Petersen earns Second Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award

No. 1 BYU women’s soccer senior defender Kendell Petersen was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced Wednesday.

Petersen vs UCLAPetersen vs UCLA

IRVING, Texas — No. 1 BYU women’s soccer senior defender Kendell Petersen was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced Wednesday. 

BYU earned a pair of wins last week, defeating No. 1 UCLA 3-1 at home and toppling UVU 6-1 on Clyde Field. The Cougars are now 6-0 to start their 2023 campaign, the best record to start a season since 2019.

Petersen started both games for the Cougars last week, with 108 minutes on the pitch. Petersen is the only BYU player who has received a Big 12 weekly award so far this season, earning Defensive Player of the Week twice through three weeks of play.

The North Ogden, Utah native tallied a career-high two assists against top-ranked UCLA Thursday evening and added one more assist in BYU’s victory over UVU on Saturday. As a key defender on the back line, Petersen contributed one shot per game and had several defensive stops to help the Cougars remain undefeated through their first six games.

Listed below are the Big 12 awards won by BYU soccer players this season:

Week 1:

Kendell Petersen: Defensive Player of the Week

Week 3:

Kendell Petersen: Defensive Player of the Week