One year and four days ago, Utah State soccer hoisted the Mountain West Tournament trophy and secured a bid in the NCAA Tournament. On Saturday, the Aggies will have the chance to repeat that feat if they can defeat the regular season conference title winning Boise State Broncos.
It’s only been a handful of days since Utah State has seen this Broncos squad. Back on Halloween, the two sides faced off in what was USU’s senior night with the Aggies winning in a fairly dominant 2-0 victory. Boise State only managed five shots to USU’s 13, both were below average for each respective side but the Aggies’ dip wasn’t nearly as disastrous.
That game was just the tone-setter in what’s been a dominant two-game stretch defensively by USU. The Aggies have allowed opponents a meager seven total shots in the last two games, five to Boise State and just two for Colorado State, the team USU beat in the MW Tournament semifinal on Wednesday 2-0. A level of dominance that high is rather telling since the Broncos are the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the Rams were the No. 3 seed. Both were shut down by Utah State defensively.
As much as the Halloween matchup is relevant for this title-game rematch, it’s not he most notable matchup in recent memory between the Aggies and Broncos. Just over a year ago, the Utah State and Boise State met in the Mountain West Tournament, albeit in merely the semifinal. That game had a much more thrilling touch than last week as neither side could score in the 90 minutes of regulation. It took overtime to decide the game.
In the first of two 10-minute overtime periods, Logan High School graduate Whitney Lopez scored on a free kick at the top of the penalty box to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. A lead they had to then hold for 16 more minutes of overtime.
Stopping the Broncos wasn’t easy and the lead nearly evaporated in the 105th minute of the game when the Aggies were called for a foul in the 18-yard box, giving Boise State a penalty. That was the moment Diera Walton, who’d solidified herself as one of (if not the) greatest goalkeepers in program history, made one of her biggest marks. She saved the kick and preserved the lead and the win for the Aggies, who moved on to defeat Colorado State in the title game.
Now, the two sides meet again. Boise State is seeking revenge for spoiling last year’s tournament run and ruining an undefeated run through Mountain West play. The Aggies will see this as a chance to really prove they are the best in the conference after coming up short in the regular season and yielding the regular season title to the Broncos. It’ll all come down to who plays better on the neutral field on Saturday.
Utah State is the better team on paper, ranking 25th in the United Soccer Coaches Ranking and boasting one of the best all-around teams in the country, ranking fifth in goals scored and 13th in goals against average among all Division I teams. Boise State is hardly a slouch either itself, as already proven by winning the regular season title over the Aggies and their national rankings. The Broncos have the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, forward Carly Cross, along with First Team All-MW goalkeeper Genevieve Crenshaw on their side.
It’s a title game fit for a high-level conference and the winner will guarantee a spot in an NCAA Tournament game next weekend. Utah State is already anticipating an at-large bid at minimum, though a win in this game would all but assure the chance to host a first-round game, as early rounds of the tournament are played at home sites with the higher seed hosting.
