Freshman Bizzy Phillips heads the ball over an opponent earlier this season. (Universe photo)
Playing for the talented BYU women's soccer is a feat of accomplishment, but doing it with the teammate and friend you have known since age 7 makes it that much sweeter.
Freshmen Bizzy Phillips and Madi Lyons are both Sandy natives and have been friends since they became teammates on their club team at age 7. They played high school soccer together at Alta High School.
'It just makes it that much better,' Phillips said of playing with her long-time teammate. 'It's a whole different level of excitement. The goals and the games mean more now; we have been anticipating it for so long now, (to) see our teammates we have known forever succeed is that much better.'
Lyons and Phillips aren't just on BYU's roster but are making huge impacts on the field for the Cougars. Phillips and Lyons have both netted two goals a piece for the Cougars so far this season and have seen action in 12 and 10 of the games, respectively.
These two girls have been preparing to play for the Cougars long before they stepped on the pitch; they attended numerous BYU soccer camps before being admitted to the university. Phillips and Lyons roomed together at their first BYU camp and remember lying in bed at night talking about how amazing it would be if they both ended up playing for the school.
'We would make sure we were sitting first row so Jen (Rockwood) would notice us,' Lyons said as she laughed.
Phillips has started all 12 of the Cougars' games, and Lyons is one of the first substitutes off the bench for the Cougars.
'At first it was really intimidating,' Lyons said. 'I've gotten more comfortable, and even though it's still intimidating, it's a blast.'
When asked about traditions freshmen have to go through for initiation, the girls laughed and started listing off the funny things that come with being a freshman: dunking in the ice bath, picking up all the equipment, telling their embarrassing stories and even having to dress up in costumes and perform a skit at their yearly retreat.
'You have to live it up, take what you can,' Phillips said.
No matter what it takes, Phillips and Lyons are just happy to be playing soccer together for their dream school.