BYU women's soccer's third-string goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson became the unexpected hero for the team on Monday, helping to lift the Cougars to an upset against No. 1 seed TCU on the road in the Big 12 tournament.
Chelsea Peterson came to BYU this year as the one of the backup goalkeepers for this very talented BYU team. After transferring from the University of Utah and serving an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she was ready for this highly anticipated season for the Cougars.
After starting goalkeeper Lynette Bryant stepped away due to personal reasons, sophomore Paiton Collins stepped up to the task and was the starter for all of BYU's games in the regular season.
During the last game of the regular season in Salt Lake City, Collins suffered an ACL injury and it was confirmed that she would be out for the remainder of the Cougars' season. This gave Peterson an oppurtunity to step up for her team.
After playing the rest of the second half of a 2-0 win over the Utes, Peterson knew she had to be ready for the Big 12 tournament, as the Cougars had earned themselves the No. 8 seed.
Fast-forward to Monday afternoon, where Peterson stepped up for the Cougars and started the game as goalkeeper against the TCU Horned Frogs.
She totaled seven saves throughout the first two halves of the game and after a gritty ending, the score was tied 2-2. After the second overtime concluded, it came down to penalty kicks, and BYU was relying on its new goalkeeper.
The Cougars eventually came out on top, winning 4-3 in PKs. This win propelled BYU into the semifinals in the Big 12 tournament after earning the wild upset on the road.
Peterson and the Cougars will look to continue their postseason push against the Baylor Bears Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Big 12 Tournament.
The Bears also had an upset win after PKs in the quarterfinals, beating No. 15 Texas Tech. The Cougars and the Bears will face off at 3:30 p.m. MST, and the game will be available to watch on ESPN+.