Season Preview: UW Opens Season with Exhibition Game at BYU

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The University of Wyoming soccer team opens the 2024 season Friday. The Cowgirls travel to Provo, Utah, for an exhibition match against BYU at 7 p.m. at South Field.

This is a new-look Wyoming team. A large and decorated senior class departed last season along with the head coach. That leaves first-year head coach Josh Purdum with somewhat of a blank canvas with which to work.

Sure, there are familiar faces both on the pitch and the sideline. Six starters and a pair of assistant coaches remained with the program, which has made Purdum’s transition much easier.

“I’ll be leaning on (the seniors) this season for their leadership and how they see the game,” Purdum said. “They obviously know how to compete in the Mountain West. They’ve communicated their standard. They’ve communicated their values. They’ve communicated what they want to implement.”

Those six starters are led, offensively, by Alyssa Glover. She tallied a team-high six goals and four assists for 16 points in 2023, which ranked fifth in the Mountain West Conference.

Maddi Chance, Jazi Barela and Alyssa Bedard also return in the attacking third. Chance and Barela both totaled five goals apiece last season, while Bedard scored once after missing a good portion of the year with injury.

Taylor Brook and Kylee Holstad round out the returning starters. They both carry a wealth of defensive experience, having started a combined 71 contests over the last two seasons.

The Cowgirls finished 2023 at 6-8-5 overall and 2-7-2 (8 points) in league action. The year wasn’t devoid of high points, as they defeated Colorado College by a record score of 5-0 – the largest margin of victory over a conference foe in a shutout in program history – and tied power-four opponent Louisville, 2-2, on the road.

Speaking of power-four foes, BYU stands as another one. Friday’s opponent advanced to the NCAA semifinals a season ago, finishing with a 20-3-3 record and an RPI rank of No. 2.

It’ll be a tall task Friday night. But more than a final result, Purdum wants to see his team in action and for them to showcase what they’ve done thus far in the preseason.

“We’ve been really focused on our structure,” Purdum said. “We’ve been focused on the full-team concepts before the positional concepts – big details before the small details. The rotations are going to figure itself out and the starters are going to figure themselves out. We are using BYU as an opportunity for everybody. Everyone will make the trip, as well, and that’s a positive from a team bonding standpoint. Ultimately, we want to see some of our higher-minute players produce.”

Wyoming was selected 11th in the conference’s preseason poll, which was released Wednesday. Three players, Glover, Bedard and Raegan Richardson were recognized on the “watch list.”

San Diego State, last year’s regular-season champion, was picked to win the league with 117 points and eight first-place votes. Utah State was selected second with 107 points and two first-place votes, while Colorado State rounded out the top three with 99 points and a pair of first-place votes.

The Cowgirls open the regular season Aug. 15. They travel to Washington for an 8 p.m. contest at Husky Soccer Stadium.