It was a tale of two halves.
The Indiana State Sycamores led the Idaho Vandals soccer team 1-0 heading into the second half. But Idaho dominated the second half by scoring three goals as it came back to beat Indiana State 3-1 Friday in Missoula, Montana.
The Sycamores put the pressure on the Vandals early as Sydney Loesing scored in the third minute.
But Idaho answered with three second-half goals in its season opener.
“Really the only thing that changed was our ability to finish our chances,” Idaho coach Derek Pittman said. “We created some quality opportunities in the first half as well but just didn’t find the net. In the second half, I was happy to see us stick to the game plan and ultimately score three good goals.”
Freshman forward Kayla Watanabe tied the game early in the second half after she beat two defenders and sent the ball inside the left post for a goal.
Junior midfielder Elexis Schlossarek gave the Vandals a 2-1 lead in the 69th minute after she converted a penalty kick and senior forward Reagan Quigley gave Idaho an insurance goal in the 76th minute. Freshman midfielder Megan Goo set Quigley up with a lead pass and Quigley beat the goalkeeper.
“We have four to five good, dynamic players up top and they all contributed today,” Pittman said.
Five freshmen started for the Vandals including freshman goalkeeper Amanda Poertner.
The Vandals fired 10 shots on goal while the Sycamores managed two shots on goal.
“There were several good performances all over the field and at different times,” Pittman said. “The backs played very well and are looking stronger with each outing. We had some solid play from our midfielders and we had four to five forwards that were dangerous all game.”
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CabezaGarrett