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BYU goalkeeper Chelesa Peterson prepares for a Big 12 women's soccer match against Colorado at South Field on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Ellie Walbruch hugs a teammate after scoring a goal against Colorado in a Big 12 women's soccer match at South Field on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Halle Dixon, left, chases after the ball during a Big 12 women's soccer match against Colorado at South Field on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Chelsea Peterson goes to her knees to grab a shot during a Big 12 women's soccer match against Colorado on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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It’s been more than three years since Chelsea Peterson played in a college match.

The former University of Utah starter was put in a tough spot on Monday: BYU was tied 2-2 with 21st-ranked Colorado in the second half and the Cougars starting goalkeeper, Paiton Collins, had to be helped from the field with a leg injury.

Peterson performed admirably in just over 29 minutes of work, keeping the Buffaloes off the scoreboard to help preserve the 2-2 draw at South Field.

“It was just like clockwork,” Peterson said. “I didn’t feel like was a foreign scenario. I just thought, ‘Just do it.’ I mean, I started for two years at the U, so it’s in me. I’ve been training, so there wasn’t too much emotion in it, honestly. I just wanted to get the job done.”

Peterson made a couple of nice saves, going to the ground to scoop up a hard driven shot in the 65th minute and punching a rising laser from the Buffs over the crossbar in the 70th.

“I want to give a shout out to the midfield,” Peterson said. “We’re doing some defensive coverage on that weak side and they’re doing amazing work. So they did most of the work, I just cleaned it up.”

Peterson’s story in is pretty remarkable. She played three seasons in Salt Lake and started for the Utes in 2020 and 2021 before choosing to serve a church mission to Manchester, England.

“When I came home from my mission, I got in the transfer portal and I felt like I should come and be a student at BYU,” Peterson said. “Which I could not figure out, because I was talking to other schools, and I was like, ‘There’s no way.’ But I did (come to BYU), just because, God knows, I guess.”

Peterson decided to study exercise science at the school. BYU’s 2024 starter at goalie, Lynette Hernaez, told Cougar coach Jennifer Rockwood last spring she wasn’t going to return and Rockwood almost immediately got out her phone.

“We called Chelsea the day I found out Lynette wasn’t coming back,” Rockwood said. “We’re really fortunate. We’ve got a great goalkeeper unit. Sarah Mathis is someone who, at this point in the season, we’re trying to redshirt. So Chelsea got the nod tonight. She’s done really well in practice and she knew she would probably get the call if anything happened to Paiton. I thought Chelsea did a great job. She made a couple of nice saves and kept us even.”

On a very young team, Peterson, who is 24 years old, is a veteran presence.

“There’s a quote that goalkeepers age like fine win, they get better as they get older,” she said. “Just because you see things differently. You’re more mature and you see the field, you see how things pan out, you understand offenses and defenses more. So I think I’m providing that on and off the field, in training and in meetings and in the game. It’s just providing a little bit more age and maybe clarity.”

Peterson said she wore blue to the BYU-Utah football game on Saturday but still has some red Utes gear lying around somewhere.

“I bleed deep purple,” she said with a smile. “But I’m definitely blue now.”

The first half of the BYU-Colorado match was a wild offensive showcase for both teams.

The Cougars struck first in the 16th minute. Mika Krommenhoek made a strong run down the center of the pitch and passed to Walbruch, who powered through two defenders to send the ball into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Colorado tied things up and took the lead with two quick goals in the 23rd minute. A long throw in by the Buffaloes got knocked down in the box and Faith Leyba managed to get a foot on the ball for the 1-1 tie. Just 39 seconds later, the Buffaloes got a big break when Hope Leyba got away with bumping BYU defender Camryn Jorgensen into Collins, who had come off her line to grab the ball. While Jorgensen and Collins tumbled to the ground, Leyba found the ball and fired a shot into an unprotected goal for a 2-1 lead.

BYU produced the equalizer in the 28th minute when Mia Goettsche turned and blasted a shot past Colorado goalkeeper Jordan Nytes from 20 yards out, and the half ended 2-2.

The second half was evenly played with both teams patiently creating chances but the defenses were up to the task.

In the 61st minute, Collins injured her leg while jumping up to punch away a Colorado shot. That’s when Rockwood turned to Peterson, who helped keep the Buffaloes from scoring.

It was only the second time all season that Colorado, which had allowed just 11 goals in 15 matches, had given up more than one goal.

“Colorado has an RPI of eight, and that’s not too shabby,” Rockwood said. “I thought we got off to a bit of a slow start and that hurt us. But I think after the first 20 minutes, we looked really good. We did have a little lapse, and that’s something we’ve struggled with all year. That little lapse gave up two quick goals. But I thought in the second half, we looked really good and super dangerous. Our defense played really against some of the best scorers in the country right now.”

BYU (8-4-3 overall, 3-3-2 Big 12) hosts Kansas on Thursday and finishes the regular season with road games at UCF and Utah. The Cougars are currently in eighth place in the Big 12 standings, and the top eight teams will compete in the league tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, beginning Nov. 3.

“The game shows we can compete with some of the teams that are the best in the country right now,” Rockwood said. “We need to put together more of a full 90 (minutes) against Kansas and lock in a little bit more when we give up a goal. It just impacts us too much. That’s what happens when you have a young team with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. We’ve got to just keep learning because we need three points coming up.”