Talk to Cowgirl soccer coach Pete Cuadrado and it won't take long before you are sold on his sport.  As soon as he's done with that, he'll sell you on his team.

Cuadrado is very proud of both.

Wyoming looks to defend its Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex unbeaten streak this weekend, hosting Utah State tomorrow at 3 p.m., followed by Boise State at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Cowgirls like playing there.  As a matter of fact, they have not lost on the Madrid pitch in two seasons.

The Cowgirls carry a 7-5-2 overall record, and 3-2-1 Mountain West standard into the weekend.

The sport of soccer has been in Cuadrado's blood since he can remember.  Through his formative years, his high school days, collegiately and now in his professional career, it's always been soccer.  He played it in college (Northeastern Illinois and TCU), and is in his 15^th season (nine at North Dakota State, six here) as a head coach at this level.

"Soccer is a beautiful game," he says with a big smile. "It's a player's game, in that they have to make a lot of decisions. As coaches, the only real play-call we make is on corner kicks.  The rest of the time it's really on them and their recognition. That's unlike many sports.

"While the four-three-three (alignment) is our base system, we adjust systems, sometimes using as many as four in a game based on our opponent and who we have in the game.  They can do that on the fly.
"Like other sports, soccer is a game of mistakes," Cuadrado continues.  "But it's also a game of perfection."

Cuadrado has already coached Wyoming to three consecutive 10-win seasons (including 11 in 2014), and is well on his way to a fourth in 2017. That has never been done by any other Wyoming soccer coach.  He is an excellent recruiter who has built a solid program. As part of his recruiting success, he has created interesting "pipeline" such as Australia, and has made outstanding inroads into the state of Colorado. The Cowgirl roster is sprinkled with players from both areas.

Cuadrado came to Wyoming after a highly-successful nine-year stint at North Dakota State, a program he took over as the youngest head coach in Division I at the time. He won 93 games there while the Bison advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, and won a school record 15 games in 2011.

He is on the same path at UW, and the 2017 Cowgirls are no exception. "I really like this team," says the head coach.  "I like their grit, their fight.  I know I'm going to get energy and effort from them every game.  These student-athletes are very responsible off the field (their outstanding GPA has been recognized nationally), and that translates to their performances on the field."

One thing is still missing, however. "We still haven't won a championship," the coach admits.

While that fact is frustrating to him, he believes this year's team is capable of winning a ring. "The Mountain West is a league filled with good teams, and difficult home-field advantages, especially because of the travel involved. Top-to-bottom this is the best our league has been in my time here.  Plus, there is such variety among our members.  Each of us have our niche.  Ours is a lunch-pail-and- hard-hat mentality. When teams come to Laramie, they know it's not going to be easy.  They know they have to work very hard to beat the Cowgirls here."

The numbers back him up.  The Cowgirls enter this week's schedule with a 5-0-2 record at home in 2017 while outscoring their opponents, 12-3. They also posted an undefeated campaign at the Madrid last year, producing a 6-0-0 record, the first undefeated season in program history.

Alisha Bass, a senior from Sidney, Australia, is the team leader, but she has plenty of help from fellow seniors, goal keeper Georgia Rowntree (also from Sidney), and Claire Parker and redshirt junior Brittney Stark.  Bass and Stark are one-two in goal-scoring for the Cowgirls while Rowntree's career 1.03 goals-against average is the second best mark in program history. 

It wasn't a difficult decision for Cuadrado to take the Wyoming job.  "Outstanding facilities and an administration willing to give us the opportunity to be successful were a couple of my main reasons for coming here," he says.  "But the quality of life was a huge factor.  My wife and daughter are safe here. My daughter is getting a good education.  I can go to her recitals.  I can run home for lunch.  Those are all extremely important to me, and so is recruiting and coaching good kids.  We can do all that at Wyoming, and be successful.

"Simply put, we love it here."