The sun was supposed to come out tomorrow. That was three weeks ago.
Steven Devine | Argonaut
Erica Hart attempts a shot on goal while teammate Lauren Layton steps in front during practice Wednesday. The team will play Utah Valley at 3 p.m. Friday at Guy Wicks Field.
Still sitting on a long losing streak, which is now up to six matches, the Idaho soccer team hopes to rebound this weekend as they face the Utah Valley Wolverines 3 p.m. Friday at Guy Wicks Field, followed by a road test against UNLV at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in Las Vegas.
Idaho’s first opponent of the weekend, Utah Valley, has had a very similar season thus far. The Wolverines (1-6-1) are winless in their last six matches with five losses and one draw. The major difference between the two sides is that three of the Wolverines six losses have come in overtime.
“We’ll train for that expectancy so they’re prepared for 110 minutes,” Showler said. “I know our girls are fully prepared for that, but obviously we want to finish teams off in the first 90.”
During the Vandals’ current losing streak, not only have they been allowing plenty of goals, but they have not been able to counter with goals of their own. While scoring only three goals in that time, Idaho has allowed 21 — a figure senior right back Lauren Layton said needs to be reduced.
“Anytime you get a lot of goals scored on you, it’s tough to take mentally,” Layton said. “But before this next game we’re going to walk up to that shield that seems to be behind the goal for our offense and break it down so we can score some goals.”
Sophomore left back Emily Ngan said allowing that many goals does put a mental strain on the team, but it’s not something they can’t bounce out of.
“It’s totally mental and it really sucks when you get scored on, but we’ve got to learn for it not to get to us,” Ngan said. “We’ve just got to come back 10 times harder at that next kickoff.”
Following Friday’s match, the team will travel to Las Vegas to face a UNLV side that, like the Vegas weather, is scorching hot right now. The Rebels (7-2-1) are currently on a six match winning streak which includes victories over Oklahoma, San Jose State and Montana.
The trip to UNLV will also mark the seventh road match the Vandals will play this preseason compared to five home matches, a figure Layton said doesn’t bother the team at all.
“Traveling with our team is actually really fun, I don’t think it affects us too much,” Layton said. “We have really great chemistry and everyone just gets along awesome.”
Madison McCord can be reached at [email protected]