It took a while, but one of the youngest teams in Jen Rockwood’s 31 years as the BYU women’s soccer coach finally met its match in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. After a run of six consecutive victories, the Cougars were eliminated by No. 1 Stanford on Monday afternoon, 6-0.
The ACC champions (19-1-2) and the top-scoring offense in the country, pounced from the opening kick, firing four shots at BYU goalie Chelsea Peterson in the first four minutes. The Cardinal remained on the attack and a pair of goals by senior Jasmine Aikey and another by senior Andrea Kitahata gave the home team a comfortable 3-0 lead before the 20th minute.
BYU’s best chance to score came in the 33rd minute, but junior Ellie Walbruch’s shot in front of the net was knocked away in spectacular fashion by freshman Caroline Birkel, the ACC Goalie of the Year. Stunned by the missed opportunity, Stanford caught the Cougar defense on its heels and scored 50 seconds later off the head of sophomore Eleanor Klinger.
Constantly tested by a physical, relentless and experienced team who also enjoys a South Field-kind of home advantage, the Cardinal added two more goals in the second half to improve their postseason home record to 61-4-5, including 21 consecutive victories.
Defeat is always sour, even when it comes as an underdog in the Sweet 16. With Mackenzee Vance as the only senior on the active roster, the Cougars (11-7-6) will return next season with most of what they had in 2025, plus the priceless experience of the last 26 days.
Needing a victory at Utah on the final night of the regular season to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament, BYU went to Salt Lake City and beat the Utes 2-0. During the game, the Cougars lost starting goalie Paitin Collins to an ACL injury and backup Peterson came in to preserve the win.
With Peterson making her first start in over three years, after playing at Utah and serving a church mission, the Cougars stunned No. 5 TCU, No. 23 Baylor and Kansas to win their first Big 12 championship.
Hosting Utah State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Peterson held her ground during 11 grueling rounds of penalty kicks to advance 7-6. Last Friday, in another dramatic penalty kick finish (4-2), Peterson and the Cougars eliminated UCLA.
While Stanford prepares to host Michigan State in the Elite Eight, BYU returns home with a pedigree that includes two trips to the College Cup and a pair of Sweet 16s in four of the last five years — with a bright future ahead of them.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.