{"id":195931,"date":"2025-10-02T00:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T00:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/195931\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T00:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T00:09:09","slug":"for-byus-ellie-walbruch-her-time-is-now-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/195931\/","title":{"rendered":"For BYU\u2019s Ellie Walbruch, her time is now \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A penalty kick in soccer pits the shooter up against the goalie in an isolated moment that can affect everything \u2014 and BYU\u2019s Ellie Walbruch wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. <\/p>\n

\u201cPressure is a privilege,\u201d she told the \u201cY\u2019s Guys\u201d livestream show this week. \u201cI love having pressure on my back and helping my team succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In two seasons of play at BYU, the junior from Highland, Utah, has scored 15 goals, including four so far in 2025.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Special Collector’s Issue: “1984: The Year BYU was Second to None”<\/p>\n

Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football’s 1984 National Championship season.<\/p>\n

For Walbruch, placing her ball on the pitch for a penalty kick at South Field is like BYU hoopster Richie Saunders stepping up to the line at the Marriott Center to attempt a clutch free throw. The hours of preparation make them fearless, and the execution of their shots make them great.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big mental game,\u201d Walbruch said. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s all about routine. I have the same routine every time I go up and take one. I love them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There is one major difference between a Walbruch PK and a Saunders free throw \u2014 Walbruch must also beat a contending goalkeeper standing 12 yards away. <\/p>\n

\u201cI already know which way I\u2019m going and if I put it perfectly, I know the keeper is not going to save it,\u201d Walbruch said. \u201cIf it\u2019s a little off, the keeper has a better chance. If it\u2019s a good kick, it\u2019s going in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walbruch\u2019s evolution as a leader at BYU started at UCLA. <\/p>\n

As a freshman, she played a supporting role on the Bruins\u2019 2022 national championship team. The following year, after transferring to BYU, she came off the bench to score 11 goals, including one against her former team to spark the Cougars 3-1 upset of No. 1 UCLA. Walbruch helped lead BYU to their own College Cup appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou dream about being on a College Cup team as a little girl, and me being a part of not one, but two, is so surreal,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just thankful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walbruch had it all \u2014 and then before her debut season as a starter in 2024, she lost it all to a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t wish that on your worst enemy,\u201d she said. \u201cI learned a lot about myself and who I am outside of soccer. I\u2019ve become a better person and a better player. I feel like a new person. My knee feels great. It\u2019s been a blessing to step back onto South Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BYU'sBYU’s Ellie Walbruch controls the ball during match against Arkansas Sept. 2, 2025. | Abby Shelton\/BYU <\/p>\n

A blessing for her, but not so much for UCLA. The No. 4 Bruins returned to Provo on Aug. 23 and Walbruch\u2019s goal in the 13th minute was all BYU needed to beat them again<\/a>, 1-0.<\/p>\n

The highs and lows, hits and misses, ACL tears and subsequent tears have molded Walbruch into one of Jen Rockwood\u2019s most trusted leaders who is not afraid of her head coach\u2019s lofty expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a big reason all these girls come to BYU. There is such a bar, a standard here. We all want to be at that high standard. We want to compete (for) Big 12 championships and national championships and that\u2019s why we are all here,\u201d Walbruch said. \u201cHaving a coach that believes in you and believes in the team and that it\u2019s something we are capable of, is even better. Having (Rockwood) be that leader for us is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rockwood and the Cougars (6-3-1, 1-2) will lean on Walbruch and the other veterans Thursday when BYU travels to Houston (6 p.m., ESPN+).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are going to have a different role each season, whether you are injured, coming off the bench or whether you don\u2019t get on the field,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been through all of them and now I can help the girls under me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv\/ESPN+. He co-hosts \u201cY\u2019s Guys\u201d at ysguys.com and is the author of the children\u2019s book \u201cC is for Cougar,\u201d available at deseretbook.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A penalty kick in soccer pits the shooter up against the goalie in an isolated moment that can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[40544,403,99],"class_list":["post-195931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-byu-cougars","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}