The saying goes that pressure creates diamonds, but on Friday it created opportunities for the Vandal soccer team.
Idaho maintained steady pressure on the University of Hawaii and came away victorious by a score of 1-0.
“Really proud of our players,” said Idaho head coach Derek Pittman in a news release. “From the opening whistle I thought they came out and really put Hawaii under a ton of pressure.”
That pressure manifested itself in the final statistics as well.
Idaho managed 13 more shots than Hawaii, and the Wahine’s only real threats came on the occasional counterattack. Consistent pressure and attacking presence on Hawaii’s half was an effective recipe for quality shots on goal.
Despite maintaining control over the ball and pace of the game for the first half, the scoreboard did not yet show the Vandals with a tangible advantage, but pressure on the offensive side allowed for a much easier night on defense.
“With the way Hawaii plays we didn’t want to give them a whole lot of time on the ball,” Pittman said. “I think we did a great job disrupting what they were trying to accomplish.”
And disrupt they did.
Idaho consistently applied pressure by opting for long precision passes threaded through the defense to stifle any opportunity for quick steals and counters. While the Vandals were not always successful in finding their marks with the passes, the constant aggression kept Hawaii off balance and unable to maintain a sustained attack.
All of the forward aggression and pressure forced Hawaii to crack as the match came to a close.
After multiple missed chances throughout the match, sophomore midfielder Morgan Crosby threaded a corner kick into the box that was redirected by junior defender Kelly Dopke and finished with a header by senior forward Olivia Baggerly. After 75 minutes of constant offensive pressure, the score finally gave Idaho the advantage at 1-0.
Hawaii put together a couple of frantic runs to close out the match, but nothing came that close to threatening junior goalkeeper Makayla Presgrave’s shutout. Thanks to impressive offensive pressure throughout most of the game, Idaho was able to come away with a quality team win.
The Vandals will face the Oregon Ducks 7 p.m. Friday in Eugene.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected]