BYU needed 11 minutes to put its Idaho State exhibition away. The better news is that the Cougars did not need one scorer to do all the work.
Afton Perry scored twice, Mika Krommenhoek assisted three goals and Presley Freeman supplied two assists in Saturday night’s 5-1 win at South Field. Ellie Walbruch, Mia Goettsche and freshman Kate Fuller added the other goals as BYU finished with a 22-3 advantage in shots.
The score does not count toward BYU’s record, and Idaho State is not No. 9 UCLA. Nobody should carry a four-goal margin from an exhibition into Wednesday’s opener as a prediction. What BYU can carry is a more useful attacking receipt: goals arrived through a rebound recovery, a cross, a pass into the top of the box, a high steal and an individual dribble.
That variety matters more than the five on the scoreboard.
Perry changed the opening argument
BYU’s first public scrimmage produced one goal in 60 minutes. The useful part of that Blue-White game was the route from Lucy Kesler’s service to Walbruch’s header, but one clean combination did not answer how many players could finish chances.
Perry supplied the first answer against Idaho State. She scored in the sixth minute after Goettsche’s shot was blocked and Krommenhoek gathered the loose ball. Five minutes later, she struck from just inside the 18-yard box after Freeman and Krommenhoek moved the possession forward.
Those were different jobs. The first asked Perry to stay ready after the initial attempt failed. The second asked her to finish a built possession before the defense recovered. A brace in an exhibition does not guarantee a starting role, but it gives BYU a second named finisher next to Walbruch before the regular season begins.
Perry is listed as a sophomore midfielder on the current BYU roster. BYU’s official profile says her first college goal came last September against Utah Valley. Two goals in five minutes Saturday are not a career rewrite. They are a timely reason for UCLA to account for somebody other than the returning 16-goal forward.
Krommenhoek and Freeman were the night’s real connectors
The box-score headline belongs to the scorers. The attacking structure belongs to Krommenhoek and Freeman.
Krommenhoek assisted Perry’s two goals and Walbruch’s ninth-minute finish. Freeman played the final ball on Walbruch’s goal and participated in the buildup to Perry’s second. Between them, they had a hand in all three goals during BYU’s opening burst.
| Opening goal | Minute | Finisher | Final assist | What created it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-0 | 6th | Afton Perry | Mika Krommenhoek | Recovery after a blocked shot |
| 2-0 | 9th | Ellie Walbruch | Presley Freeman | Cross after Krommenhoek advanced the ball |
| 3-0 | 11th | Afton Perry | Mika Krommenhoek | Combination into the edge of the box |
Krommenhoek leading BYU in assists over the previous two seasons, as the official recap notes, makes Saturday less surprising and more reassuring. Her value is not a one-night trick. She can recover a broken play, carry possession and make the final pass.
Freeman’s two assists add another layer. The defender was one of three Cougars on the Big 12 preseason team, mostly because 45 consecutive starts and 1,682 minutes made her BYU’s reliable back-line piece. Saturday showed how an established defender can help the attack without needing to become a full-time forward. If Freeman can choose the right moments to advance, BYU gets width and service from a player opponents still have to respect defensively.
UCLA will make those choices harder. The Bruins should offer less time after a rebound and punish a defender who advances without coverage behind her. The exhibition showed BYU has the passing routes. Wednesday will test whether the Cougars can use them under pressure.
The one-minute answer might be the best receipt
Idaho State scored in the 48th minute to cut the lead to 3-1. Goettsche restored the three-goal margin in the 49th after stealing the ball from a defender.
That response deserves more attention than another late shot in a comfortable win. A goal just after halftime can change the mood of a match, even when one team has controlled possession. BYU did not let the mistake linger. Goettsche pressed, won the ball and finished before Idaho State could build on its best moment.
There is a limit here. The official report does not identify the exact cause of Idaho State’s goal, publish complete lineup changes or assign responsibility for the breakdown. It would be guesswork to turn one concession into a verdict on BYU’s goalkeeper or back line.
The response is public and useful. BYU converted the next minute rather than spending the next 15 trying to recover its rhythm. That is the kind of behavior that travels better than an exhibition shot margin.
Fuller gave the freshman class a real moment
Fuller’s 66th-minute goal completed the scoring. BYU says she dribbled past two defenders and finished in the top-right corner.
The Blue-White scrimmage gave freshman Brynnli Tolbert the clearest young-player chance. The Idaho State match gave Fuller the finish. That does not establish a freshman pecking order, especially without complete minutes or lineups from either event. It does show that the seven-player freshman group is producing more than practice praise.
Fuller is listed as a freshman midfielder from Highland, Utah. Her official profile includes U.S. U-17 national-team experience and two Utah high school state championships. Those background facts explain why a composed one-on-one goal is plausible. They do not promise college minutes.
The next useful question is whether Jennifer Rockwood trusts Fuller, Tolbert or another freshman in a competitive stretch against UCLA. A late exhibition goal can earn a harder look. It cannot answer what happens when the opponent is nationally ranked and the game counts.
What the shot margin says, and what it does not
BYU outshot Idaho State 12-2 in the first half and 22-3 overall. The Cougars put six first-half attempts on goal and 10 for the match.
That means the second-half split was 10-1 in total shots and 4-1 in shots on goal. BYU kept creating after substitutions and after conceding. Idaho State never generated a sustained volume of attempts.
The 45.5 percent overall shot-on-goal rate is healthy, but it does not make the attack solved. BYU scored on half of its shots on target, a conversion rate that will be difficult to repeat against stronger goalkeeping and tighter defending. The five goals are the fun part. The 22 attempts and multiple providers are the part with a chance to last.
BYU also has a familiar warning. Last year’s team won the Big 12 Tournament after finishing eighth in the regular-season table. The Cougars were picked sixth in the 2026 Big 12 preseason poll. One dominant exhibition cannot erase the week-to-week consistency question that poll reflects.
UCLA will ask for the same ideas at a different speed
BYU opens the regular season at UCLA on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. Mountain. The official BYU recap lists the Bruins at No. 9 and says Big Ten Plus will stream the match. UCLA’s official schedule independently confirms the date, opponent and Los Angeles site.
The full BYU schedule moves from UCLA to Wisconsin before USC visits South Field. There is no soft landing after Saturday.
Three things from the Idaho State win are worth watching in Los Angeles. Can Perry get another useful touch in the box when Walbruch draws attention? Can Krommenhoek and Freeman still deliver the final pass when the window closes faster? Can BYU respond to a bad minute without letting it become a bad stretch?
A 5-1 exhibition win is supposed to feel good. This one also gave Rockwood a wider attacking cast, a clean response after conceding and a freshman goal before the schedule becomes unforgiving. Those are real receipts. Wednesday decides how portable they are.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics: BYU defeats Idaho State 5-1 in exhibition play
- BYU Athletics: Idaho State exhibition preview and 2025 team context
- Official BYU Athletics API: women’s soccer schedule, event 25197 and schedule ID 1624
- UCLA Athletics: 2026 women’s soccer schedule
- KSL Sports: BYU’s 2026 Big 12 preseason position and returning core
- BYU Sport Nuts: women’s soccer hub, roster and schedule
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