Broncos Defend Home Turf With Win over Lobos

Sunday, October 13

Boise, Idaho

1:00 PM MT

Boise State

13-2-0, 5-1-0

New Mexico

8-5-0, 4-2-0

New Mexico

Boise St.

Photo by: Boise State University

10/13/2019 4:34:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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BOISE, Idaho - In what started as a keepers duel, Boise State women's soccer took home a 1-0 victory over New Mexico, Sunday. The weekend included two first-place showdowns for the Blue and Orange, and the Broncos showed up to play, finishing the week with six points and sole control of the Mountain West.

"It is really great for us to get out ahead of it [the conference] now and fight and not have to do it later," said freshman Keile Hansen.

Boise State keeper Sydney Smith continued her dominant season, notched her ninth shutout. She now has 13 wins on the year, tying the school record for wins in a season. Smith recorded four saves on the day.

An aggressive defensive strategy by both teams kept the match scoreless throughout the first half, however, both squads were able to get off eight shots in the first half with six Bronco shots on target to just three for the Lobos.

"Kudos to New Mexico, really tough team, really tough system to play against," said head coach Jim Thomas. "I think both teams knew the importance of the moment and the importance of getting three points moving forward."

Coming out of the half, the Lobos continued to attack the Boise State line keeping it scoreless until midway through the second half. Following a pair of substitutions in the Bronco attacking group that saw Hansen and Jazel Bowers enter for the Blue and Orange.

They quickly went to work, Hansen corralled a forward pass from the midfield, before crossing the ball to the left side where Bowers secured it and drove into the box before finishing across the net with her left foot giving Boise State a 1-0 lead in the 75th minute.

"I knew I needed to get past my player," said Bowers. "Before I came on the field Jim [Thomas] said to me, beat them outside, so I went to the outside and shot it with my left and it went in."

With the lead, the Bronco defense locked down allowing just one shot in the final 15 minutes to grab the win.

With a 13-2 and 5-1 MW record, the Blue and Orange look ahead to a pair of road matches next weekend. The Broncos look to secure a program-best 14th win on the season against Wyoming, Friday at 3 p.m. MT and Colorado State, Sunday at Noon MT.