Boise State Soccer Announces 2021 Schedule
7/29/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BOISE, Idaho – Boise State women's soccer coach Jim Thomas has announced a 20-match schedule for the upcoming 2021 season. The schedule includes 10 home matches as well as a full Mountain West slate for the first time since 2019.
Also returning to the mix is the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Broncos will face nine opponents outside of the MW this season, including an exhibition match against College of Idaho, Aug. 18, in Boise to kick off the year.
"I'm really excited for the way that we've laid out the nonconference schedule with having an exhibition game to really get the athletes ready," said Thomas. "An opportunity to compete against someone else other than themselves in preseason is rare, so we're excited for that opportunity before jumping straight in with a Pac-12 opponent. We'll be properly prepared and we'll know where we're at really early in the process."
Boise State begins the regular season on the road as it travels to Salt Lake City for a match against the Pac-12's Utah (Aug. 22). The Blue and Orange then return home for three matches against Dixie State (Aug. 26), Pacific (Aug. 29) and UC Davis (Sept. 2).
From there, the team will hit the road for three more away contests. The Broncos first travel to Portland State (Sept. 5) before moving on to Orem, Utah for a match against Utah Valley (Sept. 10). Last season the Wolverines went 13-5-4 on their way to winning the WAC Tournament. Boise State then travels to take on Montana (Sept. 12), which played in the NCAA Tournament last season after going 9-2-0.
"The whole idea with the nonconference is that you have opponents that prepare you for the games that you're going to see later on," said Thomas. "Playing two championship-level teams on the road at separate sites should give us a little insight into what we need to do for our program come conference time."
Home will await the Broncos as they return to Boise for one final nonconference match against CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 17).
Boise State starts its journey through the MW with a four-match road trip, it's longest stretch away from Boise for the season. First up will be a trip to the Silver State to face UNLV (Sept. 24) and Nevada (Sept. 26). The Broncos faced each of these teams twice last season, winning twice against the Wolf Pack and earning a win and a draw against the Rebels.
Perhaps the toughest road tests of the season will be in the form of a match at San Diego State (Oct. 1) and New Mexico (Oct. 3). The Broncos fell to the Aztecs twice last season, while the Lobos are fresh off being crowned MW champions last season.
"We're really going to see the perennial powerhouses for the actual conference championship all in the first three weeks," said Thomas. "It's really going to be a litmus test for us right out of the gate as to whether we are championship ready or not. I think the nonconference schedule sets us up well for that. I think we'll be shot out of a cannon for those first three weeks."
The Blue and Orange will return home to Boise and play host to San Jose State (Oct. 8) and Fresno State (Oct. 10). Last season Boise State was 1-1 against each of these two teams, with both wins coming in front of home fans at Boas Soccer Complex.
After that the Broncos leave for Colorado for the final road trip of the regular season. They will take on Colorado College (Oct. 14) and Air Force (Oct. 17).
In the final three matches of the regular season Boise State will play host to Wyoming (Oct. 21), Colorado State (Oct. 24) and Utah State (Oct. 29). The Broncos have not faced any of these teams since the 2019 season.
"In the second half of the schedule, you've got some challenging opponents but opponents we also haven't seen for a very long time, which is rare," said Thomas. "Having not played them in the spring and not seen them since last fall, teams have evolved and grown greatly. We've also had a lot of coaching changes. Three-out-of-five teams in the Mountain Division have changed coaching stops. So we have fresh challenges in that."
The Mountain West Championship is scheduled to be played in Boise, bringing postseason soccer back to the City of Trees for the first time since 2019 when Boise State won its first MW tournament title. The tournament will run from Nov. 2-6 and feature the top-six teams in the conference.
"To host again, is going to be fantastic!" said Thomas. "The main thing is to win the conference but at the same time, when you're hosting you obviously have to establish being in the top six to qualify for the tournament. That's where we'll be looking first before we go hunting for the rings."
Also returning to the mix is the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Broncos will face nine opponents outside of the MW this season, including an exhibition match against College of Idaho, Aug. 18, in Boise to kick off the year.
"I'm really excited for the way that we've laid out the nonconference schedule with having an exhibition game to really get the athletes ready," said Thomas. "An opportunity to compete against someone else other than themselves in preseason is rare, so we're excited for that opportunity before jumping straight in with a Pac-12 opponent. We'll be properly prepared and we'll know where we're at really early in the process."
Boise State begins the regular season on the road as it travels to Salt Lake City for a match against the Pac-12's Utah (Aug. 22). The Blue and Orange then return home for three matches against Dixie State (Aug. 26), Pacific (Aug. 29) and UC Davis (Sept. 2).
From there, the team will hit the road for three more away contests. The Broncos first travel to Portland State (Sept. 5) before moving on to Orem, Utah for a match against Utah Valley (Sept. 10). Last season the Wolverines went 13-5-4 on their way to winning the WAC Tournament. Boise State then travels to take on Montana (Sept. 12), which played in the NCAA Tournament last season after going 9-2-0.
"The whole idea with the nonconference is that you have opponents that prepare you for the games that you're going to see later on," said Thomas. "Playing two championship-level teams on the road at separate sites should give us a little insight into what we need to do for our program come conference time."
Home will await the Broncos as they return to Boise for one final nonconference match against CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 17).
Boise State starts its journey through the MW with a four-match road trip, it's longest stretch away from Boise for the season. First up will be a trip to the Silver State to face UNLV (Sept. 24) and Nevada (Sept. 26). The Broncos faced each of these teams twice last season, winning twice against the Wolf Pack and earning a win and a draw against the Rebels.
Perhaps the toughest road tests of the season will be in the form of a match at San Diego State (Oct. 1) and New Mexico (Oct. 3). The Broncos fell to the Aztecs twice last season, while the Lobos are fresh off being crowned MW champions last season.
"We're really going to see the perennial powerhouses for the actual conference championship all in the first three weeks," said Thomas. "It's really going to be a litmus test for us right out of the gate as to whether we are championship ready or not. I think the nonconference schedule sets us up well for that. I think we'll be shot out of a cannon for those first three weeks."
The Blue and Orange will return home to Boise and play host to San Jose State (Oct. 8) and Fresno State (Oct. 10). Last season Boise State was 1-1 against each of these two teams, with both wins coming in front of home fans at Boas Soccer Complex.
After that the Broncos leave for Colorado for the final road trip of the regular season. They will take on Colorado College (Oct. 14) and Air Force (Oct. 17).
In the final three matches of the regular season Boise State will play host to Wyoming (Oct. 21), Colorado State (Oct. 24) and Utah State (Oct. 29). The Broncos have not faced any of these teams since the 2019 season.
"In the second half of the schedule, you've got some challenging opponents but opponents we also haven't seen for a very long time, which is rare," said Thomas. "Having not played them in the spring and not seen them since last fall, teams have evolved and grown greatly. We've also had a lot of coaching changes. Three-out-of-five teams in the Mountain Division have changed coaching stops. So we have fresh challenges in that."
The Mountain West Championship is scheduled to be played in Boise, bringing postseason soccer back to the City of Trees for the first time since 2019 when Boise State won its first MW tournament title. The tournament will run from Nov. 2-6 and feature the top-six teams in the conference.
"To host again, is going to be fantastic!" said Thomas. "The main thing is to win the conference but at the same time, when you're hosting you obviously have to establish being in the top six to qualify for the tournament. That's where we'll be looking first before we go hunting for the rings."
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