Senior defender Lily Reale blasted a corner kick to the back of the box in the fifth minute of the game.

The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week hit her target – senior defender Jayden Perry – but Perry’s attempt to head the ball into the goal fell just short.

Nevertheless, graduate student midfielder Meg Boade was in line to tap the ball in and put away what became the Bruins’ game-winning goal just five minutes into the game.

“We’ve struggled in some of our other games with the first 10 minutes, so that was really important for us,” Boade said.

A trio of No. 3 UCLA women’s soccer (5-0) players set the tone early in its 1-0 victory over No. 16 BYU (1-1-2) on Wednesday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

In addition to giving the Bruins an early lead, the goal marked Northwestern transfer Boade’s first goal in the blue and gold and Perry’s first assist of the season.

Wednesday’s game was also UCLA’s Pride Night, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.

“We pride ourselves as a program on creating an environment where everyone feels like they can be themselves,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa. “It was about playing for them and representing our program in a way that would make that community proud.”

The victory marked the Bruins’ first defeat of the Cougars since February 2020, which means no current UCLA player had beaten BYU before Wednesday. Additionally, BYU is the second consecutive top-20 team UCLA has outlasted this season, following No. 10 Santa Clara on Sunday.

But the Cougars did not make the Bruins’ ride easy, recording five shots in the first half alone. Forward Allie Fryer created multiple scoring opportunities within the first 45 minutes, with the Cougars’ first chance coming two minutes after the Bruins scored. Fryer ran in behind the backline, but graduate student goalkeeper Ryan Campbell ran to the top of the box to prevent Fryer from shooting.

UCLA has now recorded consecutive shutouts across its first five games of the season.

“A big thing is just defensive pressure from the forwards to the midfield and defense,” said senior defender Quincy McMahon. “I don’t think it’s just a backline, but I think it just starts from the forwards, midfielders and just staying together and having that unity.”

Intensity grew throughout the game, with three yellow cards dealt out across regulation.

Perry received the first card of the game for pulling the jersey of a Cougar, which Fryer evened out with her team’s first card.

The entire UCLA bench was dealt the third yellow card of the night in the final 15 minutes of the game for poor sportsmanship.

Amid the chaos of the second half, the Bruins held it together – maintaining an early lead and securing one last win at home before heading on a monthlong stretch of away games.