SAN JOSE, Calif. – San José State women's soccer knocked off the No. 1 seed Boise State Broncos 4-3 in penalty kicks on Thursday night to advance to the 2018 Mountain West Championship Match. Spartans senior goalkeeper Paige Simoneau made back-to-back saves in a shootout to clinch the match.
This will be the program's second appearance in the Mountain West Championship Match and first since winning the title in 2015.
Tied at 3-3 in the shootout, Simoneau made her first of two critical stops in the net as she stuffed Aubree Chatterton's attempt. Darriell Franklin then stepped up to take the Spartans' fifth and final kick which she buried into the back of the net for the 4-3 advantage. In a bit of déjà vu from her freshman year, Simoneau then clinched the match by making a sliding stop on the Broncos' final attempt to send SJSU to the championship match.
The No. 4-seed Spartans (8-6-6) will face No. 3-seed New Mexico (13-5-2) on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. PT. SJSU won the regular season match with the Lobos 1-0 at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
Trailing 1-0 for nearly the entirety of the first half, SJSU caught a break when Boise State fouled inside the box setting up a penalty kick. Gabriella Hurtado took the kick and buried it for her first goal of the season and tied the match at 1-1.
It was a back and forth affair for the remainder of the contest as both teams missed several opportunities to take the lead. The best of those chances for SJSU came in the final minute of regulation as Hannah Mathews went up for a cross off a corner kick and headed it towards the net, however the ball struck the crossbar. The Spartans finished with 20 shots and seven on goal while Boise State was just behind with 18 shots taken and eight on goal.
Simoneau conceded just her second goal in the last five matches in the 20th minute, but responded with a season-best seven saves, including three in overtime to send the game to a shootout. Her biggest stop outside of the shootout came in the 83rd minute when she took on the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, Raimee Sherle, one on one and made a leaping dive to push the ball out and preserve the tie.
For the Spartans, this is their second semifinal win that ended in a shootout in the last four seasons. In 2015, Simoneau came off the bench cold to deny a pair of New Mexico kicks to advance SJSU to the championship match where they again won in a shootout against San Diego State to win the Mountain West Championship.
The 2018 Mountain West Women's Soccer Championship Match between the Spartans and Lobos begins Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT from the Spartan Soccer Complex. A trophy and spot in the NCAA Tournament are on the line.
