BACK IN ACTION
No. 25 Utah State soccer (17-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) competes for its second-straight Mountain West Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the 2-seed Aggies face 1-seed Boise State in the tournament championship game on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. (MT) at the SDSU SportsDeck in San Diego. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's match can be streamed for free on the Mountain West Network. Fans can also follow along with statistics via Statbroadcast, with stream and stat links available at www.utahstateaggies.com. 
 
FAMILIAR FOES
Saturday's game will be the fourth in the past two years between Utah State and Boise State, as the sides have met in each of the past two regular seasons along with a matchup in last year's Mountain West Tournament semifinals. Utah State is 4-1 against the Broncos under head coach Manny Martins, including four-straight wins. In last year's tournament, the Aggies earned a 1-0 overtime win for Utah State as Whitney Lopez scored a 94th minute game-winner directly from a free kick to send the Aggies to the championship match. 
 
ALL-MOUNTAIN West ACCOLADES
• A program-record seven Utah State players earned All-Mountain West accolades this season, including five first team honors and two second team honors. First team honorees included senior forward Bizzy Arevalo, graduate midfielder Alex Day, graduate defender Kylie Olsen, senior defender Kaitlyn Richins and junior forward Tess Werts. Second team honorees include graduate goalkeeper Cora Brendle and sophomore midfielder Summer Diamond. 
 
• Manny Martins was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. He is just the third coach to ever earn the honor in back-to-back seasons. 
 
• Richins was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
 
• Brendle was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year. 
 
• Four Utah State players were named to the Mountain West All-Newcomer team, including Brendle and the freshman forward trio of Ellie Hendrix, Austin Miller and Mia Mullenmeister. This is the first time USU has ever had more than one player recognized on the all-newcomer team.
 
EARLIER THIS SEASON
Utah State and Boise State met up just over a week ago in Logan on Oct. 31, a decisive 2-0 win for the Aggies on senior day. USU controlled the pace throughout, using a 22nd minute goal from Alex Day and a 67th minute goal from Ellie Hendrix to secure the win. The Aggies had a 13-5 advantage in shots with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal, and took seven shots in the second half while limiting Boise State to just one. 
 
MW TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is Utah State's fourth-straight trip to the Mountain West Tournament, and its seventh time overall since joining the league in 2013. Last season as a 2-seed, the Aggies earned their first-ever MW Tournament title, defeating Colorado State in the final match. In total, including this year's semifinal win over Colorado State, USU is 6-4-2 in the tourney. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Utah State earned a dominant semifinal round victory over Colorado State on Wednesday in San Diego, defeating the Rams 2-0. USU out-shot the Rams 21-2, including a 14-1 advantage in the second half. Aggie goals came in the 40th minute from freshman forward Ellie Hendrix, and in the 83rd minute from sophomore forward Kate Christian. 
 
ONE LOSS CLUB
Utah State is one of just eight teams in the NCAA with a single loss this season, while no unbeaten teams remain. The team's .864 winning percentage ranks fourth nationally. 
 
BUILDING SOMETHING SPECIAL
• On October 30, it was announced that head coach Manny Martins has signed an extension that will keep him in Logan through the 2027 season. 
• Martins, the 2023 and 2024 Mountain West Coach of the Year, has built the Aggies into a powerhouse during his four years in Logan. As the head coach at USU, he has a 52-20-16 (.682) record, including a 26-10-8 (.682) mark in conference games. In the three years prior to his arrival, the team won just 16 total games. 
• Martins' career winning percentage of .682 ranks second-best in Mountain West Conference history, behind only BYU's Jennifer Rockwood's .739 from 1999-2010.
 
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
With still three games left in the regular season, this year's Aggie squad has already etched its name in the record books in several different categories. 
                • 1st all-time with 60 goals (previous record was 40 in 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 62 assists (previous record was 34 in 2021 and 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 182 points (previous record was 114 in 2007)
                • 1st all-time with 14 shutouts (previous record was 11 in 2011 and 2013)
                • 1st all-time with 187 shots on goal (previous record was 165 in 2002)
                • 1st all-time with 17 wins (previous record was 15 in 2011)
                • 2nd all-time with a 0.59 GAA (record is 0.55 in 2012) 
 
IN THE POLLS
• Utah State returned to the United Soccer Coaches Poll last week and enters this week ranked No. 25. The Aggies have now spent eight weeks ranked this season.
• USU's ranking of No. 7 on Sept. 17 was tied for the highest a USU team in any sport has ever been ranked, equaling the men's basketball team's No. 7 ranking in 1960. This is also the third-highest ranking ever by a Mountain West soccer team, and the highest since 2012. 
• The Aggies are currently No. 18 in RPI. 
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH
• One major key to Utah State's high-powered offense is the number of players who can score. USU currently ranks second in the nation with 19 different players recording goals this year. 14 different players have scored at least twice and 11 players have scored at least three times this year.
• Against San José State in what was just the 11th game of the season, Utah State set a new program record for most assists in a season with its 35th helper of the year.
• 17 USU players have recorded assists this year, as the team has totaled 62. 
 
AGGIE DOMINATION
• Along with a stellar 16-1-4 record this year, the Aggies have been one of the most dominant teams in the country. USU has out-scored opponents by a combined score of 60-13. This ranks as the third-best scoring differential in the nation. 
• Utah State's scoring differential this season (+47) is greater than the previous program record for goals in a season (40).
 
AGGIE IRONWOMAN
With the 89th appearance of her career coming against New Mexico on Oct. 6, graduate defender Kylie Olsen became the most tenured Aggie of all time, breaking the program record for appearances in a career. Olsen has now played 97 games, while graduate defender Alysia Butters and senior defender Addy Weichers now rank second and third with 94 and 88 appearances, respectively. 
 
SHUT 'EM DOWN
• While allowing just 13 total goals this season, the Aggie defense has posted 14 shutouts. Going back to last season, USU has held 22 of its past 34 opponents scoreless. 
• Going back to the 2022 season, 23 of the past 37 games against Mountain West opponents have been shutouts as well.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, Utah State ranks nationally in the top 20 in several major statistical categories, including: goal differential (3rd, +47), scoring offense (5th - 2.73), winning percentage (4th - .864), points per game (6th - 8.27), assists per game (6th - 2.82), shutout percentage (9th - .636) and shots on goal per game (16th - 8.50).
 
AGGIES VS BRONCOS
• Saturday's contest will be the 27th all-time between Utah State and Boise State, with the Aggies leading in the series 16-6-4. 
• USU has won four-straight and six of the past seven over the Broncos.  
• In the postseason, Utah State is 3-0-0 against Boise State all-time.