It’s the last line of protection. It is the group in charge of keeping games close and gives the team the opportunity to win.
Statistics and highlights don’t come easy or often — the defensive group is the backbone of any team and that certainly is the case for Idaho soccer.
“I think being a part of the defense is kind of doing your role and playing your position and not getting as much recognition as the forwards do because you don’t get the statistics or the goals. Sometimes you get the assists and stuff,” said senior defender Claire Johnson. “It’s knowing your role, making the most of it and enjoying the fact that you get to stop goals from being scored.”
Idaho kicked off the season with a historic start to its conference schedule against Portland State and Sacramento State, starting 2-0 for the fifth time in program history. The defense pulled its weight with two shutouts for the first time in program history.
“[The Idaho defense] defended well. They prevented opportunities. In both games, we limited shots,” Idaho Head Coach Jeremy Clevenger said. “Any times you are limiting those opportunities you’re going to have success.”
Although Idaho gained a reputation for having a stout defense over the past few years, which included back-to- back regular season Big Sky titles just several seasons prior, this year’s group made a goal coming into the year. This was their year to take back the crown through hard work and maintaing a unified squad.
“In non-conference play and before the season, just putting in work,” senior defender Kelly Dopke said. “Getting our defensive shape together, making sure we are all on the same page, sticking to what we know and playing together.”
Despite hitting a snag earlier in the conference schedule against Northern Colorado, the defense bounced back, now being ranked second in goals allowed and shutouts during the Big Sky season, making Idaho one of the most elite defenses in the conference. The shutouts proved to those in the Big Sky that Idaho is not only a real threat, but a team capable of making a run at the conference championship.
This kind of play didn’t happen by chance. The improvement this group made from the start of the season to now has been a great stretch for Clevenger’s team.
“It’s night and day,” Clevenger said. “Each week, we got better. Our non-conference tested us…we just keep on getting better and better.”
Now, over midway through the conference schedule and with the conference tournament looming, the Vandals can’t afford to slip up and know they must try and get better as the final stretch of the regular season inches closer.
“I think just coming out each and every practice and treating it like it’s our last. We need to keep this momentum going,” Johnson said. “We can’t just have one good weekend define the rest of our season, you have to have a good weekend, week in and week out. Just continuing to keep up the intensity in practice and in competition and constantly have everyone boost each other up, I think we are on track to building our confidence and picking up at the right time, but we got to keep it going.”
In the last push of the regular season, Idaho will have a host of challenges — it will play the two bottom teams in the rankings in Southern Utah and Idaho State, but also the two highest ranked teams in Weber State and Northern Arizona.
Idaho defeated Weber State, the former No. 1 Big Sky team Oct. 14 to secure its place in the postseason tournament. If the Vandals go undefeated in the final two games of the regular season, it wil secure its spot as Big Sky regular season champions.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected]