Courtesy of Utah State Athletics

SAN DIEGO – No. 25 Utah State soccer (18-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) won its second-straight Mountain West Conference Tournament title Saturday evening, as the 2-seed Aggies defeated top-seed Boise State 2-1 at the SDSU Sports Deck in San Diego. With the win, USU guarantees its spot in the NCAA Tournament as a historic season continues further into the postseason.

The Aggies got off to a hot start, when a takeaway from near midfield in the 10th minute turned into a Utah State goal. Senior midfielder Rine Yonaha found junior forward Tess Werts in transition, who sent it into the box for junior forward Kaylie Chambers. Chambers won a race to the ball with the Bronco goalkeeper, then chipped it just past her to make it 1-0.

Chambers wasn’t done, however. After the Broncos evened the match at 1-1 in the 21st minute with a long-range goal, the trio combined for another big play as Chambers struck again in the 25th minute to collect a first-half brace. A takeaway by Yonaha followed by a well-placed pass to Werts freed up Chambers for her second of the night as she delivered a left-footer into the back of the net.

SCORING SUMMARY
9:23 –    Kaylie Chambers (USU)
Assists: Tess Werts, Rine Yonaha
20:46 – Jillian Anderson (BSU)
Assist: None
24:49 – Kaylie Chambers (USU)
Assists: Tess Werts

MATCH NOTES

  • This is the second Mountain West title and fourth overall conference title in Utah State program history. The team won the WAC in both 2011 and 2012, then won the Mountain West Tournament in 2023.
  • Utah State becomes just the fifth team in Mountain West history to capture back-to-back league tournament championships, and is the first to do so since San Diego State in 2013 and 2014.
  • With the win, Utah State earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This will be the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history (2011, 2012, 2023).
  • The full field and bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Monday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m., on NCAA.org. First round matches will be played Nov. 15-17.
  • With the win, Utah State improves to 7-4-2 all-time in Mountain West Tournament matches.
  • Kaylie Chambers’ goals were her fourth and fifth of the year and the 11th and 12th of her career.
  • This was the second career brace for Chambers, who also scored two goals earlier this season against Pacific.
  • Utah State out-shot the Broncos 13-11, with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
  • After allowing 10 shots in the first half, the Aggie defense limited Boise State to just a single shot in the second half.
  • Utah State took seven corners in the match while holding Boise State to just two.
  • Graduate keeper Cora Brendle played all 90 minutes in goal for Utah State, finishing the night with two saves.
  • With the win, Utah State improves to 17-6-4 all-time against Boise State. The Aggies have now won five-straight and seven of the past eight in the series.
  • With the win, Utah State improves to 4-0-0 against Boise State in postseason matches.

UP NEXT
Utah State (18-1-4, 7-1-3 MW) will play in its fourth-ever NCAA Tournament after earning an automatic bid. The full bracket will be announced during the selection show streamed on NCAA.org on Monday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. First round games will be played at campus sites Nov. 15-17.