“It’s a learning lesson and this team will bounce back,” head women’s soccer coach Jeremy Clevenger said after a loss to the University of Washington. The Vandals went 1-1 in their opening weekend, beating Seattle University in their home opener.
Seattle University
The University of Idaho women’s soccer team finally got to lace its cleats up and go under the lights at the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals defeated Seattle University 3-1 to open their season 1-0. The first game rust got the best of both teams early as they each turned the ball over, missed touches and overall, had a sloppy start.
The Vandals started to gain momentum, and, in the 17th minute, their hard work finally paid off. A bouncing ball found senior outside back Alyssa Peters, who played a ball to senior midfielder Margo Schoesler. Schoesler played a ball that the Seattle goalkeeper spilled right to senior forward Jadyn Hanks. Hanks took a shot, but it ended up ricocheting off junior midfielder Annika Farley and into the back of the net for Farley’s first goal of season.
The rest of the half was back and forth with neither team giving an inch. After the first-half buzzer sounded, the score remained 1-0 in the Vandals’ favor. The Vandals outshot the Redhawks 6-4, both teams had four shots on goal and sophomore goalkeeper Kira Witte had four saves to the Redhawks’ three.
The second half began, and the Vandals were on the front foot pressing and making stuff uncomfortable for Seattle. All that pressure paid off when Schoesler picked up the ball at midfield and found Karli Yoshida-Williams on the wing. The sophomore forward waded through the Seattle U defense and delivered the ball to Hanks, who took one touch and struck the ball into the back of the net to put the Vandals up 2-0.
Twelve minutes later, a throw in from senior outside back Maya Hamilton landed at the feet of senior forward Maddy Lasher. Lasher sent the ball back to Hamilton, who then played a beautiful cross to freshman defender Issy Thoma. The freshman beat her man marker and headed it in the upper part of the net to get her first career goal as a Vandal.
In the 82nd minute, after a long free kick, the referee called for a penalty kick after junior defender Rebekah Reyes pushed a Seattle player down. Seattle graduate forward Makinzie Packwood drilled the kick, ruining the Vandals shutout bid.
After a season-opening win, the Vandals looked towards their toughest nonconference game.
Washington
On the back of a 3-1 dominating win over Seattle University, the Vandals headed into their first ever regular-season matchup with Pac-12 opponent University of Washington. The Huskies finished 10-6-3 a year ago and began the 2023 season with a 0-0 draw against Houston.
The Huskies bounced back, defeating the Vandals 3-1 to move to 1-0-1 on the season. The game began with the Huskies dominating possession and making the Vandals life harder.
In the 17th minute, the ball fell to freshman forward Radisson Banks. She rocketed the ball into the top right corner, beating Witte for the Huskies first goal of the season. After a scary head collision earlier in the half, junior midfielder Jayd Sprague used that same head to tie the game for the Vandals.
The Vandals started to gain some momentum in the game and earned themselves a corner kick. Peters put the ball to the far post where Sprague beat the Huskies and headed it back across goal to the bottom corner. That goal brought the over 500 fans in the Kibbie Dome back to life. Neither team scored again in the first half, leaving it tied at 1-1 going into the locker room.
Although the Huskies outshot the Vandals 8-6, both teams had three shots on goal with Idaho looking more confident to end the half. The Huskies, however, came out with a vengeance, and the Vandals did not respond well.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Huskies capitalized on a tired Vandal team. Freshman midfielder Jadyn Holdenried received a pass from Banks and fired a missile past the oncoming defender, and Witte’s outstretched hands to put the Huskies back up 2-1.
After that goal, the Vandals couldn’t do anything. The Huskies were hunting the ball, and the Vandals weren’t able to get a shot or relieve the pressure. Idaho started to get frustrated, and the Huskies landed the last punch.
In the 71st minute, the Huskies worked a great combination between Holdenried and sophomore outside back Kolo Suliafu. Suliafu took the pass down the right wing, crossed it to sophomore midfielder Chloe Seelholf, who struck the ball into the bottom left corner passed a diving Witte, sealing a 3-1 victory for the Huskies.
Even with the loss, head coach Jeremy Clevenger was pleased with how the Vandals performed.
“I thought we battled hard,” he said. “(It) was a good learning experience for us to kind of be more clinical in certain moments, but overall, (I’m) happy with the performance”.
The Vandals missed their captain, senior striker Maddy Lasher who was out with a foot injury and considered “day to day” according to Clevenger.
Idaho will look to get back on track as it travels to the desert later this week. They will face Utah Tech on Aug. 24 then UNLV on Sunday Aug. 27.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10