Boise State soccer makes history, but ‘sharing’ isn’t in Broncos’ vocabulary

Addison Standlee and Tara Fisher don’t like ties.

Same goes for the rest of the Boise State women’s soccer team.

The first-place Broncos played second-place San Jose State to a scoreless draw through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes on Sunday at the Boas Soccer Complex in Boise.

While a victory would have given the Broncos the first outright Mountain West Conference regular-season championship in program history, a tie was enough to secure them at least a share of the league title with one game remaining.

“It was hard that it was a tie, and you’ll see it on all our girls’ faces,” Standlee said. “... It’s tough for us, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good sign. In the past we would have been really pleased with this result. Today we’re not.”

Boise State (13-3-2, 7-1-2 MW) was awarded the Mountain West trophy after Sunday’s tie in front of 728 fans, but the Broncos weren’t overly enthusiastic. The goal they have in mind doesn’t include a co-champion.

“We’re not about sharing,” Fisher said. “This is our trophy, especially now that we have it and we see it. When we go into the Utah State game, we’re going to think about that trophy and how we want it to just be ours.”

Boise State hosts Utah State in both teams’ regular-season finale at 4 p.m. Friday. A tie or victory would give the Broncos the outright title they want, a first-round bye in the conference tournament and a program-record 14 wins.

“They want to hold the trophy for themselves,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “I don’t think we’re going to need to inspire them any throughout the week.”

The Broncos and Spartans (7-6-4, 6-2-2) have the two stingiest defenses in the conference, so Sunday’s scoreless showdown wasn’t much of a surprise to either team. Boise State also was playing without starting forward Aubree Chatterton, who received a red card in Friday’s 2-1 loss to Fresno State and had to sit out the SJSU match.

Fisher, the Broncos’ senior keeper, made three saves for her program-record 10th clean sheet of the season. Her six shutouts in league play ties the Mountain West’s single-season record with San Jose State’s Zoe Makrigiannis (2015) and San Diego State’s Melanie Vaughn (2013).

The Broncos finished with an 8-9 advantage on shots, with each team getting three of those on goal. San Jose State was unable to capitalize on its 5-2 advantage on corner kicks.

Although the tie left his players a bit subdued, Thomas didn’t want the Broncos to overlook the significance of the moment.

“I’m pretty happy with the fact that we’re co-champions. I don’t think they really understood what was going on, to be honest,” Thomas said. “There was a complete and utter commitment to us winning the game, being out and out champions, and that’s where their minds are at now.

“We want them living in the moment ... but when it came down to it and now you’ve tied and you’re co-champions, it was a little hard for them to celebrate something that’s never, ever been done before.”