The Boise State Broncos (11-6-3, 4-4-3 Mountain West Conference) defeated the San Diego State Aztecs (7-11-2, 5-4-2 MWC) Monday afternoon 1-0. Broncos sophomore midfielder Morgan Miles had the only goal in the game to eliminate the Aztecs and move on to play #2 Fresno State (9-6-3, 7-3-1 MWC) in the semifinals.
The Broncos started with pressure early in the first minute when fifth-year forward Aubree Chatterton put a strike on goal that was stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Madueno. She got another chance but it was deflected off of Madueno and resulted in a Broncos corner kick.
In the sixth minute, BSU kept creating opportunities and sophomore forward Mia Burns put an easy roller on the net that was stopped by Madueno.
Chatterton continued to put shots on goal and kept the pressure on, putting two easy shots on goal that were denied by Madueno in the 12th and 13th.
In the 23rd, junior midfielder Morgan Stone got a great set-up outside the box from Chatterton and her strike on goal bounced right off the crossbar to deflect left of the goal. Miles knocked it down, controlled it in the box and struck to the top right to give BSU a 1-0 advantage.
The Aztecs tried to answer back on freshman midfielder Hope Paredes’s corner kick that was sent into the box and headed left of the net by junior defender Kiera Utush.
In the 34th, SDSU tried to create their own shots on goal when freshman forward Alexys Ocampo put a curving shot on net but was easily stopped by senior goalkeeper Sydney Smith.
Three minutes later, senior defender Malia Kaleiohi had a lot of space on the right side of the box and put a great strike on goal that was denied by Smith.
At the end of the first half, the Broncos were very dominant while the Aztecs lacked pressure. SDSU needed to go into the second half with a wave of pressure on the Broncos goal.
Senior defender Abby Bivens got an early second-half chance for the Broncos with a shot on goal that was saved by Madueno.
In the 51st minute, the ball went out of bounds and senior forward Anna Toohey ends up getting frustrated with a couple of Boise State players and is given a red card. Toohey, who was forced to leave the game, puts the Aztecs with one player short for the rest of the game
Freshman forward Denise Castro got her first great chance in the box and took a shot on goal that looked to go off a Boise State player’s hand but wasn’t called.
Chatterton got her first second-half chance with a right-foot strike that was stopped by Madueno in the 56th minute.
Two minutes later, the Aztecs had their first best chance of the game. Paredes kicked a corner into the box and was headed on goal by Castro off the post and went out of bounds for a Broncos goal kick.
Chatterton — who continued the offensive pressure — got her best chance to get a goal in the 61st. A ball was sent just outside the box from midfield and she broke away from the Aztec defenders. Her strike on goal was saved by a diving Madueno.
Freshman defender Trinity Coker had a couple of great strikes of her own in the 64th and 70th minute but was denied by Smith.
With three minutes remaining in the game, SDSU got their best chance to tie it up at one. A free-kick by Utush from right outside of the box rolled around the goal but no Aztec player could take a shot and Smith found the ball and covered.
The horn sounded and the Broncos celebrated with the hometown fans behind them. Smith recorded five huge saves to shut out the Aztecs.
