With many of the Idaho women’s soccer player’s parents in the stands, the Vandals cruised by last place Northern Colorado. The 4-1 victory extended the Vandals’ winning streak to three games.
Northern Colorado came in 0-12-4. The Bears, looking for their first win of the season, got off to a flying start.
Despite pushing the tempo, the Vandals were down after just three minutes. Freshman forward Lexi Tuite played a ball out wide to senior defender Lily Thimsen. Thimsen crossed the ball into the box, finding junior midfielder Sydney Engelikins, who headed it past sophomore goalkeeper Kira Witte and opened the scoring for the Bears.
After the Bears’ goal, Idaho was back dominating possession and dictating the tempo. Three minutes later the Vandals had a chance to tie the game. In the sixth minute, senior outside back Alyssa Peters played the ball to Jadyn Hanks on the right touchline.
Hanks drove the ball, cut back to the right and tried to cross to sophomore forward Karli Yoshida-Williams. However, Yoshida-Williams was taken down in the box by freshman defender Francesca Jordan. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and the Vandals were awarded a penalty kick.
Senior midfielder Margo Schoesler stepped up to the penalty spot. She calmly drilled the ball into the top left corner, tying the game for the Vandals with her second goal of the season.
The excitement in the Kibbie Dome was back, and the Vandals dominated the rest of the half. Although the Vandals were cruising, it looked like they were going to head into the half tied at one. However, Idaho had other plans.
A foul committed by the Bears, just in front of the midfield logo, set up the Vandals for a last- second free kick. Junior defender Cassidy Elicker stepped up and put the ball into the six-yard box. The ball bounced over the head of the defenders and, while in the air, redshirt freshman Naomi Alvarez got her head on the ball. Her header chipped the goalkeeper and the ball landed in the net to put the Vandals up 2-1.
After Alvarez’s first career goal as a Vandal, Idaho took the 2-1 lead and all the momentum into the halftime break.
The Vandals pestered the Bears with 12 shots, nine of them on frame. The Bears had six shots with two of them on goal.
Idaho picked up where it left off in the first half and, 16 minutes into the second half, extended the lead to 3-1.
In the 61st minute, off a bad clearance by the Bears, the ball found Hanks on the left wing. She put the ball into the box and Yoshida-Williams powered it past the goalkeeper to give the Vandals the 3-1 lead. The goal by Yoshida-Williams was also her first career goal as an Idaho Vandal.
Idaho was not done after that. In the 78th minute, Idaho officially put the game away. Peters sent in a corner that caused chaos in the box, and the loose ball found freshman midfielder Sara Rodgers. She put the ball into the top right corner, making her the third Vandal of the day to score her first career goal.
Idaho saw out the last 12 minutes and picked up its ninth win of the season. The Vandals now sit at 9-4-2 (4-2-1) heading into the final game of the regular season.
In this historic game for Idaho, Head Coach Jeremy Clevenger picked up his 50th career win for the Vandals in just five seasons.
Even with the accomplishment, Clevenger credited the program for his success.
“I’m just proud of all the players, coaches and everyone that has come through this program,” he said. “This is not a me thing. This is a whole program thing.”
The Vandals will host the defending Big Sky champions, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, on Sunday. The team that ended the Vandals’ season last year is “a really tough team,” Clevenger said.
The Vandals will host NAU at 1 p.m. in a game they will also honor 12 seniors. The stakes are high for the rematch of the 2022 Big Sky Championship as the winner could leap into second place and grab a first-round bye. Meanwhile, the loser could drop down to fourth place heading into the Big Sky tournament.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on X @JaydenBarfuss10