‘She’s the best.’ Boise State senior sets program record with 87th career match
Her tears expressed the emotion Macie Nelson’s words could not.
The Boise State women’s soccer program means a great deal to the fifth-year senior from Borah High School.
And it just so happens that Nelson means a lot to the program, too.
Nelson set a Boise State record in a 2-0 loss to first-place New Mexico on Thursday at Boas Soccer Complex, playing in her 87th career match. She surpassed the previous record held by Baylee Blaser (2014-17).
“She sets the bar for that position as a center back,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “I don’t think we’ve really seen a player come through our midst that’s like that, and she’s the comparable for everybody that comes following.”
“She’s the best,” added Boise State defender Abby Bivens.
Thomas wasn’t ready to think about life without Nelson, who has been a staple on the Broncos’ back line for five seasons. The 2021 spring Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year changes the game with her presence.
“Her talent is so amazing, but she also works so hard and she’ll give anything for this program,” Bivens said. “It’s really inspiring for the whole back line to play with her. As a defense we’re a unit, so watching her give her body up to block shots and do all this stuff and being from Boise, she really does contain all the attributes that we want in a teammate.”
Before Thursday’s loss to the defending Mountain West Tournament champions, the Broncos had given up just one goal through eight Mountain West games. During a program-record 12 match unbeaten streak, Boise State also set a record with nine consecutive shutouts.
“It takes all of us,” Nelson said. “We’re an older back line and we’ve worked together for years, so we know how we work and how we’re supposed to defend as one. It just works all together because we’ve been doing it for so long.”
Nelson played a significant role in the record run, which included 927 minutes, 6 seconds without allowing a goal.
“I think she alters the way you come at our team,” Thomas said. “You can’t just dump balls over the top of it. You can’t just run around them. She’ll mop that up. She has a great partner in (defender) Jocelyn (Stephens) that’s enabled that to happen, too. So you have to be a little bit more sophisticated or commit numbers in a different way.
“I think that’s been a challenge for our opponents and why it’s hard for for them to not only score goals, but you look at the amount of shots we’ve given up, or the amount of saves that (goalkeeper Genevieve Crenshaw) has had to make in order to get to that point of not giving up goals. It’s a testament to what’s happening in front of her, and Macie’s at the front of that.”
Entering Thursday’s match, Nelson had played 6,446 minutes in her career, ranking eighth all-time in program history. She’s also made 72 starts in 87 career matches and was named to the Mountain West all-tournament team in both 2019 and 2021. The Broncos are 48-24-15 with Nelson in the lineup.
As talented as she is on the pitch, Nelson knows how to lighten the mood when it’s needed. Thomas said Nelson has an unexpected funny side.
“Goofiest kid on the team. You’d never think it,” Thomas said. “She’s a sweet, simple soul that’s ready for the fun times and willing to make a fool of herself to make the group laugh and a real good energy bunny when it comes to what we do on the road.”
With Thursday’s loss to New Mexico, the Broncos fell into sixth place in the league standings. The top six teams from the regular-season advance to the Mountain West Tournament, which runs Oct. 30 through Nov. 5 at New Mexico.
“I think we need to stay together,” Nelson said. “And we need to score some goals and not let little mistakes happen.”
Boise State continues Mountain West play at home again Sunday when the Broncos host second-place San Diego State at 1 p.m. at Boas Soccer Complex.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 8:30 PM.
