SAN DIEGO – By a vote of the Mountain West Conference's 12 women's head soccer coaches, the San Diego State Aztecs have been picked to win a share of the 2021 Spring Mountain West women's soccer title with the Boise State Broncos. The announcement was made at the Conference office in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday.
The Aztecs and Broncos shared last year's regular-season title and played in the championship match of the 2019 Mountain West Tournament. Each garnered 106 points with Boise State picking up seven first-place votes to the Aztecs three. New Mexico came in third with 97 points and one first-place vote followed in fourth place by Fresno State with 78 points, and San Jose State in fifth with 74 points. Rounding out the top half of the table, Colorado State is in sixth place with 73 points and one first-place vote.
The bottom half of the table were selected to finish in the following order. Wyoming in seventh with 57 points, Colorado College in eighth (53 points), UNLV (47 points), Utah State (41 points), Air Force (37 points) and Nevada (23 points).
San Diego State has been predicted to finish either first or second in the preseason poll in 10 of the last 11 years and enters this season as the most decorated program in the Mountain West with six regular-season and five tournament titles, as well as six NCAA appearances since the conference was founded in the 1999-2000 season.
SDSU brings back eight starters from last season, including midfielder Chloe Frisch, a 2019 first-team All-Mountain West performer. The Solana Beach, Calif., native led the team with eight assists, 66 shots, and 24 shots on goal and was second on the side in goals (5) and game winners (2). Senior Sarah Broacha, junior Laura Fuentes, and sophomore Rachelle Elve, all second-team honorees, return for the 2021 Spring campaign. Elve, a member of the 2019 Mountain West All-Newcomer Team, led San Diego State last year in goals with seven, including three game winners.
Overall, nine players scored the Aztecs' 30 goals last season. Seven of those players are back in 2021 and they accounted for 27 of the team's 30 tallies.
The Aztecs season gets underway on Friday, March 5, when SDSU welcomes Nevada to SDSU Sports Deck. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game, as well as all home games, will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
2021 Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Team (1st place votes) | Points | |
| 1. | Boise State (7) | 106 |
| San Diego State (3) | 106 | |
| 3. | New Mexico (1) | 97 |
| 4. | Fresno State | 78 |
| 5. | San Jose State | 74 |
| 6. | Colorado State (1) | 73 |
| 7. | Wyoming | 57 |
| 8. | Colorado College | 53 |
| 9. | UNLV | 47 |
| 10. | Utah State | 41 |
| 11. | Air Force | 37 |
| 12. | Nevada | 23 |