The Idaho soccer team beat the top- ranked Big Sky team, Weber State, for the team’s senior day Sunday.
“A great performance, start to finish,” Idaho Head Coach Jeremy Clevenger said. “The seniors and the group in general just showed up today.”
Idaho went into Sunday’s game 4-1-1, third in the Big Sky and fresh off an exciting overtime win over in-state rival Idaho State.
Weber State sat at the top of the Big Sky rankings with a perfect record, holding the top positions in most statistical categories — one of the most dominant forces in the Big Sky this season.
Both teams came out strong and physical, trying to figure out how to score against the other’s defense, as nine of the 10 Idaho seniors were in the starting lineup.
Idaho was able to strike first, with a triple senior connection leading to a goal. Goalkeeper Makayla Presgrave gave a deep pass to forward Bridget Daley, who found forward Kayla Watanabe for a soft, go-ahead score to put the Vandals up early in the first half.
In the second half, sophomore midfielder Taylor Brust was given a free kick opportunity from 30 yards away from the goal. She quickly took the kick and sent a laser to the back of the net, giving Idaho a 2-0 advantage.
The Vandals kept the momentum and sent the seniors off with one last home win and are now officially in the Big Sky tournament.
After the win, Idaho had its senior day ceremony, where it honored the 10 members of the winningest class in program history. The team collectively has 40 wins in the four- year stretch. This team, led by a senior heavy defense, are 5-0 at home in conference play for the first time ever and didn’t allow a goal when playing at home this season.
“(The seniors) had the right mentality and setting the tone,” Clevenger said. “Couldn’t be more happy for them to get a win on their senior night and it puts us in a great place to finish out conference play next week.”
Idaho’s destiny is now in its own hands. If Idaho wins the last two games, it will be Big Sky regular season champions and be the No. 1 seed for the Big Sky tournament in Ogden, Utah.
Idaho plays Southern Utah at 3 p.m. Friday in Cedar City, Utah and Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. Sunday in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected]