BJ Pugmire will play his final game as a Cougar on Thursday. (Daily Universe)

PDF Game Notes

PROVO, Utah (July 19, 2011) — Thursday night the BYU Cougars will finish the 2011 PDL season against the LA Blues 23 at the Stadium at South Field in Provo, Utah. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. MT and the game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on www.byutv.org/live.

“Our guys are very motivated,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins. “Our guys really want to prove that we’re a better team than our record. We are excited to go out and get a win for the seniors.”

“We want to end on a good note,” said senior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave.

The LA Blues 23 represent a PDL team for the LA Blues organization who also have a USL PRO, W-League, and youth club teams. It will be the second meeting all-time. June 17 the Cougars scored a goal in the first minute and another in the 22nd but gave up three goals to lose 3-2.

“Offensively we were able to get behind their defense and finished a couple of nice goals,” said Watkins. “The Blues had a couple of brilliant shots against us that were world class.” See the box score of this game at this link.

BYU’s 13 goals this season mark a single-season low for the Cougars in the PDL (since 2003). However, 21 goals allowed is the fourth fewest in a single season in BYU history and tied for third (goals allowed per game) in the southwest division.

“Everyone has stuck together,” said BYU senior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave. “We set goals to stay organized and not give up silly goals.”

GAME #16 FAST FACTS
LA Blues 23 (3-9-2) vs. BYU Cougars (3-8-4)
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 8 p.m. MT
Stadium at South Field in Provo, UT

BYU competes in the top U23 semi-professional soccer league in the nation (Premier Development League). BYU players are not paid and do not have athletic scholarships.

Follow the Cougars on www.byusoccer.com and @byusoccer on Twitter.

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OGDEN, Utah (July 16, 2011) — In the last road game of the 2011 PDL season the Ogden Outlaws (2-9-4) defeated the BYU (3-8-4) Cougars, 2-1 on Saturday night. It is the first Outlaws victory in Ogden versus the Cougars and third win in 22 games against BYU.

“Overall I felt we had the better run of play and we certainly had the chances,” said BYU head coach, Chris Watkins. “All the credit in the world to their keeper (Devin Zimmerman) who had a couple of amazing saves.”

The Cougars and Outlaws played a physical game for the first half an hour before BYU struck first with a goal by Oregon State transfer, David Gates in the 29th minute. It was Gates’ second goal of the year.

“David Gates continues to be a nice threat for us and had a great goal today,” said Watkins.

However, late in the first half the Outlaws got the equalizer in the 44th minute as Outlaw forward, Elias Hatungimana, chipped the ball over BYU goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave.

In the second half BYU put Ogden on its heels but didn’t finish any shots. The game winning goal came in the 67th minute when former Cougar, Josh Patino knocked in a cross off a free kick to make it 2-1 Ogden.

The win gave the Outlaws their second victory of the season and was the fourth game played against BYU in 2011.

May 24 0-0  T (Watch the BYUtv Broadcast of this game)
May 28 1-0  W
July 2   1-1  T
July 16  1-2  L

BYU was 9-0-1 versus the Outlaws in Ogden going into the contest and after the loss the overall series record is 16-3-3.

Watch BYU’s final regular season game on Thursday, July 21 at 8 p.m MT in Provo. It will be live on BYUtv.Tweet

VENTURA, California (July 8, 2011) — Despite 86 scoreless minutes, the BYU Cougars lost 1-0 to the defending division champion, Ventura County Fusion on Friday night.

“We clearly played well tonight,” said BYU head coach Chris Watkins. “They had one great shot and we didn’t.”

That shot came with four minutes left in regulation. Fusion forward, Gyasi Zardes slotted a shot from distance beyond the reach of BYU goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave, for the game winner. Both of Zardes’ goals this season have been against the Cougars.

Friday’s win for the Fusion marks a season sweep with both game-winning goals being scored within the last four minutes of the game. BYU is 0-4-2 against VCF since the first meeting in 2009.

