The Vandals were able to bounce back as they grinded out a 2-1 victory over Cal State Northridge, propelled by goals from graduate Midfielder Margo Schoesler and junior Forward Karli Yoshida-Williams.
CSUN put their foot on the gas pedal early, wanting to get their first win of the season and their early-game offensive rhythm early caused the Vandals defense to make a costly mistake.
In the 25th minute, off a corner kick, the ball went up and hit the hand of a Vandal defender, and the Matadors were awarded a Penalty kick. Junior midfielder Jackie Victorio stepped up and sent sophomore goalkeeper Paula Flores the wrong way and the ball the other, giving the Matadors a 1-0 lead.
The lead did not last long, however. After the goal, the Vandals began to raise their intensity, which lead to a golden opportunity to equalize.
In the 31st minute, senior forward Kyla Tucker received a pass on the right wing. She dribbled the ball to the goal line, then sent a low cross into the 18-yard box.
The ball was deflected by a Matador defender and ended up at the feet of Schoesler. Schoesler took one touch and fired it into the back of the net to restore the tie game for the Vandals and get her first goal of the season.
The Matadors kept the Vandals on their heels the rest of the half. Idaho defense showed poise and got the team to the half tied 1-1. The Vandals’ hunger and experience took over in the second half, and began to dictate the flow of the game and caused the Matador’ defense headaches.
Early in the second half, that pressure paid off. In the 54th minute, the Vandals’ passing, and teamwork led to the team goal that gave them the lead.
Sophomore outside back Izzy Thoma played a pass to the midfield, graduate midfielder Hannah Alfaro-Black flicked the ball to oncoming senior midfielder Annika Farley, who unleashed a shot from around 30 yards. The ball hit off the crossbar and fell right into the path of Yoshida-Williams.
Yoshida-Williams patiently settled the ball and calmly slid it into the open bottom left corner to give the Vandals the 2-1 lead and William’s first goal of the season.
With the Matadors trailing in the game, the intensity once again flipped, and the Matadors began to be more aggressive. The Matadors’ late game anxiety got to them and the team would then commit seven fouls in the second half and would never get back into their first-half rhythm.
The Vandals showed championship experience as they closed the rest of the game out, holding the Matadors to only two shots in the second half. They got a much-needed bounce-back 2-1 victory, dropping the Matadors to a season record of 0-3.
Idaho improves to 2-1-0 as they head back to the Palouse to face Washington State in a highly anticipated rivalry game Sunday at 7 p.m.