BOISE, Idaho — Utah State soccer (12-7-1, 9-2 MW) picked up a critical road win Thursday evening at Boas Soccer Complex, defeating Boise State (10-3-6, 8-2-1 MW) 1-0 to clinch the 2-seed and a first-round bye in next week's Mountain West Championship.
Now, after earning their highest-ever finish since joining the Mountain West and their first-ever nine-win conference campaign, the Aggies have earned an automatic spot in the tournament semifinals. This year's MW Championship will take place Oct. 29-Nov. 4 in Laramie, Wyoming.
Utah State came out aggressive early on offense, and continued to create strong looks throughout the contest. The Aggies generated eight shots on frame, including five in the first half, while limiting Boise State to just three total in the match. USU fired off two promising looks in the first 10 minutes, one a shot which required a diving save, the other a shot by sophomore forward
Tess Werts that deflected off the crossbar.
After a Boise State opportunity was snuffed out by the Aggie defense late in the first half, USU countered with the clock counting down. Junior forward
Tenzi Knowles found her freshman counterpart
Kate Christian in the middle of the field just outside of the 18-yard box. Christian then juked a Bronco defender before cracking a right-footed shot beyond the outreached diving fingertips of BSU's keeper with just three seconds remaining in the half, the first goal of her collegiate career.
While the Bronco offense came to life in the second half, creating nine shots in the final 45 minutes, the Aggies held strong in front of graduate goalkeeper
Diera Walton, who played all 90 minutes and recorded three saves. This was USU's eighth shutout of the year and sixth clean sheet of conference play alone.
Utah State now travels to Laramie, Wyoming, to compete at the Mountain West Championship. There, the 2-seed Aggies will face the winner of 3-seed Boise State and 6-seed Nevada on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. (MT). The championship match will take place Saturday, Nov. 4, at noon. Matches will be streamed on Mountain West Network, with links to the live stream and stats available on utahstateaggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie soccer program on Twitter, @USUSoccer, on Facebook at /USUSoccer and on Instagram, @USUSoccer. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
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