No. 25 Utah State Earns 2-0 Senior Day Win over Boise State

Courtesy of Utah State Athletics

LOGAN, Utah – No. 25 Utah State soccer (16-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) wrapped up its 2024 regular season with a 2-0 senior day victory over Boise State Thursday afternoon at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. With its 16th win, Utah State has now set a program record for wins in a season.

The Aggies used a goal in each half to earn the win, first striking in the 22nd minute when a corner taken short by senior midfielder Rine Yonaha turned into a cross by graduate defender Kylie Olsen from near the corner. The perfectly-placed ball found the head of graduate midfielder Alex Day, who slipped it through the hands of the Bronco keeper for an early 1-0 advantage.

In the 67th minute, another set piece turned into a scoring opportunity for the Aggies. Freshman forward Austin Miller took a shot directly off of a corner kick, which deflected by the keeper to the feet of freshman forward Ellie Hendrix, who delivered it into the back of the net with her right foot.

SCORING SUMMARY
21:25 – Alex Day (USU)
Assists: Kylie Olsen, Rine Yonaha
66:56 – Ellie Hendrix (USU)
Assist: Austin Miller

UTAH STATE HEAD COACH MANNY MARTINS
“I’m really proud of the group. It’s been a long season. We started really well, hit some bumps on the road, but those are always opportunities to grow and learn. To finish conference play against a great team, this is a really, really good team that doesn’t give up a lot of goals and scores a lot of goals,  I thought we put a good performance together. In the first half, the game was very even. We managed to get a goal on a set piece, but I thought in the second half we really took over and were able to get an insurance goal. I couldn’t be more proud going into the postseason with a performance like this.”

MATCH NOTES

• With the win, Utah State has now set a program record for wins in a season with 16. This surpasses the previous record of 15, set in 2011.
• With the win and a 0-0 draw between Colorado State and Wyoming this afternoon, Utah State has officially clinched the 2-seed in the Mountain West Tournament, which will take place from Nov. 3-9, in San Diego, California.
• Utah State will have a bye in the first round, then will play an opponent yet to be determined in the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
• This is the fourth-straight Mountain West Tournament qualification for Utah State, and its second-straight year earning the 2-seed.
• With the win, Utah State has also capped off an undefeated season at home, going 7-0-1 with a 29-4 goal differential and six shutouts. This is just the second time in program history the Aggies have gone undefeated at home, joining the 2011 team (8-0-1).
• Utah State concludes the regular season with just a single loss, going 16-1-4 and out-scoring opponents by a combined 58-13.
• Senior defender Addy Weichers made her 87th start this afternoon, a new program record for starts in a career. The previous record of 86 was held by both Natalie Norris (2009-12) and Taryn Rose (2011-14).
• Alex Day’s goal was her third of the season and the fourth of her career.
• Ellie Hendrix’s goal was the second of both her season and career.
• This was the 13th shutout of the season for Utah State, extending its program record for shutouts in a season.
• Graduate keeper Cora Brendle played all 90 minutes in net to earn the shutout, making three saves in the match. This was her ninth shutout of the season, tied for third-most in program history.
• Utah State out-shot Boise State 13-5, including seven shots on goal to BSU’s 3.
• Nine different Aggies recorded shots, none taking more than two.
• With the win, Utah State improves to 16-6-4 all-time against Boise State, including a 5-2-3 record in games played in Logan.
• Utah State has now won four-straight and six of the past seven against the Broncos.

UP NEXT
Utah State (16-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) enters the Mountain West Tournament as the 2-seed, and will await its semifinal opponent after a first-round bye. The semifinal round will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 6, with the championship on Saturday, Nov. 9, in San Diego, California.