Soccer: Utah State Meets Boise State For Mountain West Title Fight

Two of the more highly decorated squads in the Mountain West Conference, Utah State and Boise State, will face off Saturday night for the league crown in a rematch of last season's title bout. It's the second meeting between the two sides in the last 10 days.

The championship game pits three all-league first-team selections against three other first-team selections. In total, six different Broncos and five different Aggies received postseason honors. Headlining the bunch is Boise State goalkeeper Ava de Leest who, in addition to her all-Mountain West first-team selection, was named the league’s Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year.

The teams took different paths to the Mountain West tournament and the title game. Utah State, the reigning champs, took a step back as it reloaded its roster. Its young and refreshed squad adjusted slowly, as evidenced by the fact that the team earned identical 1-1-2 splits through its first four games and first four conference games.

The team did adjust, though. Between the undeniable talent that the young players brought and the leadership and experience from Utah State’s returners, it was only a matter of time. Utah State went 8-6-5 (5-2-3) in the regular season, earning the third seed in the conference tournament.

Through their first five games of the season the Aggies went 1-2-2, marred by losses to Pacific and BYU. Utah State’s only win was a 1-0 victory over Washington State in its season opener, while drawing against Big 12 opponents Utah and Kansas.

The Aggies saw a lackluster start to conference play, too, going 1-1-2 in their first four outings with a win over Wyoming, a loss to Air Force, and ties against Colorado State and Colorado College. Then, starting with a 7-1 win against Fresno State, they went 4-1-1 to close the season. This stretch was headlined by a three-game winning streak over San Diego State, Nevada and San Jose State, where the Aggies outscored their opponents 15-2.

Boise State, meanwhile, went 10-3-7 (8-0-2) on its warpath of a season. All three losses came consecutively in a nasty stretch as calendars flipped from August to September. First, the Broncos lost 3-1 to CSU Bakersfield, then they lost at home 2-0 to the Wildcats of Weber State, who Utah State defeated 2-1. Finally, they lost 1-0 to UTEP.

The Broncos wouldn’t lose again, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. They picked up three draws in a row to cap off a six-game winless streak. The draw against North Dakota was scoreless, the Broncos and Idaho finished 1-1, and then Boise State hosted Wyoming in another scoreless draw. Utah State defeated the Cowgirls 3-0. 

The Broncos hiccuped slightly as they got back on track from that six-game stretch and went 2-0-1 in their next three, toppling Colorado State (1-0) and Air Force (2-1) and drawing with Colorado College (2-2). Outside of that, Boise State was a unit. Like the Aggies, the Broncos seemed to get better as the year went on, ending the regular season with seven straight wins.

The teams met just over a week ago, on Oct. 30, to close the regular season. Boise State won 3-0 behind a trio of second-half goals and secured its place as the top seed in this tournament field.

In the Mountain West tournament, Utah State defeated New Mexico and Air Force en route to this title match. Boise State earned a bye to the semifinals, where it played San Diego State to a 1-1 draw through regulation before grabbing the win on penalty kicks, 3-2.

Players To Know 

Jillian Anderson: Anderson, a sophomore midfielder from Allen, Texas, has played well against the Aggies. In her past two games against Utah State, one of which was a week ago and the other was in last year’s championship, she has recorded two goals and an assist.

She was named to the all-Mountain West second-team this season, accounting for five goals, three assists and 13 points. She's put 12 of 30 shots on goal and serves as one of Boise State's most versatile players.

Ava de Leest: Freshman goalkeeper Ava de Leest had an excellent debut campaign. She nabbed six clean sheets and earned plenty of postseason accolades as she was named to the all-Mountain West first-team and was selected as the conference’s Newcomer of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year.

Head coach Jim Thomas believes in his freshman goalie. After the tournament win over San Diego State, he expressed confidence in de Leest, saying, "I believe in this team and they believe in one another. With a couple of minutes to go, I was hoping it would go to penalty kicks because Ava (de Leest) wants to be in the big moment."

The young keeper has made 19 starts in net this season, making 62 saves while allowing just 17 goals (0.89 per game) and racking up a 10-3-6 record.

Kenzie Macmillan: Macmillan is the engine that powers this Boise State offense. The redshirt senior and longtime Boise State standout leads this team in shots, shots on goal, assists and points, and she leads the conference in shots and assists.

She has started in all 20 games for the Broncos and racked up 75 shots, 25 shots on goal, six goals, nine assists and 21 points. Her season earned her an all-Mountain West first-team selection.

Stats To Know 

Shots: Utah State leads the conference with 313 shots. On a per-game basis, the Aggies have taken 14.9 shots, second in the conference behind Wyoming (292 shots in 19 games). Leading the way for USU is Tess Werts, who has taken 49 shots, 18 of which have been on goal. Kaylie Chambers, who has been a bit more accurate, is next with 37 shots and 18 on goal. Not far behind is Kunie Hirai with 36 shots and 12 on goal, and Summer Diamond with 32 shots and 17 on goal. Four other Aggies have taken at least 20 shots on the year.

Boise State has taken 285 shots this season, third in the conference. Macmillan is by far the top contributor with her 75 shots and 25 shots on goal. Next up is Cindy Conner with 45 shots (13 on goal) and Anderson with 30 (12 on goal).

Goals: Utah State is not only taking a lot of shots, but is also converting at a high rate. The Aggies are leading the conference in goals scored with 37 across their 21 games.

Chambers leads the Aggies with six goals, while Werts and Hadli Barrera round out the top three with five goals each. Behind them, Mia Mullenmeister has four goals and a trio of Aggies, Hirai, Diamond and Austin Miller, have three each.

In this regard, Boise State is seventh in the conference with 27 goals. For the Broncos, Macmillan leads the team with six goals, Anderson has five, Sophie Schmautz has four, and Asia Lawyer and Madie Donovan each have three.

On a per-game basis, Utah State, with 1.76, falls to second after New Mexico with 1.79. Boise State remains at seventh in the league with 1.35.

Assists: The Aggies have also dominated statistically in assists. With 38, they lead the conference by a wide margin. Boise State is tied for fourth with 25, though it is fifth in assists per game.

Goals Allowed: Both teams are relatively even in this category, and both are adept. The two sides have each allowed only 18 goals, tied for the second-fewest in the conference (Wyoming and Colorado State allowed 17 apiece). Per game, the Aggies and Broncos are No. 1 and No. 2 in the league: Utah State has allowed 0.86 goals per game and Boise State has allowed 0.90. The Aggies also have nine shutouts, the most in the conference.

Fouls: Boise State leads the conference in fouls with 233. Utah State is on the opposite side of the rankings, 11th out of 13, with 172. The Broncos have also been given the second-most yellow cards with 22 compared to 10 for Utah State.