LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming soccer team enters Saturday’s regular-season finale with a chance to secure a spot in the Mountain West Conference Tournament when it hosts Hawaii at noon at the Madrid Sports Complex.
A victory would guarantee the Cowgirls a berth in the four-team tournament. The match will be streamed on MW+.
“It’s survive-and-advance, and we are in playoff mode,” head coach Josh Purdum said. “We don’t like to talk about winning in terms of the result. We like to talk about the habits that create that winning, and that’s what we want to do going forward.”
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Wyoming is 12-5-1 overall and 5-3-1 in Mountain West play, with 16 points. The Cowgirls enter the weekend in fifth place behind Colorado College with 22 points, Hawaii with 19, Air Force with 18 and New Mexico with 17.
The conference standings also leave Wyoming with a possible path to the tournament with a draw. The Cowgirls would need New Mexico to lose to Air Force and score fewer than seven goals in the match.
Hawaii enters the regular-season finale with a 9-5-2 overall record. The Rainbow Wahine are guaranteed a tournament spot and can finish anywhere from second through fourth in the standings.
The matchup also features two players tied for the conference lead in points during league play. Wyoming’s Alyssa Glover has 15 conference points on five goals and five assists, matching Air Force’s Annika Jost, who has the same totals. Glover leads the conference in overall scoring with 26 points on nine goals and eight assists.
Anuhea Aluli leads Hawaii with 17 points, including eight goals and one assist. Rainbow Wahine goalkeeper Kennedy Justin ranks second in the conference with a 0.92 goals-against average after allowing 14 goals and making 56 saves. She also leads the league with eight shutouts.
Wyoming goalkeeper Haley Bartel also has eight clean sheets this season. She has made 59 saves while allowing 17 goals, posting a 0.96 goals-against average.
Saturday’s match will be the fourth meeting between Wyoming and Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine hold a 2-0-1 advantage in the series, with all three previous matches played in Hawaii.
The Mountain West Tournament semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday at GCU Stadium in Phoenix. The championship match is set for Nov. 14.
