Utah State Soccer Wins Mountain West Championship Title Match, Punches Ticket to NCAA Tournament
The USU Women's Soccer team celebrates their Mountain West Championship victory at the Madrid Sports Complex in Laramie, Wyoming, on Nov. 4, 2023.
LARAMIE, Wyoming — Utah State soccer (14-7-1, 9-2 MW) punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships and earned its first-ever Mountain West title with a 1-0 win over Colorado State in the MW Championships title match Saturday afternoon at Madrid Sports Complex.
The Aggies will continue what has already been a historic 2023 campaign with the team's third-ever trip to the NCAA tournament, earning the league's auto-bid.
Four Utah State players earned a spot on the Mountain West All-Tournament team, highlighted by senior midfielder Whitney Lopez, who was named the tournament's most valuable player after scoring the extra time game-winner against Boise State in the semifinals. Other Aggies to earn all-tournament recognition include graduate goalkeeper Diera Walton, junior defender Addy Symonds-Weichers and sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Richins.
In a battle between two of the league's top defensive sides, it was a 78th-minute goal from USU freshman forward Kate Christian that made the difference in the 1-0 victory. This was Christian's second game-winning goal in just three matches, as she was the lone goal scorer in the team's regular-season finale victory at Boise State.
Utah State turned defense into offense, using a breakaway in transition to create the goal for Christian. Sophomore forward Tess Werts perfectly placed a touch near midfield past the Ram backline to a streaking Christian, who sent a right-footed dart beyond the diving reach of CSU's keeper.
The 2-seed Aggies came out strong, as the USU defense, which had held its opponents to just one goal in the previous six matches, held CSU without a shot on goal for the first 36 minutes of action. Utah State controlled the pace in the first half, out-shooting the Rams 6-2 through the first 45 minutes. In total, the Aggies out-shot Colorado State 13-5, while Walton earned the clean sheet after playing all 90 minutes in net.
Utah State now awaits the announcement of its NCAA Championships seeding and opponent. The full bracket will be announced during the selection show on Monday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m., and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie soccer program on Twitter, @USUSoccer, on Facebook at /USUSoccer and on Instagram, @USUSoccer. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
Comments and questions regarding this article may be directed to the contact person listed on this page.
