The Idaho Vandals women’s soccer team hit the road early Thursday afternoon, looking to keep their unbeaten streak alive against the Montana Grizzlies.
The Griz, however, had other plans. Behind two first-half goals by graduate forward Jen Estes, the Griz defeated the Vandals 2-1 to jump first in the Big Sky conference.
From the first whistle, the Grizzlies came out on the front foot and put the Vandals’ backline under immediate pressure. Just nine minutes into the game, the Griz struck gold.
In the ninth minute, the Grizzlies’ great passing combination opened up the field. Senior defender Ava Samuelson put together a perfect 1-2 combination with junior forward Kayla Rendon Bushmaker, who had the ball around 25 yards from goal.
Rendon Bushmaker fired in a pass to Estes who turned her defender to get back on her right foot and fired a missile into the top left corner past redshirt freshman goalkeeper Paula Flores to open the scoring.
The Vandals did not go down without a fight, and 52 seconds later, they responded. The Vandals won a corner kick and graduated outside back. Alyssa Peters took the kick and swung the ball to the back post, fighting through bodies. Senior midfielder Annika Farley found the ball and guided her header past the goalkeeper to tie the game at 1-1.
After the goal, the Grizzlies’ high press and aggressive nature were still on display. Besides the goal just minutes earlier, the Vandals did not find any offensive rhythm, and the Griz smelled blood in the water.
In the 15th minute, with the Grizzlies hunting for their second goal, a mistake by the Vandals resulted in the Griz taking the lead back. Senior center back Cassidy Elicker fired a pass to sophomore midfielder Sara Rodgers. Rodgers could not handle the pass, and junior midfielder Chloe Seelhoff stole the ball at midfield.
Seelhoff dribbled through the midfield and drove at the Vandal backline. Seelhoff played a perfect through pass past the Vandal backline into the path of Estes. Like the first goal she scored, Estes laced the strike to the top left corner and put the Griz up 2-1.
After going down again, the Vandals searched for answers for the offense to equalize the Griz’s latest goal. The Griz took the 2-1 lead into the locker room, 45 minutes away from gaining first place in the conference.
Despite the Grizzlies’ lead, the Vandals emerged from the locker room with a sense of urgency. They fought hard and had several opportunities to equalize the game.
However, the Grizzlies’ strong defense and some crucial saves by backup goalkeeper sophomore Bayliss Finn prevented the Vandals from scoring, securing the Griz’s hard-fought 2-1 victory.
The Grizzlies outplayed the Vandals for 90 minutes, which was too much for them. With the win the Griz improved to 9-2-2, (3-0) and a perfect 8-0 at home this season and claimed first place in the Big Sky.
The Vandals’ loss dropped them to 8-4-2 (2-1-1), ending their six-game unbeaten streak. They will look to get back on track when they travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to face 1-5-4 (1-1) Northern Arizona on Sunday, Oct 13, at noon in a rematch of the last two Big Sky championships.
You can reach Jayden Barfuss at [email protected]