For the Idaho women’s soccer team, playing in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome has been magic, and the Vandals looked to use more magic to keep their home unbeaten streak alive. The Vandals welcomed the Weber State Wildcats and, from the first whistle, came out on a mission. Behind two first-half goals, the Vandals were able to defeat the Wildcats 2-0 and move to 6-0-1 at home.
After controlling the game for the first two minutes, the Vandals were in a familiar situation. In the third minute, graduate outside back Alyssa Peters jogged over to the right corner flag to take the Vandals’ first set piece of the game, and Peters’ magical right foot struck again.
Peters sent in a cross to the back post, where sophomore midfielder Sara Rodgers looped around her defender, got open, outjumped everyone, and struck a powerful header into the roof of the net to give the Vandals the lead. The goal was also Rodgers’ second of the season and Peters’ tenth assist of the season.
“The X play that we’ve been doing on corners has been working really well for us lately, and that little loop (I did) got me open,” Rodgers said. “When I saw the ball in the air. I knew it was coming to me, so I just made sure I hit it right. When the ball goes in the back of the net, it feels so rewarding.”
From Rodgers’s goal, the Vandals established possession early and dictated the game’s flow. The Vandals were able to open up the game and create many chances but still hadn’t found their insurance goal. Later in the first half, they finally cashed in.
In the 37th minute, Weber State threw the ball in just in front of the Vandal bench. The Wildcats, trying to find some possession, tried to pass it back to their defense, but redshirt junior forward Sienna Gonzales sniffed out the play, stepped in front of the ball, and stole it away. Gonzales cleverly touched the ball around her defender and raced up the touchline.
Gonzales then played a beautiful ball behind the Wildcats’ defense and into the path of junior forward Karli Yoshida-Williams. Yoshida Williams touched the ball around the goalkeeper and placed it in the open net to give the Vandals a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
“At the beginning of practice, when we were doing scout, we really emphasized taking on the back line, one v one, so when I looked up, and I saw Siena take a touch around the defender, and I (realized) I only had one person on me,” Yoshida-Williams said. “She played the ball, and I trusted her and knew I would get there. I took on the keeper one v one, and it was a great feeling.”
The Wildcats came out of the half with some flashes of good passing and good team play, but in the end, the Vandals were too much for the Wildcats. The Vandals walked out of the Kibbie Dome with a huge win that got them back atop the Big Sky standings.
Idaho’s midfield was an area of strength in the game. Through the play of their midfield, they dictated the game and caused havoc for the Wildcats.
“The midfield is our engine,” Head coach Jeremy Clevenger said. “We know that we have great players in there and that when we can get our midfield involved, good things will happen. I was happy for that, and they did a great job controlling the game.”
With the win, the Vandals improved to 10-4-2 (4-1-1) and reached a fourth consecutive ten-win season. The Wildcats, with the loss, fall to 2-10-5 (1-3-1) as they fight to keep their season alive.
The Vandals’ final home game of the season is this weekend, and it will be an emotional game for all involved.
The emotions are high,” Yoshida-Williams said. “We’re excited to play our last home game of the season. We’re locked to play, then after, we’ll deal with all the sad stuff we’ll miss our graduates and our seniors so much on the field.”
The Vandals will kick off against the 2-7-5 (1-3-1) Idaho State Bengals on Sunday, October 20, at 1 p.m. The Vandals look to complete an unbeaten home record this season and recognize the seniors and graduates who will play their last match under the lights in the Kibbie Dome as an Idaho Vandal.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected]