Jarom Jordan
jarom.jordan@byu.edu

PROVO, Utah (May 27, 2010) — The BYU Cougars fought valiantly on the road against the Los Angeles Legends, but lost 3-1 on Thursday night.  The Cougars controlled possession and momentum most of the first half but missed on a couple of scoring chances.  BYU is now 0-3-1 and has lost three in a row for the first time since the end of the 2006 season.

“I was proud of our effort,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins.  “The Legends were a great team and they played very well.  We all gave it our very best shot.  We still need to finish a lot of balls.  We will work for a better result next time.”

Toni Niccoli scored for the Cougars. (BYU Photo)

The Legends have won all three meetings against the Cougars and swept the season series, outscoring BYU, 5-1 in two games.  Blake Tillotson, BJ Pugmire, and Brady Marshall all had solid scoring opportunities but missed.  Heriberto Ponce struck first for the Legends in the 43rd minute when he took a rebound off a shot and put it away.  In the 65th, Marc Pulido scored a well struck free kick up and over a BYU wall, on the inside of the post and in to go up 2-0.  Freshman forward, Toni Niccoli snapped a two-game offensive shutout streak for the Cougars when he turned and fired a rocket shot off a pass from Jantzen Romney to make it 2-1 in the 78th minute.  Ten minutes later the Cougars brought 10 players into the box for an unsuccessful corner kick that Marc Pulido countered on and scored to make it 3-1.

“I think a lot of us are leaving tonight knowing that we learned something but being so far down in the table is a bit daunting.  We have a good team and we’ll bounce back but we feel our backs are against the wall.  We have work to do.”

Junior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave got his first start and playing time as a Cougar as well as Brazilian freshman midfielder Pedro Vasconcelos, who made an immediate impact.  “Our guys are excited about having some new ideas in our attack,” said Watkins.  “We’re excited about Pedro.”  “He brings something to the team that no one else does,” said Pugmire.  “His ability to play balls with his quickness and moves makes a difference.”

BYU will practice Friday morning in preparation for a matchup with the Southern California Seahorses at Biola University in La Mirada, California at 7 p.m. PT, Saturday night.

Scoring Summary
43′  LA     1-0  Heriberto Ponce
65′  LA     2-0  Marc Pulido
78′  BYU  2-1  Toni Niccoli (Jantzen Romney)
89′  LA     3-1  Marc Pulido

BYU Starters
GK-Cory Cosgrave
D-James Bindrup, Drew Van Wagenen, KC Whitworth, Cameron Lamb
M-Britton Osborne, Brent Jensen, Kip Critchlow,
F-Toni Niccoli, Brady Marshall, BJ PugmireTweet