Idaho soccer coach Pete Showler sat in front of his team on Wednesday’s practice and asked them “What kind of team are we, what is our legacy?”
So far this season, the legacy has been one of loss and failed expectations. Showler and the team are looking to correct that during their first home game of the season on Friday.
To do so, Showler is emphasizing that all his players, young and experienced alike, give 100 percent of themselves, keep team momentum high and low spirits a thing of the past.
This new team outlook will be tested against Eastern Washington at 4 p.m. on Friday at Guy Wicks Field.
The Eagles will make the best match up for the Vandals so far this season since both teams have a win loss record of 0-5. The Eagles are matched to the Vandals in this season’s play as both teams have yet to win a game and both had not scored a goal before last week’s games.
“We expect a hard game and lots of passion from Eastern Washington,” Showler said. “We have been getting better every game, we are going to continue that onto the pitch, we want a win — simple as that.”
To get that first win, Showler is mixing up some strategies while working the formula that he says has been improving over the year. This week the Vandals will be running a 4-4-2, spreading the team out more and working on defensive movement.
During the last week of play, the Vandals were able to gain momentum that had not been seen this season.
Going into the match against North Dakota State on Sept. 6, the Vandals had yet to find the back of the net in the past three games. The Vandals managed two goals against the Bison, before stopping a shutout against Creighton with one goal on Sunday.
Coach Showler said that they have done nothing special but it is a matter of the team finally coming together and the skills they had been working on finally paying off.
“We had better shape through the spine of the team and (it) gave us more stability,” he said “We just hope to build on that. We need to keep reassuring them of their identity and that comes with experience.”
This game will mark the end of a five away game stretch in which the Vandals have traveled as far as Nebraska. With the return to home, the team is hoping to feed off of the energy given out by the home crowd.
“It’s a field that we know, we have a lot of fans here and the crowd will keep us pumped,” freshman Alyssa Pease said. “Hopefully when we score on Friday we will have the crowd to keep us going.”
Friday’s match will mark the start of a five-game home stretch that will last through Sunday, Sept. 29, and will include the first matches of WAC play.
Curtis Ginnetti
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