Freshman forward makes history, but Boise State soccer comes up short in MW title match

Jillian Anderson became the first freshman in program history to score for the Boise State women’s soccer team in the championship match of the Mountain West Tournament.

But the goal simply wasn’t quite enough.

The Broncos fell 2-1 to No. 25 Utah State on Saturday night at SDSU Sports Deck in San Diego. The loss likely spelled the end of Boise State’s stellar 2024 season unless the Broncos get a surprise at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The selection show will be streamed live on NCAA.com at 2 p.m. Mountain time Monday. The Broncos are currently No. 53 in the RPI rankings. It’s a 64-team tournament, with 31 conference champs getting automatic bids.

“Sports are tough,” Boise State coach Jim Thomas said. “That’s why it takes tough people to play them. I am super proud of the tough girls I got to compete with for the last season. It’s been an unbelievable experience being around people of this caliber, and I couldn’t be more proud of the performance they put forward today.”

Boise State entered the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed after winning its first outright Mountain West regular-season title with an 8-1-2 mark. Utah State and Colorado State were both 7-1-3. The Broncos were the only Mountain West team to go unbeaten at home and will now get to host the 2025 conference tournament at Boas Soccer Complex, where they led the league with an average attendance of 1,142.

Boise State (16-4-2) dispatched San Diego State 3-2 in Wednesday’s semifinal — the Aztecs’ first home loss to a Mountain West team since 2022 — to earn a spot in the title match for the fourth time in program history.

Utah State, which beat the Broncos 2-0 on Oct. 31, scored first in Saturday’s match. At first the goal by midfielder Kaylie Chambers was waved off because of an offside call, but after a video review, the call was overturned, giving the Aggies a 1-0 advantage in the 10th minute.

Anderson evened the score in the 21st minute, scoring unassisted with a lofted ball over the hands of Utah State keeper Cora Brendle.

Chambers answered again for the Aggies in the 25th, providing the final margin. The second half was a defensive battle.

Utah State (18-1-4) held a 13-11 edge on shots, including seven on goal to Boise State’s three. The Aggies also had a 7-2 advantage on corners.

After the match, Boise State fifth-year senior keeper Genevieve Crenshaw, senior forward Carly Cross and fifth-year senior midfielder Morgan Padour were named to the all-tournament team. It was the first such honor for Cross — the 2024 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year — and Padour, and the second for Crenshaw.