College soccer returns this weekend, and for No. 1 BYU, it's all led up to tonight
College soccer returns this weekend, and for No. 1 BYU, it's all led up to tonight
The top-ranked Cougars will open Big 12 play Thursday night against former Mountain West rival TCU at 7 p.m. MT in front of a sold-out South Field in Provo (ESPNU).
PROVO, Utah — For Jennifer Rockwood and the BYU women’s soccer team, everything has been building to this.
The No. 1-ranked team in the country will open Big 12 play tonight when it hosts former conference rival TCU at 7 p.m. MT at South Field in Provo.
For the Cougars, everything to this moment has been for their introduction into a Power Five conference — one that counts the Cougars as preseason favorites.
“Obviously we’ve been preparing all year to start in the Big 12,” said Rockwood, the only coach BYU has ever known in its NCAA Division I history, after last week’s 6-1 win over rival Utah. “We get to play probably the toughest team in the Big 12, but fortunately we get to play at South Field and obviously we love that. The Utah State game had to be plugged in there because I did lose a couple of games when we moved to the Big 12, and wanted to make sure we hit 18. That will be a challenge for us; we tied up there last year, and I think we will have plenty of motivation to be on task once we play Thursday.
“Everything is centered on TCU, a big game on South Field. We’re really looking forward to it.”
It’s the first game of the Big 12 era for BYU, and the first Big 12 contest in all sports for the school since officially joining the conference July 1. One of the top teams in the conference, TCU’s 3-3-1 record is a bit deceiving; of the Horned Frogs’ three losses, two losses came to top-10 opponents in then-No. 6 Florida State (2-0 in Fort Worth, Texas) and then-No. 8 Penn State (1-0 in University Park, Penn.).
The other came just last week, a 2-1 loss at Butler in a high-noon game in Indianapolis. And like BYU, the Frogs will step back from Big 12 play after traveling to Provo for a nonconference finale against in-state foe Stephen F. Austin at 1 p.m. Sunday in Fort Worth.
The Cougars’ 12th-ranked volleyball team will also host No. 22 Houston next Wednesday in a match that will be broadcast on ESPNU. BYU football will open conference play next Saturday, Sept. 23 at Kansas, followed by the home opener Friday, Sept. 29 against Cincinnati, for those wondering.
BYU has faced TCU 10 times in program history, dating mostly to the two teams’ shared history in the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars lead the overall series, 9-1, and last faced the Horned Frogs in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, a 2-1 loss at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
The Cougars are 4-0 all-time against TCU at South Field.
Here’s a look at the rest of the weekend in local women’s college soccer, a three-day weekend of matches, both home and away as Real Salt Lake heads to San Jose.
College soccer this weekend
Thursday, Sept. 14
Southern Utah (0-4-4) vs. Idaho State (1-7)
Cedar City, Utah
Kickoff: 4 p.m. MT
Streaming: ESPN+
Weber State (0-6) vs. Utah (3-2-2)
Wildcat Soccer Field, Ogden
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT
Streaming: ESPN+
No. 1 BYU (7-0) vs. TCU (3-3-1)
South Field, Provo
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT
TV: ESPNU
Streaming: WatchESPN
Utah Tech (3-4-1) at Colorado State (5-0-1)
Fort Collins, Colo.
Kickoff: 4 p.m. MT
Streaming: Mountain West Network
Friday, Sept. 15
Utah Valley (3-3-2) at Cal (2-3-1)
Edwards Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.
Kickoff: 5 p.m. MT
Streaming: Pac-12 Plus
Saturday, Sept. 16
No. 1 BYU (7-0) at Utah State (2-5-1)
Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field, Logan
Kickoff: 3 p.m. MT
Streaming: Mountain West Network
Utah women's soccer hosts No. 1 BYU at Ute Soccer Field, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 in Salt Lake City. BYU won, 6-1. (Photos by Josh Woods, jdubdesigns.org, for Salt City FC)
