BYU women’s soccer finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in program history, and the Cougars remain the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I women’s soccer as they head into tournament play.
Coach Jennifer Rockwood, now in her 25th season as head coach, has led this year’s team to an undefeated season, a WCC Championship, a No. 4 national ranking and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
“We have just taken it game by game,” junior Mikayla Colohan said. “That has been the big key all year, and that’s what we have told each other going into each game — ‘Don’t look at who we are playing, but just treat it like any other game.’”
The team has been showered with WCC honors. Rockwood and Colohan have been named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and Player of the Year. Elise Flake and Alyssa Jefferson were also awarded spots on the All-WCC First Team, with Rachel Lyman and Lizzy Braby on the All-WCC Second Team. In total, 10 of the 11 BYU starters earned WCC recognitions.
Cameron Tucker, Danika Serassio, Sabrina Davis and Jamie Shepherd received honorable mentions. The future looks bright as two of BYU’s freshman starters, Shepherd and SaraJayne Affleck, were named to the All-WCC Freshman team.
The No. 2 seeding is the second-best BYU has ever received — the Cougars earned a No. 1 seed in 2012 when they pushed to the quarter-finals of the NCAA tournament and fell to No. 23 North Carolina.
“The No. 1 seed in 2012 was obviously a fantastic team,” Rockwood said. “I would say this team has scored a lot more goals than our 2012 team, with a very similar strength in the defensive unit. I think this team has both things going for them, we have a great attack and a great defense.”
In 2018, the Cougars lost to TCU in the first round of the tournament 2-1. BYU hopes this year’s tournament run will look different.
BYU will host Boise State at South Field on Friday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. ROC Pass holders will receive a discounted ticket price for all home tournament games. The team is happy to receive the opportunity to host the first three games in the tournament.
“We are super excited,” Flake said. “We love the fans that we get here at South Field; that makes such a huge difference for us.”