Ventura County continues to sit atop the Southwest Division standings with 31 points and is poised to make the playoffs for the third year in a row after winning the 2009 PDL Championship and the 2010 Southwest Division title.

The Cougars have a quick turnaround with a game Saturday night against a well rested Los Angeles Legends squad who haven’t played since July 3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Caroline Coleman Stadium. The Cougars only home win of the season came on June 25 against the Legends in a 3-1 win (Watch the game here).

Follow the Cougars on www.byusoccer.com and @byusoccer on Twitter.Tweet

BYU Assistant Coach, Clay Christenson gives his thoughts about the team “From the Box”.

Saturday night was great, a well deserved three points for the men in blue. What I was most impressed with was our finishing, we finally put balls in the back of the net. In fact, Doug Clark’s goal was one of the finest I’ve ever personally witnessed. Doug has really done a nice job for us a left back. He’s a dynamic weapon going forward, while working very hard defensively to make sure we don’t give anything up.

It’s time to move forward, really move forward and put a winning streak together. With a week of preparation before our next match, we have plenty of time to improve as a team while riding the confidence we gained on Saturday night. A ‘good’ problem we currently have is the number of players earning more minutes and proving they deserve to be on the field. Unfortunately, only 11 can be rewarded with a start and just a handful more will enter the match so I’m fully anticipating the most competive week of practice we’ve had all year. Back to work on Tuesday, Go Cougs!Tweet

Junior midfielder, Connor Bassett gives his weekly thoughts about the team in “On the Pitch”.

Road trips have a way of bringing our team together and building friendships.  Once again, I won’t spend any time talking about the games (that’s for the sports writers to do).  I will say, however, that both games had their share of positive moments and we hope to continue to improve each game.

Our trip last weekend was successful overall.  In fact, our only regret off the field was the fact that we didn’t have enough time to eat dinner at BJ Pugmire’s house again!

My favorite thing about road trips is learning new things about my teammates.  And once again, we created a handful of unforgettable memories on this trip:

Winston Sorhaitz survived his first road trip with the team, congrats to the freshman.  Doug Clark is surprisingly quite the bed-hog: we all saw a side of Doug Clark that becomes rather angry and violent when he is forced to share a bed with someone else.  Be careful if you happen to be around James Bindrup in the middle of a heated conversation; he has to be the center of attention (as I found out while reading a book during an apparently life-changing discussion about zombies, shotguns, and samurai swords).  Junior Lartey and Jantzen Romney are the kind of guys that always happen to be in the right place at the right time, as we all witnessed on several occasions over the weekend, but you’ll have to talk to them if you want to know the details!

Anyway, we are excited to improve our our season this weekend.  We have a great opportunity to play Ventura this Thursday night.  We are a good team, and we are anxious to prove it!Tweet

Jarom Jordan

Box Score

PROVO, Utah (June 10, 2011) — In a wide open, fast paced Friday night game the Orange County Blue Star hung on to beat the BYU Cougars, 2-1. The Blue Star are now 9-0-4 all-time against the Cougars.

“We were better tonight than we were a few weeks ago,” said head coach, Chris Watkins. “Overall we weren’t effective. We’re disappointed. We need to come out with points at home against even a great team.”

The Cougars are now 0-2-1 at home this season and will host the Southern California Seahorses tomorrow night at 8 p.m. MT on BYUtv and online at www.byutv.org/live.

In the 10th minute the leading point man in the PDL (8 goals, 3 assists, 19 points), Chandler Hoffman put Orange County on the board by creating an own goal. His left footed shot hit the right post then ricocheted off defender, Ethan Meyer in the net for the first goal of the game.

BYU nearly tied it up in the 23rd minute when midfielder, Jantzen Romney gathered a thru-ball and chipped it at goal but keeper, Sam Chappell saved two quick shots.

Dawning a new formation the Cougars featured returned missionary of five weeks, David Gates (Oregon State transfer) up top and he delivered in his first game in a BYU uniform. Getting the start, it took just 28 minutes for Gates to get his name in the records books as BJ Pugmire found him on a vertical ball which he gathered and put away for the equalizer.

