Trailing the University of North Carolina 3-0, BYU women’s soccer coach Jennifer Rockwood remembers feeling “frustrated” and “quite mad” during halftime of the NCAA tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 24, 2023.
Before addressing the team, the coach worked hard to mask her internal feelings. She knew from experience the team would not react well to anything negative, yet coming back from such a deficit against the Tar Heels seemed improbable. Was this really how Brigham Young University’s memorable season was destined to end?
But there was hope. Many of the women had played in big games before, including the national championship two years earlier.
Standing before her team, Rockwood calmly wrote “79” on the board.
“That’s how many goals you have scored this year,” the coach said. “You’re the leading goal-scoring team in the country. You’ve averaged over three goals a game in every game you played in. You know how to score. ... So go do your thing. Just score one goal at a time, the momentum will shift.”
Following more words of encouragement, the Cougars returned to the field with a surge of confidence and pulled off a legendary 4-3 victory that will not soon be forgotten.
“The girls just said: ‘Let’s go do this. We’re not going out like this,’” Rockwood said. “We saw it all happen and unfold in 45 minutes of play — something that rarely happens in a women’s soccer game.”
Rockwood told the story as she reflected in an interview with the Church News on the success of the BYU women’s soccer season.
The Cougars, which featured 10 returned Latter-day Saint missionaries, finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 20-3-3 and went undefeated in Big 12 Conference play (7-0-3) in their first year in the conference. The season ended with a 2-0 loss to Stanford University in the semifinals of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament in Cary, North Carolina, on Dec. 1.
Following the season, five BYU women’s soccer players were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft, the most BYU soccer players drafted in a single season.
“What a remarkable year for us,” Rockwood said. “[We] had a super special team, an amazing group of young women who came together, played big, were seen far and wide, and represented themselves and everything there is for us to represent at the very, very highest level.”
Honor Code advantage
As a private university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU students agree to live by an Honor Code that reflects Church standards, including regular participation in Church services, avoiding profane and vulgar language, living a chaste and virtuous life, grooming and dress standards, and abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, drugs and other substances.
Rockwood sees the Honor Code as an advantage for BYU women’s soccer.
“When I go out and recruit, I’m recruiting girls who know exactly what the Honor Code is, and they want to be at BYU — not necessarily because of the soccer program — but because of everything that BYU is, because it’s unique, because it’s different,” the coach said. “Most of my girls have dreamed to come play at BYU since the time they started playing. ... The Honor Code is fantastic because that’s why the girls come. They want to be a part of BYU, the atmosphere and the environment, and everything that offers that they can’t find at other schools.”
Missionary impact
Along with the leadership and experience of 11 seniors, the BYU women’s soccer team that reached the Final Four this last season featured 10 returned missionaries.
Rockwood said that while developing an elite team with players leaving and returning from missions can at times be “tricky” — more like a “juggling act” — it is also a “blessing.”
“It definitely has been a blessing. ... The maturity level is amazing,” she said. “It has been a great example. ... These girls have worked their whole life to get to this spot. To give up a scholarship, give up a spot, give up everything they’ve worked for, to go and serve the Lord and bless the lives of the people that they’ll come in contact with, knowing that they will come back to even more uncertainty than when they were freshmen. That has taught me a lot about faith and trust, and all I think as a team we’ve learned together because of that.”
Sunday play and missionary moments
In 2021, the Cougars used penalty kicks to beat defending national champion Santa Clara University in the NCAA semifinals.
As a result of BYU going to the finals, the NCAA rescheduled the national championship game from Sunday, Dec. 5, to Monday, Dec. 6, to respect BYU’s request to avoid Sunday play.
That Sunday, instead of focusing on soccer, Cougar players and coaches attended church meetings at a local Latter-day Saint meetinghouse. A photo was shared on social media.
“The Sabbath is a delight,” BYU women’s soccer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
BYU ended up losing to No. 1-ranked Florida State University on penalty kicks, 4-3, but the overall experience was a classic missionary moment for the women’s soccer team.
“That was a special moment,” Rockwood said. “The NCAA had to change their championship date. That’s been my goal since I first started coaching back in 1995, to try and make the NCAA change the national championship from Sunday to Monday. Why? Because BYU doesn’t compete or practice on Sundays. ... That was a huge moment for us.”
Missionary opportunities come wherever the players go, including the people they meet at airports, hotels, on the bus and even opposing players, coaches and fans. Earlier this season, after BYU defeated a Big 12 opponent in a road game, the opposing team’s best player and parents approached Rockwood because they are fans of the program and appreciate the Cougars’ style of play.
Multiple bus drivers stay in contact with the BYU women’s soccer team because they are so impressed with the players, the coach said. The team even received a Christmas card from one driver in California who often requests to drive the Cougars around.
“The girls make an impression, whether it’s planting a seed or possibly opening a door,” Rockwood said. “Because we have so many missionaries, I guarantee you most of them have had a conversation. They are very comfortable sharing their testimonies and sharing what we are, who we are, what we stand for, where we want to go and why we are doing what we do. That’s special, and it happens quite often.”
Developing professionals
Following their successful season, the BYU women’s soccer team had five players selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft on Jan. 12:
- Round 1 — Brecken Mozingo, pick No. 4 overall, Utah Royals.
- Round 2 — Olivia Smith-Griffitts, pick No. 20, Utah Royals.
- Round 2 — Olivia Wade-Katoa, No. 23, Portland Thorns FC.
- Round 3 — Jamie Shepherd, No. 30, Bay FC.
- Round 4 — Laveni Vaka, No. 55, Bay FC.
The five join four former Cougars already playing professional women’s soccer:
- Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit, NWSL (also plays for the U.S. women’s national team).
- Michele Vasconcelos, Utah Royals, NWSL.
- Mikayla Cluff, Utah Royals, NWSL.
- Nadia Gomes, San Francisco Glens SC, USL W League.
Rockwood has known most of them since they were 12 or 13 years old and watched them grow, struggle, develop and work to play at the highest levels of women’s soccer. She is proud of their achievements and wants to see others follow in their footsteps.
“People are quite aware of our program, our university and the uniqueness of it,” Rockwood said. “Most coaches, they know the quality of our girls. As a coach, that’s the proudest thing you could say. Not only are they good, but they know the character and the quality of our players. It shows on the field.”