Provo • For just the fifth time this season, No. 4 BYU was unable to score in the first half. But the Cougars broke out in the second half and shut out Louisville, 4-0, in Thursday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament at South Field.
The Cougars will next host North Carolina, which beat Arkansas 2-1 earlier, at 6 p.m. Saturday in the third round.
The scoreless first half wasn’t for lack of trying. The Cougars out-shot the Cardinals 7-4 in the first 45 minutes of play.
Louisville’s best chance to score came shortly before halftime, on a shot by Brooklynn Rivers, but it hit the top of the woodwork.
Senior Elise Flake finally got the scoring started in the 62nd minute. A minute later, Mikayla Colohan netted an insurance goal.
But the scoring didn’t stop there.
Rachel Bingham Lyman sent a cross pass from the right corner straight to Cameron Tucker, who nailed the one-touch goal from the center of the box.
Colohan added her second goal of the night in the 82nd minute on a penalty kick, which glided into the bottom right corner for the score.