“I think David played well,” said Watkins. “Toni did a nice job. We just have to be more effective. Goal scorers are born and not really made. We need to refine.”

In the second half BYU dominated possession but Orange County struck back on a counter attack in the 74th minute from a great cross by David Ponce to Fernando Monge who headed it into the near post corner for the 2-1 lead.

Four minutes later in the 78th minute BYU forward, Garrett Losee attacked goal and bounced a ball up that was called for a handball but the TV broadcast replay showed it wasn’t. Toni Niccoli put away a goal from that pass but it was negated.

BYU made desperate attempts in the final 12+ minutes to score another equalizer but came up short.

The Cougars outshot the Blue Star 12-7, and recorded nine corner kicks to the Orange County’s three.

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Robbie Bullough
For byusoccer.com

Box Score

PROVO, Utah (May 24, 2011) — The BYU Cougars (5-2-2 overall, 0-2-2 PDL) hosted the Ogden Outlaws (0-2-2) in the first of four games between the two teams and failed to convert on multiple scoring opportunities leaving with a disappointing 0-0 tie.

“It’s a kick in the teeth for sure because we didn’t get three points.  And we need to get three points,” said BYU head coach Chris Watkins.

BYU possessed the ball well in the first half completing over 240 of its passes and saw many more scoring opportunities than Ogden.

“I feel like we had possession way more than they did and I feel like it was a good step for us,” said sophomore forward, Garrett Losee.

But in the second half, the Cougars completed just 170 passes and struggled to maintain possession.

“We were a little tired because we were pressing so much.  We were shooting for three points,” Watkins said.

The Cougars were awarded 7 corner kicks to Ogden’s 1 and doubled the Outlaws on shots 18-9, but had just 4 on frame. Losee and BJ Pugmire both had opportunities in the box in the second half but saw their shots sail just wide of the net.

“I’m a little frustrated with all of us because we had so many chances,” Pugmire said.

Pugmire moved from the wing to attacking midfielder in place of Doug Clark who suffered a concussion in Friday’s loss to Fresno.  The senior had 4 shots while Losee added 3 to lead BYU.

Jace Green saw his first action of the season in the second half after recently returning from a full-time mission in Portugal.

The in-state battle was physical, resulting in 30 fouls and five cards.  Losee picked up the match’s first yellow card in the 31st minute.  The other four cards were all issued in the second half.  Adrian Castano picked one up in the 61st minute for Ogden and James Bindrup got BYU’s second card in the 66th.  Joe Hickman was then carded twice in the 67th and 78th minutes, the second yellow resulting in a red card.  Hickman’s ejection gave the Cougars a one-man advantage in the final 16 minutes, including 4 minutes of stoppage time.  But BYU failed to capitalize and Ogden escaped with just the second tie in series history.

“Deep down it hurts.  It’s gut-wrenching,” said Watkins.

The Cougars have managed just one goal in their first four PDL games.

“Once we get a couple, and get that confidence…, the flood gates will open,” said Pugmire.

BYU and Ogden each pick up one point giving them both two on the season.  The two teams are still tied for fifth in the Southwest Division and will square off again this Saturday at 6 p.m. MT at Bonneville High School in Ogden.Tweet

Jarom Jordan
jarom.jordan@byu.edu

Full Game Notes – PDF

PROVO, Utah (May 23, 2011) — In the first of four meetings this season including two this week, BYU (5-2-1 overall, 0-2-1 PDL) will play in-state rival Ogden (0-2-1) on Tuesday, May 24 at 8 p.m. MT in Provo. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and www.byutv.org/live.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will play at Ogden this Saturday at 6 p.m. MT.

COUGAR QUICK HITS
-BYU welcomes back 10 returned missionaries from two year LDS missions across the globe for the 2011 season who were on the team prior to their missions in 2008. Those include Colby Bauer (Oregon), Will Burton (Mexico), Easton Folster (Argentina), Scott Heaton (Japan), Jonathan Junca (Chile), Garrett Losee (Puerto Rico), Mike Moreno (San Diego), Derek Taylor (New Jersey), McKay Corbett (Canada), and Jace Green.

