MANSFIELD, Texas — After falling behind 1-0 early, BYU women’s soccer (12-3-5, 8-1-2 Big 12) battled back to earn a 1-1 draw with Colorado before winning 4-2 in a penalty shootout Wednesday night to advance to the Big 12 Soccer Tournament championship.
Mia Goettsche scored her sixth goal of the year in tonight's match, now leading BYU in goals on the year. Emma Neff and Sophie Sivulich earned assists on the goal tonight.
Mika Krommenhoek led the Cougars with a career-high eight shots. Four BYU players logged all 110 minutes: Lucy Kesler, Krommenhoek, Avery Frischknecht and Bella Woods.
Senior goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson played the full 110 minutes and made one save during the PK shootout tonight. She also had a season-high seven saves to keep BYU’s championship run alive. Peterson remains perfect in penalty shootouts during her two seasons at BYU, with a perfect 5-for-5 record.
The Cougars outshot the Buffs 26-15 with four shots on frame and nine corner kicks.
BYU will make its second consecutive appearance in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, becoming the first team to reach the final in back-to-back seasons since TCU in 2021 and 2022.
First Half
Sivulich got the Cougars off to a fast start, firing a left-footed shot in the first minute that was cleared by Colorado’s backline. BYU recorded two more shots within the first three minutes, one saved by Colorado’s goalkeeper and the other deflected out of bounds for a Cougar corner kick.
BYU earned a second corner kick and recorded a fourth shot from Krommenhoek before the Buffaloes registered their first shot of the match, which was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick. Colorado’s Hope Leyba connected on a near-post volley, finding the back of the net to give the Buffaloes an early 1-0 lead.
The Cougars responded to the early deficit with increased offensive pressure, recording four more shots inside Colorado’s 18-yard box.
BYU found the equalizer in the 20th minute when Neff dribbled down the right side of the pitch and passed to Sivulich, who sent a ball into the air and into the six-yard box. Goettsche flicked the pass into the back of the net to even the score.
The Buffaloes responded with four more shots and a corner kick over the next five minutes, but BYU goalkeeper Peterson and defenders Frischknecht, Woods and Presley Freeman cleared the threats. The Cougars’ backline held strong to keep the score even.
In the 33rd minute, the Buffaloes worked the ball downfield and fired a shot from inside the 18-yard box, which Peterson punched away.
Leyba had a breakaway for Colorado in the 37th minute, taking a shot that narrowly missed wide of the post.
Just one minute later, Colorado was awarded a penalty kick. Following a VAR review requested by BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood, the call was overturned, and no penalty kick was awarded.
In an offensive first half that ended in a 1-1 tie, BYU recorded 13 shots to Colorado’s 11. The Cougars also held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Second Half
BYU earned the first corner kick of the second half in the 48th minute, but Colorado cleared the ball out of danger.
Sivulich fired her third shot of the match from the top of the 18-yard box, but Colorado blocked the attempt and cleared the ball.
In the 53rd minute, the Buffaloes earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and a corner kick. BYU cleared the free kick with a header, while Peterson punched away the corner kick for her fourth save of the night.
Freeman worked her way up the left side of the pitch and found Goettsche inside the box for a shot that deflected off a Colorado defender and out of bounds for a BYU corner kick. Goettsche connected with the ensuing corner, heading the ball just wide of the right post.
In the 65th minute, Freeman found Krommenhoek with a through ball down the left side of the pitch. Krommenhoek sent the ball into the box, where Goettsche got a foot on it but sent her shot wide of the left post.
After holding Colorado without a shot for the first 25 minutes of the second half, the Cougars allowed a low shot toward the near post, which Peterson saved.
In the 80th minute, Afton Perry sent a ball across the face of the goal, but it slipped just beyond the reach of Mattyn Summers-Oviatt.
With 45 seconds remaining, BYU earned a corner kick, and Woods took a long-range shot from outside the box but sent it high over the crossbar. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1, sending the teams into their first 10-minute overtime period. It marked BYU’s second consecutive overtime game of the tournament.
The Cougars outshot the Buffaloes 7-1 in the second half, finishing regulation with 20 total shots. BYU also recorded seven corner kicks through the end of regulation.
Overtime
The Cougars earned back-to-back corner kicks in the 95th minute, but Colorado’s defense cleared both attempts.
Sivulich fired a shot in the 98th minute but sent it high over the crossbar.
Krommenhoek recorded the first shot of the second overtime period, narrowly missing wide of the right post. She had another shot just a minute later, scooped up by CU’s keeper.
During a scramble inside Colorado’s box, Krommenhoek got three more shots off, all blocked by Buffaloes defenders.
Emma Hamberlin and Goettsche pushed the ball upfield before Hamberlin took a shot that sailed wide across the face of the goal.
With neither team finding the back of the net through two overtime periods, the match was decided by penalty kicks.
Penalty Kick Shootout
Both teams converted on their first shots, with Woods scoring for the Cougars.
Krommenhoek scored BYU’s second, while Colorado’s shot missed wide left, giving BYU a 2-1 advantage.
BYU and Colorado buried their third shots, with Summers-Oviatt scoring for BYU.
Perry’s shot was blocked, then Peterson made the save on CU’s fourth shot.
Emma Neff took BYU’s final shot and buried it into the left corner, sending BYU through to the Big 12 Soccer Tournament Championship for the second year in a row.
Up Next:
The Cougars will face the winner of the game between No. 3 seed Baylor and No. 2 seed Texas Tech in Saturday’s Big 12 Tournament championship at 6 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.