BYU NewsNet - BYU Downs Air Force

Taking the ball off a free kick, BYU defender Haylee Cuthbert launched the ball toward the Air Force goal and scored the game-winning goal.

The Cougar women's soccer team handed Air Force its third conference defeat this season with a 1-0 victory Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006.

The win for BYU puts the No. 15 Cougars at 2-1-1 in conference play and 11-2-2 overall, while Air Force drops to 0-3-1 in conference play and 3-10-3 overall.

Air Force came out battling to capitalize on every opportunity early on in the game. With seven minutes into the game, sophomore Falcon defender Rachael Emory took control of the ball and fired the game's first shot-on-goal, only for it to be quickly snatched up by the guarding hands of BYU goalie Erika Woodbury.

Woodbury picked up another crucial save 10 minutes later when Emory fired another shot with the same result.

Despite the aggressive Falcon start, BYU soon found rhythm, cornering Air Force to play defense for the remainder of the game.

"Our backs were against the wall in the first half, but I thought we responded well in the second half," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said in a news release.

Towards the latter part of the first half, and into the second, the Cougars came out fast racking up 19 shots and eight shots-on-goal. Besides Cuthbert's goal, the closest chance for BYU to secure another goal came when Cougar forward Katie Larkin, taking the ball off a pass from fellow Cougar Carolyn Swenson, fired the ball from short range only for Falcon goalie Erin Wallace to come up with the save.

The Cougar victory Saturday night was critical for BYU as the loss against Utah last week and the tie against San Diego Thursday threatened to jeopardize the Cougars goal of dominating the Mountain West Conference this year.

As of right now the Cougars trail in-state rival Utah in the Mountain West, who currently sits atop the conference standings.

In a news release, BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said she is pleased with where the team is at right now and that the team needs to keep playing hard to be successful.