After injury to leading scorer, transfer steps up to keep Boise State soccer team rolling
Aubree Chatterton has been a key contributor to the Boise State women’s soccer program since she joined the Broncos as a freshman in 2017, starting 62 of 65 matches.
But the Broncos are going to have to find a way to win without the 5-foot-8 senior forward from Bishop Kelly High the remainder of the season.
Chatterton suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 16th minute of Saturday’s match against Nevada and had to be carted off the field. The Broncos rallied in honor of their senior leader, fending off the Wolf Pack, 1-0, in a Mountain West contest at Boas Soccer Complex for their fourth straight win.
“She said she heard loads of cracks, like snap, crackle and pop Rice Krispies,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “She’ll be done for the year. Even if it were an ankle sprain, with only two weeks left in the season, she would be done.
“... The toughest kid out there, man. If you knew all the things that she was playing through, you would be shocked. So I have no doubt that she will continue that toughness and be back as soon as possible.”
The NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Thomas said Chatterton had already planned to take advantage of that opportunity. She’ll be able to play alongside younger sister Alicia Chatterton, who was part of Boise State’s 2021 recruiting class.
The elder Chatterton, a reigning All-Mountain West first-team pick, was one of only four starters back from the Broncos’ 2019 Mountain West championship team. Her 13 career goals and 10 assists lead all current BSU players.
While the loss of Chatterton is significant, Thomas said it doesn’t change the team’s goal of winning a third straight Mountain West regular-season title.
“You’ve got two weeks to go, four games to go. Every point matters,” Thomas said. “I think our mentality is (we’re) just going to continue to teach and find ways to win games while we’re doing it.”
Sophomore transfer Anna Campanella provided Boise State the edge against Nevada when she scored unassisted in the 24th minute on a header. It was the first goal of Campanella’s collegiate career and came following a series of headers off a corner kick from freshman Morgan Miles.
Campanella is from Hudson, Ohio, and played her freshman season at Kent State.
“There are players that give you platforms and foundations and there are other people that jump off of those foundations and really change games,” Thomas said. “Anna’s an unbelievable sparkplug in the midfield for us, and you see that kind of go away when we have to use her on the flank of the field. So I think the big thing for us is to keep her in the center and allow that energy, workhorse mentality to grind us through.”
Freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Crenshaw earned her third straight start and second career win in net as the Broncos amassed a 13-1 shot advantage against the Wolf Pack (0-4-2).
The Mountain West is playing a condensed spring soccer season consisting of a 10-match, conference-only schedule in a divisional double round-robin format. The two divisional winners will face off April 17 to determine the conference’s NCAA Tournament qualifier.
Boise State (4-1-1) currently sits second in the West Division behind San Diego State (5-1-0). The Aztecs defeated Boise State 3-1 on March 7 in San Diego. The two teams meet again April 9 in Boise, likely with a spot in the Mountain West title match on the line.
But first the Broncos must take care of business on a two-game road trip to California. Boise State plays at San Jose State (8 p.m. MT April 2) and Fresno State (noon MT April 4). A live stream of each game is available at BroncoSports.com/mwn.
