F-a-m-i-l-y.

This motto for the BYU women’s soccer team has worked wonders recently, and it didn’t stop with a win in the 11th round of penalty kicks over Utah State on South Field Friday night.

The Cougars gave it their all and more, winning a gritty game against their in-state rival Utah State Aggies to advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

“So proud of how they’ve stuck together and believed in themselves. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs through this journey and now the momentum’s in our favor, we’ll keep riding it,” said coach Jennifer Rockwood. “We played pretty well but we know there’s more in us … sticking to what we do well and what’s got us to this point and doing it all together as a full team.”

BYU star defender Izzi Stratton brought up the team’s “FAMILY” motto that the Cougars have used recently to get them through the tough games and build up the chemistry they want as a team fighting it out in the postseason.

“Just showing up every day because you have 30 other girls around you that you love and want to be there for, it’s definitely been a huge theme for us,” she said.

The Cougars worked together perfectly in the game, as they used timely saves, great shots, and the energy of the crowd to win 7-6 over the Aggies after 11 rounds of penalty kicks.

Goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson once again stepped up to the task, winning her second-straight shootout with the Cougars this postseason after only starting in one regular season game.

“I’m looking at the roster here and it’s the whole team winning these games … every piece of this puzzle is helping us win these games,” said Peterson.

After the miss by the Aggies to end the penalty kicks in the 11th round, the team rushed the field and swarmed Chelsea to put a cap on this amazing win for the Cougars.

“I feel like we’re really close because of how much we’ve been through and how much adversity we’ve faced before coming into postseason,” said Stratton.

The Cougars will face off next week in the round of 32 against the winner of the Pepperdine-UCLA matchup that will happen on Saturday.