New to blue: BYU women's soccer jumps into 2024 season in rare preseason form

PROVO — Change can be hard, but for BYU women's soccer and 30 years under head coach Jennifer Rockwood, change has always brought new opportunity for an incoming group of players to step into new roles and take the program to the next level.

The Cougars have never experienced change quite like the volume they undertook this offseason.

After a run that included two NCAA College Cup semifinals in three years, an NCAA Tournament runner-up finish for the first time in program history, and seven professional signees, BYU has found itself in an unfamiliar position as it prepares for Thursday's season opener against No. 19 Wisconsin (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN+): young and inexperienced.

Welcome to the Big Leagues to a group replacing 11 graduated seniors; here come the Badgers, who finished last season ranked No. 12 nationally under 24th-year head coach Paula Wilkins, who ranks second in the Big Ten with a 312-119-67 overall record with eight league titles.

It's the beginning of a nonconference slate that also includes a trip to No. 12 Saint Louis, No. 11 UCLA, No. 16 Arkansas and regional rivals Utah State and Boise State before Big 12 play begins Sept. 12 against Arizona State.

But Rockwood isn't taking it easy on a group that is replacing its entire defensive back line, could potentially start as many as three freshmen in the midfield, and will rely heavily on the experience of returning forwards Allie Fryer and Erin Bailey.

"What I've seen over the years," Rockwood told KSL.com before Thursday night's opener, "is that teams typically will rise to the level of play. When you're out there playing very quality opponents who have similar goals and are driven as we are, I think that will bring the best out of us."

It's not all doom-and-gloom for Rockwood's side, who also bring back starting goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez.

The Cougars are rebuilding a back line after the departures of Olivia Griffitts (Utah Royals FC) and Laveni Vaka (Fort Lauderdale United FC) to the professional game, and starting center back Izzi Stratton to a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Next in line is Avery Frischknecht, the former Springville High center forward who was a three-time state cup champion with Utah Celtic who spent all of last season, plus a redshirt in 2022, learning from Vaka and the rest.

"My mentality has been completely different from years past," said Frischknecht, whose father, Todd, played football at Weber State. "It's my turn to go and prove myself. And I feel super honored that the coaches have trusted me in that center back position."

Aiding Frischknecht in the center of the back line is Tara Warner, a similar forward-turned-defender Springville alum with 55 games of experience — a rarity on the roster.

"It's been so much fun to play with Tara," said Frischknecht, who paired with Warner in exhibition losses to Utah Valley and Wyoming by an aggregate score of 3-0. "I was out with an ACL injury one year as she had an injury at the same time, and we got to be super good friends — even though we never got to play together in high school. She's so awesome, and I feel lucky to get to play with her."

When it came time to pass the metaphorical baton, Rockwood didn't hesitate in turning to the redshirt sophomore who played in 12 games last year for the NCAA national semifinalists that racked up a 20-3-3 overall record that included a 7–0-3 mark in Big 12 play.

"Avery is just one of those kids who is all-in; she's so accomplished, driven, and competitive," said Rockwood, comparing Frischknecht's versatility to Griffitts. "I call her an old soul, in a really good way. She's a very mature person, and has that natural leadership, ability and confidence to her. People look to her and respect her, because of her work rate, how kind she is, and all of those qualities we've seen make great players here at BYU."

That doesn't mean that 2024 will be any easier for a young team that brought in 12 new players, eight true freshmen, and count 23 freshmen and sophomores on the active roster. There's talent among the freshmen, like American Fork midfielder Lucy Kesler and Presley Freeman, the Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year from Atlanta who could start at outside back.

But there will be growing pains and learning moments, of which Rockwood is sure. Her hope — which is backed up by her experience — is those moments make the team better, both this year and in upcoming seasons.

"It's a big adjustment for everyone, to have that kind of grind," Rockwood said. "And a lot of those girls last year had years to prepare for that."

Then there's returning players like Fryer, who scored 10 goals as a sophomore en route to All-Big 12 second-team honors who is stepping into a new leadership role for the All-Big 12 preseason selection by the same coaches that picked BYU to win the conference.

"She's worked really hard on that. As a returning player who has scored a lot of goals for us and played a majority of minutes in that position, we talked a lot in the offseason about the importance of her experience," Rockwood said of Fryer. "Can she be a leader now, and let other players look up to her? Allie is a very fiery player who plays with a lot of passion, but that's what makes her unique.

"It's probably going to test her patience as well … but I think her understanding is she has to be patient with herself, along with her teammates, now that she's one of the most experienced players on the field whereas she was usually the youngest player in her first two years."

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