- BYU women's soccer is 7-2-2 and 3-0-1 in the Big 12, tied for first after a comeback win over Kansas State on Oct. 2, 2026, in the 32nd and last season of head coach Jennifer Rockwood.
- BYU Women's Soccer, Utah State Aggies Women's Soccer connect back to Brigham Young University and the wider soccer picture.
- The story is backed by 13 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 3, 2026
October 3, 2026
4 min / 907 words
13 official links
BYU women's soccer is 7-2-2 and 3-0-1 in the Big 12 after a 2-1 comeback win over Kansas State at South Field on October 2, 2026, and BYU's recap says the Cougars are tied for first in the conference with No. 9 Baylor and No. 14 Texas Tech. It is the 32nd and final season for head coach Jennifer Rockwood, who announced in June that she will retire in December. The team page tracks every result.
Jennifer Rockwood's last season
Rockwood is the only head coach the varsity program has had. She came to BYU in 1985 as a club player, was hired as head coach after graduating in 1988 and has led the varsity team since 1995, according to BYU. Her official bio lists a 475-143-68 record and a .742 winning percentage entering 2026, and ranks her fourth among active NCAA Division I coaches in winning percentage and fifth in career victories. Her teams have reached the NCAA tournament in 26 of 31 seasons, made 10 Sweet 16 appearances and five Elite Eight runs, played in the 2021 College Cup final and reached the 2023 semifinals. They have won 17 regular-season and nine tournament conference titles, including BYU's first Big 12 Tournament title in 2025, and she has coached 24 All-Americans.
BYU announced on June 23, 2026, that Rockwood will retire after the 2026 NCAA season. "Jennifer Rockwood is BYU women's soccer," athletic director Brian Santiago said in the announcement. BYU said a national search for her successor would begin after the December tournament and that tributes are planned at home matches.
A comeback that kept BYU on top
On October 2, Kansas State led 1-0 at halftime on Adelle Francis's goal from a corner just before the break. Afton Perry headed in a Lucy Kesler free kick in the 53rd minute, and Bella Woods converted a penalty in the 61st after a handball, her first goal in a BYU jersey. BYU's recap called it the Cougars' first win this season when trailing at the break and their first three-match conference winning streak since their first Big 12 season in 2023.
BYU outshot Kansas State 21-9 and put 11 shots on goal, which the recap said was its most in a match this season. Goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson made a diving save in the 43rd minute. "Super gritty comeback in the second half," Rockwood said afterward.
Three straight Big 12 wins
Big 12 play opened with a 1-1 draw at Arizona on September 18. BYU then beat No. 23 UCF 3-1 at South Field on September 24. Mia Goettsche scored in the second minute, the eighth-fastest goal in program history according to BYU, and Perry and Mika Krommenhoek added second-half goals, with Krommenhoek assisting Perry.
On September 28 BYU beat TCU 2-0, its first win over TCU since 2010, according to the recap. Emma Hamberlin scored in the 66th minute and Sophie Sivulich in the 82nd from more than 25 yards out, and freshman Anna Neff assisted both. The Big 12 named Neff its Freshman of the Week on September 30.
A demanding nonconference schedule
BYU opened on August 12 with a 2-1 win at No. 9 UCLA, its first win at Wallis Annenberg Stadium since 1998, according to BYU. Mattyn Summers-Oviatt equalized just before halftime, and freshman Brynnli Tolbert scored the winner in her first collegiate game. The result snapped UCLA's 10-game winning streak in season openers, according to BYU's recap.
A 1-0 loss at Wisconsin followed. BYU then won three straight at home, beating USC 2-0 on two Hamberlin goals, Minnesota 1-0 on an own goal and Colorado State 2-1, before a 1-1 draw with Oklahoma. The nonconference season ended with a 4-0 loss at Utah State on September 10 (match story).
Who is scoring
Through 11 matches Hamberlin led BYU with four goals, three of them game-winners, and eight points, according to BYU's season statistics. Perry, Sivulich, Summers-Oviatt and Goettsche had two goals each, and Kesler led the team with three assists. Peterson, a senior from Orem who transferred from Utah, had played 804 minutes with a 0.78 goals-against average and two shutouts.
A roster built in Utah
Nineteen of the 29 players on BYU's 2026 roster list Utah hometowns. They include Krommenhoek of Mapleton and Maple Mountain High, Perry of Saratoga Springs and Westlake, Kesler of American Fork and American Fork High, and Sivulich of South Weber and Northridge. Senior Emma Neff and freshman Anna Neff both list Salt Lake City and Olympus High. Woods, a senior from Draper, also transferred to BYU from Utah.
What comes next
BYU plays at West Virginia on October 8 and at Cincinnati on October 12, both at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN+. It then hosts Texas Tech, one of the two teams level with it at the top of the standings, on October 16, and Utah on October 30. The BYU school page lists every Cougars program.
Key facts:
- Record: 7-2-2 overall and 3-0-1 in the Big 12, as of October 3, 2026, per BYU's schedule.
- Standing: tied for first in the Big 12 with No. 9 Baylor and No. 14 Texas Tech, per BYU's October 2 recap.
- Coach: Jennifer Rockwood, in her 32nd and final season; 475-143-68 entering 2026; retiring in December.
- Latest result: 2-1 over Kansas State on October 2 after trailing at halftime, with goals from Afton Perry and Bella Woods.
- Leading scorer: Emma Hamberlin, four goals.
- Next: at West Virginia, October 8.
