The Idaho women’s soccer hosted a familiar opponent in the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who beat the Vandals in the NCAA tournament at the end of last season. The Bulldogs got the best of the Vandals again with 2 goals in the second half to defeat the Vandals 3-2.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Jeremy Clevenger was pleased with how Idaho finished off the spring.
“Spring was to test our players, and we played a tough opponent in Gonzaga. I thought we came out strong and got a couple of goals,” Clevenger said.
Gonzaga pressured the Vandals and put them on their back foot early. Just ten minutes into the game, the Bulldogs pulled in front.
Freshman midfielder Emelia Warta worked the ball down to the edge of the 18-yard box. Warta beat a Vandal defender and hit the ball into the top right corner past the diving freshman goalkeeper Paula Flores to open the scoring.
The Bulldogs kept the intensity up and began to dictate possession, making the game difficult for the Vandals. The Vandals finally settled down due to the play of midfielders’ freshman Sara Rodgers and junior Annika Farley, who took control of the midfield and established the Vandals’ attack.
Even with the Vandals finding their rhythm, they could not get on the scoresheet in the first half, and when the horn sounded, the Bulldogs led 1-0.
In the second half, the Vandals kept their high press going and started to disrupt the smooth Gonzaga offense.
After a strong ten minutes, the Vandals had a chance to tie. After the Vandals won the corner from the left side, senior outside back Alyssa Peters trotted over to the corner flag, put her arm in the air and swung in a perfect ball that connected with Rodgers’s head.
Rodgers powered the header past the goalkeeper and into the net, tying the game up for the Vandals and erupting the once-quiet Kibbie Dome.
With the Vandals gaining momentum, they began to push their numbers forward.
After sophomore Vandal outside back Kate Sprink made a nearly 50-yard sprint up the field, the Bulldogs stole the ball and picked out Gonzaga redshirt junior midfielder Chelsea Le. Le danced past the Vandals defense and slid the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Kira Witte, giving the Bulldogs the lead back.
Warta, who had been excellent all game in the midfield, got on the end of a pass and ripped a shot from the right of the goal box. Witte caught flatfooted and could not react quick enough, and before she knew it, the ball was in the net, and the Bulldogs led 3-1.
With just under three minutes left in the match, early enrollee Naomi Kessler wins the ball and plays athrough ball that senior Jadyn Hanks tracked down in stride. Hanks cut in on a defender and sliced the ball into the net to cut the lead to 3-2.
The comeback was too little, too late. Through moments of individual brilliance and great midfield play, the Bulldogs defeated the Vandals 3-2, dropping the Vandals’ spring record to 2-3.
Senior center back Cassidy Elicker, spoke about the Vandals effort defensively against Gonzaga.
“They were getting a lot of shots, but then we could defend as a unit and stop that together. So, knowing their strengths and then taking that away from them helped us a lot,” she said.
Rodgers, a freshman replacing former Vandal Jayd Sprague, has been a bright spot for the Vandals all spring. Rodgers has thrived in her new role and has scored goals in back-to-back games.
“Everybody tries to find me on corners, I was working hard to get open and have that moment,” Rodgers said.
Many of the Vandals’ young players have shined this spring, especially in the back line. Players like Sprink and freshman Izzy Thoma have been given more playing time.
“This spring helped us a lot getting used to playing with them,” she said. “I think they did a great job. I think it’s a lot of communication from Becca and I talking to Sprink and Izzy around us to help them play how we play as a team.”
Another player who has had a sneaky good spring was Farley. Farley was the Vandals’ engine throughout the spring, especially with the loss of Sprague. Clevenger spoke on the impact Farley had for the Vandals.
“Annika was great, and she’s our fittest player on the team. She does so much. She can go box to box, and she has a great understanding of positionally defensively,” he said. ” We didn’t get her a goal this spring, but I know she has the ability to get some goals and others goals. She’s a big player for us.”
The Vandals finished the spring season with a losing record, but players and fans are optimistic about this coming fall season.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected]