Before starting Saturday afternoon, Idaho and Washington State had both already played a game. The Cougars played Gonzaga, Idaho coach Derek Pittman’s former team, earlier in the day and the Vandals had a scrimmage against an alumni team before they traveled to Pullman for the game.
The Pittman era of Vandal soccer got off to a rough start, as the Vandals gave up two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game before holding the Cougars scoreless for the rest of the game. WSU won the game 2-0.
“Washington State came out flying. We needed to be a little stronger mentally to absorb that intensity they started with,” Pittman said. “We responded and reacted in a positive way in playing our game and our style.”
When the Vandals start to play selfishly is when the team struggles, and that was evident in the team’s scrimmage against an alumni team earlier in the day, Pittman said. But he said Idaho seemed to learn from that mistake as they moved on to face WSU.
“We are going to be successful as a team, when we start to break off and play as individuals is when we struggle,” Pittman said. “When we defend and attack as a unit, we will be very successful.”
Despite the loss, Pittman was optimistic on the team’s outlook as it moves forward.
“We are very intense, they fought, scratched and clawed and did everything they could against a very good Washington State team. Although the result didn’t go our way, it was still a nice effort,” he said. “They went toe-to-toe with a very good program and although we lost, we put forth a good effort and quality performance.”
Pittman credited the team for how well they communicated with each other during the game and on the sidelines afterwards.
“There was a number of them talking after the game about how they really felt like they were communicating well and it made a big difference,” Pittman said. “They weren’t just focused on their own selfish issues, they were trying to help one another out.”
The defensive side is something that Pittman said the team needs to continue to work on, especially when they gain control of the ball. They need to take advantage of those opportunities better and not just kick the ball away, he said.
The Vandals will return to action on April 5 as they travel to Spokane to take on Pittman’s old team, Gonzaga, as well as Central Washington in a double header.
“I know that team very well,” Pittman said of his former team. “We will prepare as much as we can for them, but in all honesty we are focusing on ourselves as Vandals and what we are trying to build here.”
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]