Boise State’s NCAA tourney match against BYU ‘broke down the door’ for future Broncos
It was the most lopsided loss for the Boise State women’s soccer team in more than three years, but the loss itself was evidence of a much greater win.
For only the second time in program history, the Broncos made it to the NCAA Tournament, establishing a cornerstone upon which the Broncos can continue to build.
“They are the architects. They are the builders, the grafters. They are the mortar between the bricks. They’re everything for us,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said of the Broncos’ senior class. “This isn’t a coach-run program. We do things differently in Boise. This is something that they choose the color on the walls, the style of the uniform, the way we play, the way we respond is something that we’re all sharing together. They built that culture.
“It’s something that they’re very proud of — the grades they get in school, their community representation, the togetherness in the locker room, the wins, the progress, all of that is from these players. ... They built this place, and it was a proud thing for me to see it all come to fruition this year.”
The Broncos became only the eighth team to score a goal on fourth-ranked and unbeaten BYU this season, but it was not nearly enough.
The Cougars scored three second-half goals for a 5-1 victory over Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,682 at South Field.
“I think things changed a little bit. We broke down the door,” Thomas said. “We overcame winning the actual (Mountain West) championship. We’ve been league champions (in the regular season) now for two years in a row, and winning the tournament championship has opened us to this.
“The experience that our squad got playing here in this moment in this tournament where there’s only 64 teams left in the country playing against one of the best teams, a team that’s now going to go on and do great things and going to make a long run.”
BYU led 2-1 at halftime, but the Broncos couldn’t contain the No. 2 scoring offense in the country in the second half. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 73-10 this season.
BYU (19-0-1) outshot Boise State 9-4 in the first half, including a 6-2 edge on frame. The early onslaught led to a pair of BYU goals in a little more than a minute.
Junior forward Cameron Tucker scored both goals, the first coming on a corner kick from SaraJayne Affleck in the 19th minute. Tucker found the back of the net again in the 20th minute for a 2-0 BYU lead.
But the Broncos (18-5-0) didn’t allow the early deficit to dispel their confidence.
Freshman Morgan Stone dropped a cross in front of the goal, and senior Emily Curry sent it home with a header into the upper left corner in the 22nd minute to pull the Broncos within 2-1.
“I honestly didn’t even know it went in at first. I kind of put my hands in the air and then I had to double check because I wasn’t really sure,” Curry said. “But it was awesome and definitely I felt like it got the momentum going for us to keep attacking on them. We played as well as we could and we played our hearts out. We ended our careers on a good note.”
The second half was a much different story. BYU finished with a 12-2 advantage in shots in the final 45 minutes and a 21-6 differential in the match. Freshman midfielder Jamie Shepherd (54th minute), Affleck (64th) and senior forward Elise Flake (67th) each scored in the second half for BYU, which will host Louisville in the second round Thursday.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Smith made a career-high nine saves for Boise State, whose only other NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2009 while a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Smith, of Caldwell, is one of nine Idaho players on the roster.
“I think when you get the opportunity to play against the best of the best, you learn a lot about yourself, and I think we got to do that today,” Thomas said. “That’s as good an attacking team as I’ve seen in my time in the collegiate game. I couldn’t be more proud of our girls for the way that they handled the moment, handled the crowd. They handled the pressure, and to create moments for ourselves in that game … I think those are things that we’ll hold on to.”
The 2019 Boise State team finishes with a school record for wins (18), goals (46) and shutouts (13), and the Broncos’ 17 goals allowed ties for the fewest goals allowed in a season. By winning the Mountain West regular-season title, the Broncos also earned the right to host the conference tournament again in 2020.
Friday’s game marked the final match for seven Boise State seniors. Mountain West career goals (61) and points (138) leader Raimee Sherle had to be carried off the field in the 72nd minute after injuring her left ankle. She attended the postgame press conference on crutches and did her best to hold back tears as she talked about her team with fellow seniors Curry and McKenna Kynett sitting beside her.
“I’ve loved my experience at Boise State. I love my teammates to death,” Sherle said. “This one’s going to be a hard one to move on from. Not being a Bronco anymore is going to be tough, but once a Bronco always a Bronco.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 8:10 PM.
