Boise State men win Mountain West cross country title; women’s soccer loses in 2OT

It was certainly not the home finale the Boise State women’s soccer team had been hoping for.

But the Broncos still have a Mountain West championship trophy.

Utah State sophomore midfielder Ashley Cardozo scored on a penalty kick in the 108th minute to defeat the Broncos 2-1 in double overtime and deny them the conference’s outright regular-season title Friday at the Boas Soccer Complex.

With rain falling throughout the match, the Aggies and Broncos played to a slippery 1-1 tie through 90 minutes of regulation.

“Difficult weather conditions (were) a part of it, but at the end of the day you’ve got to rise above all this stuff if you want to achieve the things that we’re after,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “I think that’s the reason why history and being the best ever is difficult to come by. There are many hurdles that you can trip on.”

Boise State (13-4-2, 7-2-2 MW) will share the regular-season championship with Wyoming and New Mexico, but the Broncos did earn the No. 1 seed in next week’s Mountain West Tournament. By earning the No. 1 seed, Boise State also gets to host the 2019 Mountain West Tournament.

After the Aggies took a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute, junior Raimee Sherle punched in her 20th goal of the season for Boise State in the 59th off an assist from sophomore Aubree Chatterton. Sherle finished with 10 shots, including seven on goal, as the Broncos outshot the Aggies 20-12.

“It was an unbelievable show (for Sherle) today as well,” Thomas said. “She was unlucky not to get two or three more. Hopefully she’s still got that hunger to score a few more in the conference tournament.”

Boise State went 10 consecutive matches without a loss but closed the season with two losses and a tie. The Broncos will have nearly a week to rekindle the magic that helped them tie the program’s single-season record for wins. They’ll start tournament action at 8 p.m. MT on Thursday against the winner of Tuesday’s first-round match between San Jose State and Fresno State.

“It’s not been a great finish. We’ve kind of limped in as they say,” Thomas said. “But the reality is we are in it, and we do have a bye, and it is important for us to take advantage of the opportunity that’s given us.”

Cross country: BSU men first, women second

All five of Boise State’s scoring runners finished among the top 15 to propel the Broncos to the men’s team title at the 2018 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday morning in San Diego, California.

It is the Broncos’ second conference championship in three seasons. They held off second-place Air Force 50-63.

Sophomore Ahmed Muhumed was the first Bronco to finish the 8-kilometer course at Balboa Park, clocking a time of 24 minutes, 43.0 seconds for fourth place. Redshirt senior Addison DeHaven was sixth (24:49.3), sophomore Elijah Armstrong was 12th (25:06.6), redshirt junior Miler Haller was 13th (25:07.0) and senior Yusuke Uchikoshi took 15th (25:08.2).

“We worked very hard for this trophy and this success so far,” Muhumed said in a press release. “It’s incredible and a great feeling, but it’s just the beginning for us.”

Wyoming junior Paul Roberts was the men’s individual champion in 24:34.1.

The second-ranked Boise State women fell by just two points, 33-35, to defending national champion New Mexico. It was the Lobos’ 11th straight conference championship, and they also claimed the top three individual spots.

New Mexico’s Weini Kelati won the women’s 6k race in 19:49.3, beating teammate and defending national champion Ednah Kurgat, who was second in 20:07.4.

Redshirt junior Allie Ostrander led the way for the Broncos with a fourth-place finish in 20:14.3. She was followed by sophomore Emily Venters (sixth, 20:41.3), senior Alexis Fuller (seventh, 20:45.7), junior Clare O’Brien (eighth, 20:51.3) and freshman Maxine Paholek (10th, 21:05.3).

“At the end of the day and looking back on it, they ran really well,” Boise State coach Corey Ihmels said. “We lost focus a little bit out there, and it came down to just a couple points. We’ll learn from it and hopefully be a better team because of it.”

Paholek was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year for her performance, and Boise State’s Corey Ihmels was selected as the conference’s coach of the year.

Next up for the Broncos will be the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 9 in Sacramento, California. The NCAA National Championships are Nov. 17 in Madison, Wisconsin.

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 12:18 PM.