In what easily could have been a rebuilding year, the BYU women’s soccer team ended its season with a number of achievements: an 18-4-2 record, four wins over top-25 teams, an MWC regular season title and a first-round victory in the NCAA tournament.  

“We went into the season knowing we would have some younger players,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “We didn’t really know where things were going to fall. When we beat Connecticut, we came back with an instilled confidence and a better idea of what the team could do.”

The game Rockwood referenced was in the Penn State Invitational. Freshman Carlee Payne scored the only goal of the first match against No. 20 Connecticut to give BYU a 1-0 win. BYU also pulled off a 1-0 upset over No. 9 West Virginia in the same tournament.

“We played very well against West Virginia,” Rockwood said. “We really surprised them and it was a fun game to watch. I have great memories going back to that first road trip.”

The Cougars’ 1-0 loss to William and Mary in their home-opener was one of the only disappointing games of the year. The team bounced back two days later, though, with a 2-1 win over No. 15 Oklahoma State.

After a loss to Washington State on the road, the Cougars went on a 15-game unbeaten streak, which was highlighted by victories over No. 14 Oregon and Utah

“Beating Utah this year was a huge step for our team,” BYU senior Andrea Willis said. “It was the beginning of our conference play and half-way through our season, and rivalry games are always intense and close. To be able to pull out that win in overtime gave us a lot of confidence going into conference play.”

BYU entered the MWC women’s soccer tournament as the No. 1 seed, and faced New Mexico in what has become the most talked-about women’s college soccer game of the year. New Mexico junior Elizabeth Lambert made national headlines after punching and kicking BYU players, and pulling BYU’s Kassiday Shumway down by her ponytail.

The Cougars defeated New Mexico 1-0 to ensure a position in the finals. Payne, who was named MWC Freshman of the Year after leading BYU with 13 goals and 10 assists this season, scored the lone goal for the Cougars. In the finals, BYU finished with a disappointing 1-0 loss to San Diego State.

Following the MWC tournament, the Cougars headed to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated UC Santa Barbara 2-0 in the first round then lost to No. 1 Stanford 2-0 in the second round.

“Since I have been at BYU I have never seen our team play with so much composure and passion, and to be so close from beating the No. 1 undefeated team in the nation was exciting,” Willis said. “I think it definitely proves to the returning players that BYU is capable of playing and beating anyone in the country.”  

Several players, including Willis, Kelsea Kakadelas and Alyssa Vander Veur, will graduate, but the team returns key contributors in Payne, Lauren Anderson, McKinzie Olson, Lindsi Lisonbee, Jessica Ringwood and Jennie Marshall.