Perhaps none started as ominously as 2024.

The Cougars — picked to win the Big 12 and ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll — lost exhibitions matches to Utah Valley and Wyoming last week, failing to score a goal in 180 minutes of soccer in 2-0 and 1-0 defeats, respectively.

The respect for Rockwood and her program is a good thing, but BYU has a long way to go to meet any high expectations, either within the program and around the country.

“It’s definitely going to be a new challenge,” Rockwood said. “A lot of this year’s group trained with the seniors last year. They’ve seen what it takes and they’re anxious for their turn. Some didn’t play as much last year so we’ll have a lot of new faces on the field. We have a lot of young players and they are ready for their time.”

Where were we?

Courtesy BYU Photo

In their first year in the Big 12, the Cougars were unbeaten in league play (7-0-3), fashioned a 20-3-3 overall record and reached the NCAA semifinals, where they lost to eventual national champion Stanford 2-0.

The highlight of the season was in the Elite 8, where BYU rallied from a 3-0 second-half deficit against the storied North Carolina Tar Heels to claim a 4-3 victory during a snowstorm in Provo.

The departing senior class, which included All-Americans Brecken Mozingo, Olivia Wade Katoa and Laveni Vaka, were part of 60 victories and two trips to the College Cup. Five Cougars (Mozingo, Wade-Katoa, Vaka, Jamie Shepherd and Olivia Smith-Griffiths) were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft in January.

Goodbye … hello

Those 11 seniors leave a huge hole in the Cougars roster, taking 48 goals and 63 assists with them. Rising junior Ellie Wallbruch (11 goals, four assists) suffered a knee injury during the spring and will miss the 2024 season. In addition, two prospective starters (Izzi Stratton and Camryn Jorgensen) went on church missions.

That leaves Rockwood with just two returning starters: Sophomore goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez (57 saves, .92 goals against average last season) and junior forward Allie Fryer (10 goals, one assist).

Courtesy BYU Photo

Junior forward Erin Bailey (10 goals, one assist) came off the bench with a lot of energy last season and will need to step up as another scoring option. Senior defender Tara Warner, who missed some of the spring season with an injury, is healthy and will be counted on for leadership.

Freshman Mika Krommenhoek, UCLA transfer MaKenzie Vance, sophomore Avery Frischknecht and highly ranked freshman recruit Abbi Sine are just a few of the names unfamiliar to BYU fans who are going to get their chance to shine.

“With this much turnover, our Blue and White Scrimmage and our two exhibitions games are more important than ever for us,” Rockwood said. “We’ve added ten new players to our group that haven’t played with us, so we have lots of question marks but we have a lot of talent to work with. That will be the fun part for our staff, trying to figure out where to put players. Our team will have to be better than ever with pressure since we probably won’t have the ball as much as we’ve had in the past. We’ll have to create turnovers close to our opponent’s goal and get more out our two high forwards.”

Get ready

Rockwood never shies away from a good opponent and the 2024 schedule is filled with challenges. No less than four ranked teams (No. 11 UCLA, No. 12 St. Louis, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 19 Wisconsin) dot the Cougars pre-season schedule.

BYU opens the 2024 season on Thursday at South Field against No. 19 Wisconsin.

Five Things to Watch

1. Expectations

Rockwood has built a women’s college soccer dynasty in Provo and maintaining that excellence will be a huge challenge for a very inexperienced squad.

2. No freebies

The Cougars play four ranked teams in the preseason and the Big 12 is a gauntlet. This young team will be tested early and often.

3. Back of the net

BYU was the highest-scoring team in the country last season but graduated a large portion of its offense, not only goal scorers but goal creators to set them up. The Cougars were scoreless in two exhibition games.

4. Under pressure

Jennifer Rockwood’s style is high pressure on both sides of the pitch. The Cougars will need to create more turnovers in their opponent’s end and take advantage of those opportunities.

5. Start to Finish

No question this team will have a lot of room to grow. Rockwood is one of the country’s top coaches and steady progress from Day 1 to the end of the season will dictate how well the Cougars finish.

2024 BYU Women’s Soccer Schedule

Thursday, Aug. 15 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. MT

Thursday, Aug. 22 at St. Louis, 6 p.m. MT

Saturday, Aug. 24 at Long Beach State, 8 p.m. MT

Wednesday, Aug. 28 at UCLA, TBA

Saturday, Aug. 31 Utah State, 8 p.m. MT

Wednesday, Sept. 4 Boise State, 7 p.m. MT

Saturday, Sept. 7 at Arkansas, 5:30 p.m. MT

Big 12 regular season

Thursday, Sept. 12 Arizona State, 7 p.m. MT

Thursday, Sept. 19 at TCU, 6 p.m. MT

Monday, Sept. 23 Utah, 7 p.m. MT

Thursday, Sept. 26 Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. MT

Monday, Sept. 30 Iowa State, 7 p.m. MT

Friday, Oct. 4 at Arizona, 7 p.m. MT

Thursday, Oct. 10 at Kansas, 5 p.m. MT

Monday, Oct. 14 at Kansas State, 6 p.m. MT

Thursday, Oct. 17 Baylor, 7 p.m. MT

Monday, Oct. 21 Houston, 7 p.m. MT

Friday, Oct. 25 at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. MT

Big 12 Tournament

Wednesday, Oct. 30-Saturday, Nov. 9 (Kansas City)