‘Bad juju’ spells the end of Boise State women’s soccer season in MW title match
There is no consolation prize in the Mountain West women’s soccer tournament.
Win it all, and you’re NCAA Tournament bound.
Lose, and the season is over.
After a record-setting 2025 season, Boise State fell 4-2 on penalty kicks to Utah State on Saturday under the lights at Boas Soccer Complex in front of a home-record 1,896 fans.
It was the third straight Mountain West Tournament championship for the Aggies, and also the second year in a row they’ve ended the Broncos’ season.
“The emotions kind of come 24 to 48 hours after it,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “Right now, I’m just sad for the girls that won’t be able to do it again. We’re going to miss them greatly. They’ve been such great servants of this program, and really represented Boise State in a way that I’ll reference for everybody else that comes through the doors that they’re the ultimate Broncos.”
Boise State and Utah State played to a 2-2 tie through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. Senior Taylor Rath come off the bench to play in goal for the Aggies during the shootout, making a pair of saves for the 4-2 advantage. Rath was named the Tournament MVP.
“I had a really bad feeling about the penalty kicks, to be honest with you,” Thomas said. “I tried to keep it to myself, but there was just some bad juju about it. I don’t know what it was.”
Boise State (10-3-8) had to dig its way out of a 2-0 hole, with all four goals coming in the second half of action.
Junior midfielder Summer Diamond scored first for the Aggies (10-6-6), burying a goal in the bottom right corner off her left foot in the 49th minute. Another Utah State goal followed after a Boise State foul in the box. Midfielder Rine Yonaha converted the resulting PK in the 64th.
But Boise State didn’t back down.
Thomas asked for a video review after spotting an uncalled handball in the box in the 75th. The Broncos were awarded a PK following the review, which junior Olivia Collins converted for her first goal of the season.
Five minutes later, Boise State struck again when fifth-year senior Kayla Soderstrom collected a loose ball in the box and tallied the equalizer for her third goal of the season.
“I’m super grateful. I wasn’t supposed to be here this year,” Soderstrom said. “I took my fifth year, which I didn’t know I had, so I’m just really blessed to come back to such a great team.
“We had a difficult start. We weren’t really sure how far this group could take us, and we really got a lot better. We put our heads down and worked really hard this whole year.”
This year’s Broncos became the first team to win back-to-back outright Mountain West regular season titles since San Diego State did so in 2014-15. They also were the first Mountain West team to complete the regular season undefeated in conference play since San Diego State in 2012. They finish the season with just three losses, tied for the fewest in program history.
“This group stayed together. There wasn’t a blip on the radar at all,” Thomas said. “They never buckled under the pressure of the middle of the season. They stayed resolute throughout it. And I think it’s a really good testament when young people out there in the world get criticized for their lack of resiliency. We talk about these soft generations, this group was not.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 11:44 PM.
