How Do We Learn to Follow Promptings from the Holy Ghost?

Families are stronger when individuals follow promptings from the Holy Ghost and put their trust in God. Strong families strengthen their communities, states, and nations. BYU goalie Chelsea Peterson knows how to follow promptings.

Peterson was backup goalie for the Cougars when her teammate Paiton Collins went down on the pitch with a torn ACL in her right knee. Because Collins was out, Peterson entered the game. Dave McCann, sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News, reported on her journey. 

The turn of events that brought the 5-foot-8 former Ute back to Ute Field to play for BYU could fill the pages of a fiction novel, but the story is very real. Peterson’s journey includes tough decisions, two continents and the courage to follow her feelings.

First prompting

After spending three years as goalkeeper for Utah, which included the combined 2020-2021 COVID-19 seasons, the former Orem Tiger felt the urge to walk away from soccer and serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints….

Called to serve in the football hotbed of Manchester, England, Peterson packed her bags, her scriptures and her cleats and crossed the Atlantic….

Peter spent her first nine months proselytizing in Manchester where loyalties are deeply split between football rivals Manchester United and Manchester City. She also spent six months in Liverpool, the home of her favorite team growing up. Peterson’s soccer prowess came in handy with youth groups and older, diehard fans….

Second prompting

After returning home, Peterson decided not to return to the University of Utah and entered the transfer portal to explore her options. Still harboring childhood dreams of playing for BYU one day, Peterson reached out to the Cougars – and was turned away, just as she was in high school….

Accepting the possibility that her playing days were over, Peterson spent last year attending classes as a regular student. However, a text message in early August changed everything.

“Are you still here at BYU?” asked her former club coach and current BYU assistant Steve Magleby.

“Yeah,” Peterson responded.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“OK,” Peterson said.

Third prompting

The two met and Magleby explained how an unexpected departure left the team shorthanded at goalie.

“So, are you in?” he asked.

Peterson was surprised by the invitation. She had been out of soccer for three years, but the answer became quite clear.

“I felt like I should, so I did,” she said. “That’s kind of a theme with me.”…

Return to Ute Field

In a full circle moment, Peterson’s return to Ute Field as BYU’s goalie capped a whirlwind adventure while at the same time, it kickstarted another one – and just as improbable. With help from a valiant group of defenders, Peterson preserved the Cougars 2-0 victory to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament.

Making her first start of the season in Fort Worth, Texas, BYU upset No. 5 TCU. Peterson held her ground 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout. Two days later, the Cougars shut out No. 23 Baylor 4-0 and then they blanked Kansas 1-0 in the championship game. Peterson was named the Defensive Player of the Tournament….

Marathon shootout

Winning the Big 12 Tournament landed a first-round home game in the NCAA Tournament last Friday against Utah State. After regulation play ended in a 1-1 tie, Peterson and Aggie goalie Taylor Rath delivered a joint performance for the ages – an 11-round duel of penalty kicks.

Each attempt required Peterson’s complete focus as one Aggie after another took their shots….

With a sold-out crowd at South Field hanging on every play, BYU faced three elimination kicks, and each time Peterson found a way to keep the Cougars in the game….

Utah State’s final penalty kick went wide of the net and BYU survived 7-6 to advance into the second round. Peterson, 24, believes her current success is directly connected to her mission.

“Goalkeeping is so much based on decision making. I think a little bit of age on me, a little perspective with the mission has really made me better. I think I can think through things a little bit better, make better decisions,” she said. “I think perspective too, that my world doesn’t revolve around soccer, which it used to. The mission gave [me] a lot of perspective knowing there is so much more to our life and so much higher joy than winning. Jesus Christ is the ultimate joy.”

The rematch

BYU (11-6-5) will play UCLA (12-5-3) on Friday at Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament….

With another year of eligibility remaining, Peterson’s playing days appear far from over and her life’s story is just getting started – but what a ride it’s been already and her post-mission, mission remain clear – keep following the promptings

Tom Ripplinger reports the results of the game between BYU and UCLA in an article published at the Deseret News and tells how Peterson came up big again. 

For the second weekend in a row, No. 5 seeded BYU advanced in the NCAA women’s soccer tournament on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw.

This time the Cougars took down No. 4 seed UCLA Friday night at Stanford, topping the Bruins 4-2 in the shootout and propelling BYU to its sixth Sweet 16 appearance in its last 10 seasons.

Much like the week before, BYU junior goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson came up big for the Cougars in penalty kicks Friday.

Peterson, who became BYU’s starter less than a month ago, blocked the first two UCLA attempts. The Cougars, on the other hand, scored on all of their tries, shortening the shootout to just four attempts by each team.

Despite being outshot on the night 27-17 and giving up 10 corner kicks, BYU kept pace with the Bruins, using an impressive defensive effort to claim the upset….

Ripplinger did not mention Peterson following promptings, but the results of the game show that she played well, blocking UCLA’s first two penalty kicks and giving the shooters a chance to win the game.