No. 6 BYU women's soccer rolls into Big 12 tourney final with 4-1 win over UCF

PROVO — In its first year in the conference, BYU women's soccer will play for a Big 12 title.

Olivia Wade-Katoa scored a first-half brace, and Brecken Mozingo added a goal and an assist as No. 2-seeded and sixth-ranked BYU cruised into the Big 12 Tournament championship match with a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded UCF Wednesday in Austin, Texas.

Ellie Walbruch also scored a goal for the Cougars (16-1-3), which ran its unbeaten streak to 11 straight that includes the entirety of conference play.

"We've been scoring a lot of goals, and that's something we've been working on: just finishing our opportunities," Wade-Katoa told ESPN+ after the match. "Obviously, our defense has done a phenomenal job, as well."

The Cougars opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Wade-Katoa slotted home a right-footed shot form Olivia Smith-Griffits to go up 1-0.

Wade-Katoa doubled the advantage with a goal from Mozingo just after the half-hour mark. Slightly less pretty, not on the volley, but no less meaningful for Wade-Katoa, the former Davis High star who has one other brace in her BYU career.

"That ball from Liv Smith-Griffits was just a dime," Wade-Katoa said. "It's kind of hard not to finish that."

Mozingo found her 10th goal of the year with a right-footed rip into the far post in the 39th minute, finishing a brilliant setup from Zoe Jacobs.

Walbruch lifted the Cougars to a 4-0 halftime advantage with a goal into the bottom left corner, finishing off a give-and-go between Rachel McCarthy and Erin Bailey for her 10th goal of the season.

Katie Bradley pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 79th minute, converting her fourth goal of the season to break the shutout.

But BYU out-shot the Knights 29-14, putting eight shots on target to cruise to the championship — where a win would likely cement a top-four overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars will face Texas in Saturday's championship after the fourth-seeded Longhorns upset regular-season champion Texas Tech 1-0 on their home pitch at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.

Trinity Byars scored her 17th goal of the season for Texas (14-4-2), which advanced to the championship match for the second time in three seasons.

The tournament was moved from Round Rock, Texas, to nearby Austin Monday due to storms in the area.

The Red Raiders (15-1-4) were a part of the NCAA selection committee's top 16 as announced by the association earlier this week.

Saturday's match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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