was shining, and the girls were ready to go.  USC would score first, of a beautiful diving header in the first half.  USC had a dangerous offense, but the Coug's defense played outstanding.  The team came out in the second half with a little fire under them, and Andrea Willis put one away for the Cougs. It was a great game from both teams, and each team had some good looks in the 2nd half, and into overtime.  The team played outstanding, and ended up losing in a shootout.  The girls had a great season, and accomplished a lot.  It was a heartbreaker to lose that one in a shootout, and a handful of seniors will have to say goodbye.  We had a great group of girls this year, and I speak for the team, and the seniors will be missed.  Good work Cougs, that was a great season!

 

THE COUGS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN

The Cougs won their second MWC Conference Championship on Saturday.  They beat UNLV 4 - 0 on Thursday night, and then knocked off Utah 1-0, on Larkin's second half goal.  They picked up some awards at the banquet.  Andrea Willis was named the defensive player of the year, Katie Larkin the offensive player of the year, and tournament MVP, and Jen Rockwood was named Coach of the year.  The Cougs also placed a few players on the the MWC all conference, and all tournament teams.  Karen Cook, Andrea Willis, Jessica Harmon-Carter, and Katie Larkin were all part of the MWC Tournament team.  The Cougs spent the week in Las Vegas, and were spent some time eating large amounts of food at the buffets in Vegas.  They were also treated to a special treat and had the opportunity to see Phantom of the Opera, for motivation of course for the championship game.  It was amazing!  

The girls did a great job, and they will continue their quest for the NCAA Championship.  The brackets were released Monday night, and BYU will face Virginia Tech in the 1st round, and the winner of that game, and the USC vs Boston University, will play each other.  The great thing is, BYU was given the home bid, and the girls are looking forward to being home and defending their home turf.  The Cougs are set to kick off at 7:00 PM on Thursday night, November 13, 2008.  USC will face off against Boston University on South Field at 4:00 PM on Thursday night.  We need all the support we can get!  Come out to the game, and cheer the Cougs on!  Thanks to everyone who supports BYU Women's Soccer, we appreciate you!  See you guys on Thursday night!  

THE COUGS GO UNDEFEATED IN CONFERENCE!

The Cougs have done it, they just got back from their lovely trip to Laramie, Wyoming, where Jessica Harmon Carter scored in the last 10 minutes of the game to secure the win.  The girls got back tonight, and I am sure they all had a great time on the bus, in and out of Wyoming in 24 hours.  The girls head to Las Vegas for the MWC Tournament next week, where they will try to defend the MWC Championship.  Congrats Cougs, job well done!  

The girls also had senior night last week, where they beat Weber 1-0.  It was a sad day, 5 amazing girls were honored at senior night, and it has truly been a pleasure to have them on and off the field. Amanda Draeger, Katie Fellows Hodgkiss, Katie Larkin, Karen Cook, and Jessica Harmon Carter where all honored, and thanks girls for being so great.  We love you, and will miss you.  

One last thing, the girls dressed up for Halloween, a tradition that has been going on for a few years, and they get more and more creative every year.  Here is just a group picture, I will have to post some individual pictures.  The girls love coming up with costumes, and it is a tradition to play lightening every year in our costumes, I guess some of the girls struggled striking the ball, and might have swung, missed, and fallen, bless their hearts!  

Cougs Go 3-0 in Conference

The Cougs are off to a great start in conference.  They knocked off Utah 5-0, UNLV 1-0, and beat San Diego State on Saturday 2-0.  The game on Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day.  We were are dressed and prepared for the "big snow storm", but thankfully there was no snow, and even the sun poked out from time to time.  

The girls are excited, and are working hard.  They are getting ready to head to Texas to play TCU and then to play New Mexico on Saturday.  Check back during the week for updates on what the girls are doing on their road trip.  Keep it up Cougs!  

BYU Takes On Rival Utah

Tonight is the first game of the MWC for both BYU and Utah!  It should be a great game, as it always is with these two teams.  The Cougs will head up to Salt Lake City tonight in the rain to take on the Utes.  Come support the Cougs, and let the rivalry begin!  Go get 'em Cougs! 

Two Big Games . . . Two Big Wins!

The Cougs have been on fire the last week!  They took off on Monday to a little place called Miami, to play University of Miami.  A few things to remember, the girls have been on the road for the majority of September and have had their share of ups and downs.  Miami and Michigan State are both undefeated.  Miami has only allowed 1 goal on the season, and Michigan State has allowed 2 goals.  

Auna Janis scored 68 minutes into the game.  She received a cross from Lauren Anderson and Auna did a nice job of putting it in.  The girls came out with a lot of energy and excitement for the game, and pulled of a tough win on the road.

The Cougs then returned home to face Michigan State, where they would have their hands full with a tough offense.  Andrea Willis scored in the first half off a beautiful free kick to put the Cougs up 1-0.  The team suffered a tough loss when Jess Harmon Carter received a controversial red card, and were forced to play a man down.  With about 20 minutes left in the game, Jennie Marshall flicked the ball over 4 defenders and out ran, yes not 1 or 2 or 3, but all 4 of their defenders and slotted the ball in the back of the net.  The Cougs went on to win to tough games, and will head to Cal-Berkley on Thursday!  Good work team, keep it up!