As the clock ticked down and the weight of a championship berth on their shoulders, the Idaho Vandals seemed to feel the weight of their destiny closing in the Big Sky Championship dream hanging by a thread.
With the game teetering on a razor’s edge, tied 1-1 with the Portland State Vikings, the minutes slipping away, sophomore midfielder Sara Rodgers, with the bright lights shining down, delivered a moment of magic.
In the 78th minute, sophomore outside back Izzy Thoma did her infamous flip throw, which launched the ball into the 18-yard box after the Portland State defense failed to clear the ball. Senior midfielder Annika Farley beat the defender to the ball and poked it into the path of Rodgers.
Rodgers received the ball and hit a picture-perfect left-foot rocket that hit the back of the net and gave the Vandals a 2-1 lead with 12 minutes to go.
The Vandals’ experience helped them hold off the Vikings’ late comeback attempt. As the clock hit zeros, the Vandals had defeated Portland State 2-1 and were heading back to the Big Sky championship game for the third straight year.
Five minutes before the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute, the Vandals were trailing the Vikings 1-0 and desperate for an equalizer.
Junior Karli Yoshida-Williams put an excellent shot on frame that was tipped onto the crossbar by the Viking goalkeeper and fell into the path of graduate forward Jadyn Hanks.
Hanks beat the oncoming defender to the ball and headed the ball into the opposite corner to tie the game for the Vandals and give them some life.
The Vandals, who led the league in scoring this season, struggled to score in the previous game. Their struggles crept into the start of this game. For the first 15 minutes of the game, the Vandals struggled to find their offensive rhythm, and both teams lacked creativity going forward.
With the game becoming more of a physical game, the Vandals weathered the storm, and after a late shot by redshirt junior Sienna Gonzales hit off the crossbar, the Vandals and Vikings headed into halftime scoreless.
The Vikings came out of the locker room and punched the Vandals in the mouth early. Six minutes into the second half, the Vikings scored the first goal of the game.
In the 51st minute senior midfielder Abi Hoffman, off a loose ball from around the penalty spot, looped in a shot over redshirt freshman Paula Flores that put the Vikings into the lead. After the goal, the Vandals found their footing offensively and went on the attack.
The Vandals came through with two second-half goals that got them the hard-fought win. Idaho never gave up, even when the odds were stacked against them, a trait that head coach Jeremy Clevenger thought was a huge part of the win.
“They have heart,” Clevenger told Big Sky reporter Meghan Robinson after the game. “We’ve been down before, and they found a way back. I’m super proud of the fight.”
The Vandals move on to face the red-hot #5 seed Sacramento State Hornets, who pulled off two massive upsets, including beating the #1 seed and the hosts, the Montana Grizzlies, 0-0 (4-3) on penalty kicks, to advance to the championship looking for their third title and their first since 2010.
The Vandals advance to their third championship in three years; they seek back-to-back wins, a moment this Vandal team has been waiting for all season.
“That’s why we had so many of our fifth years came back to play in a moment like this. I’m happy for the team that gets this opportunity to have the chance to go back-to-back,” Clevenger told Robinson.
The Vandals and Hornets will kick off on November 10 at noon in a game of destiny and legacy. For the Vandals, the only thing standing in their way is the Hornets.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected]