After a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Montana on Sunday, the Vandal women’s soccer team will hit the road looking for a rebound. The Vandals will travel to The Rose City for their game against Portland State on Friday Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.
Idaho is coming in 6-3-2, with an impressive 5-1 record away from the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals are led by senior midfielder Hannah Alfaro and senior forward Jadyn Hanks, who each have four goals this season. Alfaro has also pitched in two assists this season.
Senior outside back Alyssa Peters leads the team, and Big Sky, with a career high of seven assists this season. The Vandals will look to get their second conference win of the season against the Vikings.
Portland State
Portland State comes into the game with a 5-5-1 record and a 2-0-1 conference record, putting them in first place of the Big Sky. Portland State returns home after a 1-0 win over Sacramento State and will look to keep their winning streak going.
The Vikings are led by junior midfielder Abi Hoffman, who has netted four goals and dished out two assists to begin the season. Senior forward Raniyah Burton has added three goals and one assist to her tally this season.
The Vikings have had two goalkeepers play this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Cunningham has played in seven games and allowed eight goals, but also gotten 30 saves this season. Cunningham also has two shutouts this season. Graduate goalkeeper Eden Millan has played in five games, allowing 10 goals. Millan has tallied up 16 saves and has had one shutout this season.
The Vikings look to improve to their impressive start in conference play and look to get some revenge, as the Vandals defeated the Vikings 3-1 in the Kibbie Dome last season.
Sacramento State
The Vandals will be looking for revenge of their own when they travel down to Sacramento, California to face the Hornets on Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. The Hornets shocked the Vandals last year, coming from behind and scoring two last minute goals to steal a 2-1 victory away from the Vandals.
The Hornets come into Sunday’s matchup 3-6-3 and 1-1-1 in conference play. Both teams will be looking for a rebound after suffering losses in their previous game.
The Hornets are led by junior midfielder Abigail Lopez with four goals this season. Freshman forward Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia has two goals for the Hornets. Sac State also has redshirt freshman Izzy Palmatier in between the posts for them this season.
Palmatier has appeared in nine games, allowing 16 goals, racking up 35 saves and scoring two shutouts so far this season. The Vandals will look to get out of this road trip with two crucial wins.
There is possible positive news for the Vandals as senior forward Maddy Lasher is progressing and could possibly see action this weekend, according to head coach Jeremy Clevenger. “We will evaluate this week, but she might be good to go here soon,” Clevenger said after the last game.
The Vandals will have to put their 2-0 loss behind them and continue their quest for a Big Sky Championship during this crucial road trip.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10