The Vandals lost an overtime battle in the Big Sky Conference home opener against Northern Arizona.
Idaho head coach Derek Pittman said he was disappointed in the way the Vandals played.
“In all honesty, very disappointing,” Pittman said. “I think at the end of the day we got what we deserved. I thought we did a good job in the first half really limiting their chances, really creating our own, outshooting them 5-2 but at halftime NAU came out swinging and definitely fought the entire second half and clawed their way back into it. Hats off to them for doing that on the road. It is a lesson our players have got to learn and grow up from, that no one is going to give us anything in this conference and we have to be better and bounce back from this and get ready for a very good Sac State team coming in here on Sunday.”
Scoring got off to a slow start for both teams. Idaho netted the first goal in the 29th minute of play after junior forward Bridget Daley set up a corner kick. Freshman defender Ashlee Workman kicked the ball down the center where redshirt freshman midfielder Taylor Brust headed it in for the Vandals’ first score. It was Brust’s first collegiate goal.
The NAU Lumberjacks responded shortly after halftime with a goal from Paige Maling in the 47th minute to even the score.
The crowd pitched in to show some support for the Vandals in the Dome as the home team tried to rally and get the win in regulation.
The score stayed tied, despite repeated goal attempts and free kicks from the Vandals, sending the game into overtime.
But overtime didn’t last long. In the 93rd minute the Lumberjacks scored, ending the game 2-1 and giving Idaho the first conference loss.
The Vandals finished the game with nine shots, only two on goal. NAU outshot the home team with 12 shots, seven of which were on goal. Junior goalkeeper Makayla Presgrave had a total of four saves on the game, compared to only one from the opposing goalie.
Pittman said he expects his team to learn from this mistakes and prepare for Sacramento State on Sunday.
“More than anything it is just a reality check,” Pittman said. “I think every game is going to be a battle, there is not going to be any easy matches whatsoever and it is time for our players to understand that and just pick themselves back up and go. They will, I know what our players are made of, and I expect them to fully respond come Sunday.”
Idaho takes on Sacramento State 1 p.m. Sunday at the Kibbie Dome.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]