The Wyoming Cowgirl soccer team’s season came to a disappointing close last Thursday in a draw against Border War rival Colorado State–though an air of defeat lingered through the air at the Madrid Sports Complex even before the contest, as the Cowgirls’ fate had already been sealed before the game kicked off. With only nine points to their name within the Mountain West standings heading into their final contest of the season, there was no possible scenario–even with a victory over the Rams–in which the Cowgirls could climb the standings and reach the top six in the league, thus making the Mountain West championships.
After an impressive non-conference performance, including an upset of then 13th ranked Georgia on the road, hopes were high for the Cowgirls to reach the league championships for the first time since 2023. The Cowgirls entered league play with a 5-2-2 record, one of their best starts in school history. How did all that momentum fall apart when Mountain West play began?
Offensive inconsistency is the main culprit.
“We can’t rely on [Alyssa Glover] to be our only bit of offense,” second year head coach Josh Purdum said after a win over Nevada earlier in the season.
Glover, a standout junior midfielder for the Cowgirls, finished the season assisting on or scoring 14 of the Cowgirls’ 19 total goals this season. By season’s end, Glover had tied the single-season goals record at 11, but it was not enough for the Cowgirls to crack into the upper echelon of teams within the Mountain West and reach the championship tournament.
Despite their struggles to find the back of the net this season, the Cowgirls were able to blitz the Rams’ defense in the second half of their most recent match, scoring three straight goals in a matter of seven minutes. Those three goals that the Cowgirls furiously scored in mere minutes was more than they had scored in their previous five outings.
Where had that offensive production been all season?
7️⃣ minutes is all it takes for the lead ⏱️
— Wyoming Cowgirl Soccer (@wyosoccer) October 30, 2025
Jennah sneaks one by and Wyoming leads 3-2 pic.twitter.com/oSWzX9tNqk
“We started the game with a new formation, a new shape, with which to attack and got a rough start under our belt,” Purdum said in a UW athletics’ press release after a 3-3 draw against the Rams. “We knew we just had to keep testing the goalkeeper, and we got rewarded for it.”
Regardless of the rather disappointing finish, the Cowgirls’ season was still not completely void of some impressive accomplishments they can work to build off of next season. Besides their second ever win against a ranked opponent, the Cowgirl defense and goalkeeper Haley Bartel recorded eight shutouts, which falls just short of the single-season record that group set a year ago at nine, with many players featured in the defensive third including Bartel having eligibility to return next season. Many players also recorded their first career goals this season, including young talents such as Kylee Quilici Quain and Jennah Wanner, who will hope to assist Glover on the offensive third of the pitch if she is to make a return next season.
With the hope being much of the roster returning next season, the Cowgirls will hope to see and should see improvements heading into the third year of Purdum’s tenure.
