If one word could define the BYU women’s soccer team and its 2025 season and postseason performance, it would be grit.
The Cougars broke a four-way tie to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament, upset No. 1 seed TCU in the opening round and became the first No. 8 seed to win the conference championship.
They carried that momentum into the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 and capping a season defined by resilience.
But if there’s one thing the team wants Cougar Nation to know, it’s that it was only the beginning.
All eyes are set on the future, and as all good athletes know, success starts in the offseason.
Ellie Walbruch, the BYU forward who was named an NCAA Division I All-American and received second-team honors, is looking to lead the charge.
“We’ve just set such a high standard in the start of spring,” Walbruch said. “You can see people are so competitive and have this fire.”
Alongside Walbruch is fellow team captain and BYU defender Avery Frischknecht.
“We were all really proud of how we played and what we did, but I also think that there’s a lot of unfinished business that we still need to accomplish,” Frischknecht said when asked about the overall feeling from last season.
A working piece of the unfinished business puzzle is welcoming the incoming freshmen and helping them acclimate to the faster pace and intensity of college sports.
“That’s a big part of BYU,” Walbruch said. “Most girls do graduate high school early to come and start their college season. I feel like that’s what makes us so successful.”
The Cougars are currently in the throes of their spring season, putting in the physical, technical and mental work needed for success.
“The beauty of soccer is that you can always improve,” Frischnecht said. “We’re working a lot with our back line, finding an identity with our back line.”
Frischnecht explained that their NCAA Tournament-ending loss to Stanford exposed some gaps in the team’s technical ability.
“I think that’s good motivation,” Frischnecht said. “They’re easy fixes, and once we do that, we’re going to be great.”
Physical and technical improvements are nothing without mental preparation, however.
“At BYU, we have the best support systems,” Walbruch said. “They really prepare us for these big pressures that we have. Winning the Big 12, we do have a target on our back going into the fall season.”
Despite the pressures, BYU soccer wants to assure fans that this next season will be one to follow.
“We’re going to be better than we were last year,” Walbruch said. “Everyone should be on board because this group is going to do something that BYU has never done before, and that’s hopefully winning a national championship.”
Frishnecht echoed Walbruch’s statement.
“You’ll see maturity, you’ll see grit, you’ll see passion,” she said. “We’re working really hard, and we will continue to work hard so we can do what no other BYU team has done before.”
Now, with the 2026 Big 12 schedule set, the road toward BYU’s ultimate goal is no longer abstract — it’s marked on the calendar.