To dress her.

“Do you like my Diljeet outfit?” Rockwood said after the Cougars’ 1-0 victory against Arizona State, modeling her all-black track suit along with gold jewelry that included a necklace with a bedazzled “R” around her neck. “I always said, and then I think I promised in front of my team, that I’d let her dress me for my last game. So Diljeet met me in the office. She literally provided everything for me.

“She looked just like me, and we walked into the team meeting together. So it was great. I have her glasses, too. So when we play on Monday at 2 o’clock (in the Big 12 Tournament), I’ll have Diljeet glasses on. I’m looking forward to it. She’s a queen, so I wanted to be like her one day, one game.”

No matter how you dress her up, Rockwood — who announced her retirement at the beginning of the season — is the GOAT of BYU women’s soccer. Her program has won 18 regular-season championships over four conferences in her 32 years at the helm, including Thursday’s Big 12 title.

Courtesy BYU Photo

The Cougars and Sun Devils kicked off just moments before the end of Kansas’ 3-2 victory against Texas Tech, meaning BYU needed a win to secure the regular season title. Senior Bella Woods’ tremendous strike on a free kick in the 68th minute provided the winning margin and sends the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 1 seed.

“It’s been an amazing journey so far this year,” Rockwood said. “Such a special group of girls to accomplish what they’ve accomplished. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I think we learned a really big lesson after Ellie (senior forward Ellie Walbruch) got hurt, and that really shook all of us. I think we just regrouped and just said, ‘Hey, look, all of our goals at the beginning of this season are still ahead of us.’ And then we went up and got pounded by Utah State, and it was still ahead of us.

“We just battled every day to get better, and I think we’ve improved every game, and we’ve relied on everybody on the team to get the job done. Tonight was a really tough match, and we could have maybe scored early on and didn’t, and we gutted it out. And then Bella came through with another unbelievable game winner. I’m so happy for her.”

Woods’ goal capped what was a memorable Senior Night for Rockwood, who was honored before the match for her long and illustrious service in women’s athletics.

The night began with Rockwood honoring the four Arizona State seniors with bouquets, then families joined the seven BYU seniors on the field for their acknowledgements, which including photos of each player from their first childhood soccer experiences displayed on the big screen. A video was shown to honor Rockwood, which included statements from long-time BYU announcer Greg Wrubell, former Cougar and pro soccer player Ashley Hatch, former BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe (currently serving as a mission president in the Bay Area), North Carolina women’s soccer coaching legend Anson Dorrance, Santa Clara women’s soccer coaching legend Jerry Smith and current BYU AD Brian Santiago.

Courtesy BYU Photo

Many of Arizona State’s coaches stayed on the field to watch the pre-game honors for Rockwood.

BYU President Shane Reese and Advancement Vice President Keith Vorkink were in attendance and Reese addressed the crowd at South Field.

“We’re here to honor the only legend of coaching soccer at BYU, Coach Jen Rockwood,” Reese said. “As legendary as Jen has been as a head coach, she is a legendary human being. So tonight we honor you as not only the women, the myth, and the legend, but also number 32.”

The university also announced the creation of the Jennifer Rockwood Endowed Soccer Scholarship Fund, a $500,000 donor-funded endowment to honor Rockwood’s legacy by providing scholarship support for deserving student-athletes for years to come.

“What our administration did for me tonight was remarkable,” Rockwood said. “It was very overwhelming and very special, for sure. I’m just feeling gratitude. I’ve been so blessed to work with so many unbelievable people, from my staff to the alumni to our support staff that takes care of us. I’m so proud of our program. So proud of BYU women’s athletics and how well we’re doing and how well we’re supported. And we jus have great athletes here.”

Courtesy BYU Photo

For the final moments of the match, the appreciative BYU crowd chanted Rockwood’s name.

“That was amazing,” Rockwood said. “The ROC section, for women’s soccer, there’s nothing like it in the country. We are so lucky to have Cougar Nation support us. The ROC showed up for us, even for our first few games when school wasn’t in session. The ROC shows up for every team at BYU.”

One of the seven Cougar seniors, defender Avery Frischknecht, expressed gratitude for her time at BYU as well as for Rockwood.

“I wouldn’t say there was pressure (to perform), but it was more of an honor,” Frischknecht said. “Jen has built this program from the ground up, and I feel so grateful, and I think the whole senior class is grateful, that we’ve gotten to share the special moment with her. So we’re grateful for Jen. She made us better people and better players all around us.”

BYU (12-3-3) — ranked No. 13 in the country and a lock for making Rockwood’s 27th NCAA Tournament — faces No. 8 seed West Virginia (9-4-4) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, on Monday at 1 p.m. MT. The Mountaineers handed the Cougars their only Big 12 regular-season loss this season, a 2-0 decision in Morgantown on Oct 8.

BYU Women’s Soccer Seniors

Courtesy BYU Photo

Chelsea Peterson

Goalkeeper from Orem, Utah … Played three seasons at the University of Utah before serving a church mission to Manchester, England. … Transferred to BYU for the 2025 season. … Has allowed 20 goals in two seasons (1.197 per match) with 63 saves for the Cougars.

Ella Rustand-Ford

Defender from Tucson, Ariz. … Has played in 62 matches for the Cougars, starting 20. … Has played 2,091 minutes in her four-year career. … Is married to former Timpview and Snow College basketball player Coleman Ford.

Avery Frischknecht

Defender from Mapleton, Utah. … Has played in 71 matches for BYU, starting 57. … Has scored six goals with one assist since joining the Cougars for the 2022 season. … Her major is Exercise and Wellness.

Emma Neff

Defender from Salt Lake City, Utah. … Has played in 60 matches for BYU, starting 22. … Has one assist in her career since joining the program in 2022. … Is the first Cougar athlete to attend law school while starting for a varsity sport. … Her sister, Anna, is a freshman for the Cougars.

Ellie Walbruch

Forward from Highland, Utah. … Played her freshman season for national champion UCLA before transferring to BYU in 2023. … Has played in 30 matches for the Cougars, starting 28. … Scored 28 goals with five assists in her career. … Suffered season-ending knee injuries in 2024 and 2026. … Married to BYU football player Fisher Ingersoll. … Majoring in Sports Journalism.

Bella Woods

Midfielder from Draper, Utah. … Played three seasons at the University of Utah before joining BYU for the 2026 season. … Played in 46 matches for the Utes, starting 12 and scoring five goals. … This season she has started 17 matches, tallying two goals and an assist.

Mattyn Summers-Oviatt

Forward from Saratoga Springs, Utah. … Served a church mission to Puebla, Mexico North. … Played in 21 matches for St. Louis, scoring three goals, before joining BYU in 2024. … Has played in 60 matches, starting 23, for the Cougars and has scored nine goals. … An Elementary Education pre-major.