PHOENIX — It was a milestone day for the University of Wyoming soccer program Wednesday, as the Cowgirls rallied for a double-overtime victory over Hawaii to advance to the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship while Alyssa Glover earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award.
The No. 2-seeded Cowgirls defeated No. 3 Hawaii 2-1 at GCU Stadium, earning a spot in Saturday’s championship match. Wyoming will face the winner of Wednesday night’s semifinal between top-seeded Colorado College and No. 4 Air Force. The championship is scheduled for 1 p.m.
“This game was another Air Force example, another Montana example where we needed to come back. We knew we needed those examples to play playoff soccer,” head coach Josh Purdum said. “I never questioned this group’s mentality to go and win a game like today.”
University of Wyoming sports coverage in Southwest Wyoming is supported by these great sponsors:
Wyoming needed another second-half rally to keep its postseason run alive. Hawaii took a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute when Jas Cayetano scored, but the Cowgirls answered 10 minutes later.
Addison Keen headed in a corner kick from Glover in the 60th minute to even the score at 1-1 and force overtime.
Neither team found the net in the first 10-minute overtime period, sending the match to a second overtime. Reese Gould ended the contest in the 109th minute, scoring off a pass from Maddie Burr to send Wyoming to the championship.
“If we got the ball to the back post, we had a good chance of making the goalkeeper move, and that’s exactly how we were going to score,” Purdum said. “That’s exactly what was in the scout. Credit to the girls for taking on the details late and not panicking.”
Goalkeeper Haley Bartel made six saves for Wyoming, while Hawaii’s Kennedy Justin recorded five. The Rainbow Wahine held a 16-12 advantage in shots, but did not record a shot during the 10-minute double-overtime period. Nalani Damacion led all players with five shots, while Gould and Keen each had two for the Cowgirls.
The victory sends Wyoming to the Mountain West championship match for the fourth time in program history. The Cowgirls last reached the title game in 2022, when they fell to San Jose State in a penalty-kick shootout in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The on-field success was accompanied by individual recognition, as the Mountain West announced its postseason awards Wednesday.
Glover was named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors as a forward. She led the league in goals and points during conference play, finishing with six goals and five assists for 17 points against Mountain West opponents. Across the full regular season, she recorded 10 goals and eight assists for 28 points.
Three other Cowgirls received conference recognition. Burr was named to the second-team all-conference squad as a defender, while Brown and Isabel Vasco were selected to the all-newcomer team.
Burr helped Wyoming record four shutouts in conference play and nine during the regular season. She also contributed offensively, finishing with one goal and three assists for five points in league matches. For the full season, she recorded four goals and six assists.
Brown made an immediate impact after transferring from UConn. She scored three of her four conference goals in Wyoming’s match at UNLV, recording the program’s first hat trick in 10 years. She finished the regular season with five goals.
Vasco, a Green River, Wyoming, native, also earned all-newcomer recognition after a productive freshman season. She recorded two goals and one assist in conference play and finished the regular season with five goals and four assists.
With Glover earning the conference’s top offensive honor, four Cowgirls receiving postseason recognition and the team advancing to the championship, Wyoming now turns its attention to Saturday’s title match and an opportunity to claim the Mountain West tournament championship.
