Under the bright lights in the Lone Star state, the University of Idaho women’s soccer team took care of business against University of Texas, El Paso on Thursday. The Vandals defeated the Miners 1-0 with a late goal in their final non-conference game.
The game started late due to a one-hour lightning delay. Outside of the lightning, the entire first half was uneventful, and both teams headed into the locker room tied 0-0. UTEP had four shots, one on goal, while the Vandals only posted one shot and one on goal in the first half.
After the 15-minute intermission, there was finally some action. In the 63rd minute, senior Jadyn Hanks had a breakaway that she cut on her right foot, but the ball hit the post and the Miners cleared the pressure.
The Vandals’ second half pressure finally broke through, and they claimed the lead. A corner kick from outside back Alyssa Peters got redirected to senior outside back Maya Hamilton, who then redirected the ball in the box to find the head of junior forward Kylie Hummel. Hummel was able to head it past the Miners goalkeeper to give the Vandals the lead.
The goal by Hummel was her second game winning goal of the season. After the goal, Idaho did what they do best and defended their one-goal lead. Once the final whistle blew, the Vandals had a 1-0 victory to close out conference play.
The Vandals posted 10 shots in the second half, five of which were on goal. The Miners posted nine shots and two shots on goal in their valiant effort. With the win, the Vandals moved to 5-2-1 and 4-1 on the road.
Idaho posted its third shutout of the season and for sophomore Kira Witte, it was her school record 16th shutout. Along with that, Peters tied her career high of five assists in a season, and there are still eight games left.
The Vandals had some ups and downs throughout their non-conference schedule, but they come out of it as second in the Big Sky Conference.
Idaho opens conference play hosting eighth-place Weber State on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The Vandals looked poised for a deep postseason run and potentially put a ring on their finger come November.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10