The Alabama women’s soccer team fell to the BYU Cougars 4-1 in the Round of 32 Friday afternoon.

The 13th-ranked Cougars came in as the better team, and after 90 minutes, they proved it.

Just four minutes in, forward Cameron Tucker fired a shot past Alabama goalkeeper McKinley Crone to put BYU up 1-0.

It didn’t take long for the Cougars to strike again. Just 16 minutes later, Alabama defender Bella Scaturro received a foul in the box. BYU midfielder Mikayla Colohan converted the penalty shot to put the Cougars up 2-0.

Just before half, Colohan added one more to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.

Alabama showed improvement in the second half.

In the 65th minute, forward Riley Tanner fired a shot on goal that deflected off the hands of BYU goalkeeper Cassidy Smith. The ball rolled out to Alabama midfielder Felicia Knox. Knox tapped it into the net to trim the lead to 3-1 with plenty of time to play, but the momentum didn’t last long for the Crimson Tide.

BYU added one more goal to put the game on ice, with yet another goal by Colohan. She finished the match with a hat trick.

“BYU is very talented,” Alabama head coach Wes Hart said. “Especially in the attack. They have so many weapons and ways to hurt you.”

The Cougars had 11 shots on goal to Alabama’s two. Although the score may not show it, it was another valiant performance by Crone in net. Crone finished the evening with seven saves. 

The BYU offense was relentless, and Hart’s defensive plan was foiled.

“[We] tried getting numbers behind the ball,” Hart said. “[We] knew Colohan was key to their attack. We wanted to pay close attention to her, but she hurt us. She was able to find good spots and make the most of her chances.”

This was the best season in program history. 

“I’m incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish this season,” Hart said. “We’ve got a solid foundation to build off of. Every player on the team is able to come back next season. We will be getting some key players returning from injury as well as some very talented new freshmen. Can’t wait for next season.”

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