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Jarom Jordan

PDF Game Notes

PROVO, Utah (May 17, 2011) — The first home game of the Premier Development League season for the BYU Cougars (5-1-1) is this Friday, May 20 at 8 p.m. MT at the Stadium at South Field versus the Fresno Fuego (2-0-2). The game will be televised live on BYUtv and online at www.byutv.org/live.

“It’s going to be fun to play in front of a home crowd,” said assistant coach, Chad Sackett. “The opportunity to play Fresno again is big time. They have a great organization. They possess the ball well. They’ve got some guys up top who can hold the ball pretty well. We need to use our width to our advantage because of our wide field.”

It is the second time BYU will play Fresno in nine days as the Cougars opened the PDL season at Fresno on Thursday, May 12, losing 2-0. The Fuego have won three in a row against BYU and own the series history (6-3) dating back to 2003. The Fuego are led by Milton Blanco and Andrew Campbell who lead the team with two goals each.

“This week we’re looking to continue what we did last time,” said BYU senior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave. “We started knocking the ball around pretty well. We gave up the two goals when we hit a wall in the 70th minute. We want to con- tinue to improve at the end of the match again.”

UP NEXT
BYU will play its only midweek game of the season against the Ogden Outlaws on Tuesday, May 24 at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be live on BYUtv and online at www.byutv.org/live with Robbie Bullough doing play-by-play and former Cougar, Hugh Van Wagenen doing color commentary.

COUGAR QUICK HITS
-BYU welcomes back 10 returned missionaries from two year LDS missions across the globe for the 2011 season who were on the team prior to their missions in 2008. Those include Colby Bauer (Oregon), Will Burton (Mexico), Easton Folster (Argentina), Scott Heaton (Japan), Jonathan Junca (Chile), Garrett Losee (Puerto Rico), Mike Moreno (San Diego), Derek Taylor (New Jersey), McKay Corbett (Canada), and Jace Green.
-Five starters return to the team including BJ Pugmire, Tyler Christiansen, Toni Niccoli, Doug Clark, and James Bindrup.
-Seven of BYU’s eight home games will be televised live nationally on BYUtv and online at www.byutv.org/live
-The Cougars went 3-0 in the fall season with victories against Utah State, Weber State, and Utah Valley. In the spring non-conference season the Cougars beat UNLV on the road, Utah Valley at home, and defeated three Puerto Rico professional clubs (Mayaguez, Fenix, and Bayamon) to go 5-0.
-BYU competes in the top U23 semi-professional soccer league in the nation (Premier Development League). BYU players are not paid and do not have scholarships.

GAME #8 FAST FACTS
Fresno Fuego (2-0-2) vs. BYU Cougars (5-1-1)
Friday, May 20, 2011 at 8 p.m. MT
Stadium at South Field in Provo, UT

Coaches
Fresno-Scott Alcorn (34-20-14, 5th Season)
BYU-Chris Watkins (236-70-20, 17th Season)

TV
BYUtv (Jarom Jordan, play-by-play; Hugh Van Wagenen, color commentator; Lakia Holmes, sideline)

FRESNO FUEGO PROFILE
Record: 2-0-2, 8 points (2nd in PDL Southwest)
2010 Record: 8-4-4, 28 points (4th in PDL Southwest)
Highlights:
-Defeated BYU 2-0 on Thursday, May 12 in Chukchansi Park in Fresno, CA
-Led by Milton Blanco and Andrew Campbell who have two goals each
-Pitched three straight shutouts to start the season before giving up two goals to Ogden in a 4-2 win last Saturday
-Fresno has won three in a row against BYU and leads the series 6-3 with a +9 (20-11) goal differential.

Follow the Cougars on byusoccer.com and twitter.com/byusoccer.Tweet

Here’s three videos from Tuesday morning’s practice with assistant coach, Chad Sackett; senior goalkeeper, Cory Cosgrave; and junior midfielder, James Bindrup.

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