Boise State soccer’s storied run comes to an end in Mountain West championship match
It took a goal from the Mountain West’s Offensive Player of the Year to finally take down the Boise State women’s soccer team.
When the ball left the right foot of New Mexico’s Jadyn Edwards 35 seconds into overtime, the Broncos’ storied run from the bottom of the Mountain West standings to an appearance in the conference championship came to an end.
Edwards scored in the 91st minute to send top-seeded New Mexico to a 2-1 victory over No. 6 Boise State in the Mountain West Tournament championship match Saturday in front of 1,272 fans at the Boas Soccer Complex. The Broncos were the first six seed in league history to advance to the title game.
While Boise State’s season is over, New Mexico (14-4-2) will represent the Mountain West in the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row.
“We have championship DNA in this program, and we will continue to develop our players with the idea of being in those matches and being able to handle that moment the way we handled it today,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “And if luck goes your way, you win that game. If it doesn’t, it bounces off your foot and goes in the goal, and that’s the cruelty of sports, but you’ve got to put yourself in that position in the first place.”
New Mexico’s first goal in the 33rd minute could easily qualify as the textbook definition of “unlucky” — at least from Boise State’s perspective.
Redshirt senior Madi Hirschman aimed an unassisted shot toward the right post, but the ball bounced just short of the goal and under the outstretched arms of Boise State keeper Sydney Smith.
The ball then clanked off the right post, hit the ground and rolled into the net on the opposite side as Smith watched in disbelief.
“It’s funny after all the things we’ve been through this season and the games and situations that we’ve been in, those weird things continue to happen,” Thomas said.
But the Broncos returned from halftime determined to turn up the pressure, taking 14 of their 18 shots, including five of their seven on goal. The barrage eventually wore down New Mexico’s defense, and Boise State capitalized.
Freshman forward Carly Cross corralled the ball near the top of the 18-yard box, while being pushed from behind, and planted it at the foot of junior midfielder Morgan Stone. Stone then served a shot toward the bottom right post for the equalizer in the 79th.
“I knew I just needed to put it on frame, and I got a good hit on it,” Stone said. “The technique that I used is just keeping it low so the keeper wasn’t expecting it, and it just went in. It was one of the best feelings to score a goal in that moment and in the championship game, so I’m really proud of myself for getting that one.”
The Broncos came dangerously close to the go-ahead goal a few minutes later when sophomore Mia Burns pressured New Mexico keeper Emily Johnson on a kick in the 81st. Burns’ stop ricocheted back toward the goal but sailed just wide of the left post.
“I’m so proud of the kids. They were OK out of the get-go. I think they were trying to figure out what they had left in the tank after everything in the first couple of games,” Thomas said. “And then they just demanded more of themselves. We gave them the option, and that second-half performance all came from the players, so it’s a testament to them and what this program means to them.”
Boise State (11-7-4) outshot New Mexico 18-12 and held a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks. And thanks to the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, some seniors might choose to come back for another year. Regardless, the Broncos hope to build on the strong finish.
“We had to dig ourselves out of a pretty big hole that we put ourselves in. We were at the bottom of the conference for a weekend,” Stone said, reflecting on the season. “I think that we just focused in on the details and doing every little thing right, because I think that’s why we were unlucky earlier on in the season.
“So we focused in on that, got everybody’s minds right and our mentality was just, ‘We have to win everything to even get a chance to get in,’ and we got in (to the tournament). I’m so proud of us. We’re the first team to ever get sixth place into the championship, so I think we have a lot to be proud of.”
Note: The crowd of 1,272 was the second largest in program history, behind the 1,302 that attended Boise State’s 2019 victory in the Mountain West Tournament championship match. ... Boise State’s Smith, center back Macie Nelson and forward Aubree Chatterton were named to the all-tournament team.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 4:16 PM.
