The Idaho soccer team could not compete against the Seattle U Redhawks in the opening round of the WAC Tournament, bringing an end to its season.
For a team that started with half of its roster being new players, Idaho advanced well through WAC play earning, due to some luck, a fourth-place seed in the WAC Tournament.
Before starting the 2013 season, the Vandals were picked to finish second in conference by the WAC Coaches’ poll. The decision was based on last year’s performance and how the various coaches felt that the teams would do this season.
The team that the coaches voted on early in this year is vastly different than the team that Idaho fielded this season. Idaho coach Pete Showler added 12 new faces to his roster including 11 true freshmen, one new assistant and took on the services of previous player Chelsie Small as a volunteer assistant coach.
The overall lack of experience of the young team was evident in the beginning of the season. Idaho opened up play in a preseason exhibition match against Oklahoma on Aug. 16 tying that match 0-0. After the match, Showler said that he was pleased with the first performance from his young team not allowing Oklahoma, who he felt was a better team, to run away with the match.
From that first match until WAC play started on Sept. 27, the Vandals did not show much of that promise that Showler saw.
In the first three matches of the season, Idaho was shut out in all three and was outscored 10-0. It was not until the first WAC match that Idaho clinched its first win against New Mexico State.
Idaho started WAC play strong winning three of the first four matches showing why they were picked to finish so high in the preseason.
However, the strong showing in the first three weeks quickly faded, as the Vandals fell behind in rankings after losing five straight matches. They finally ended their losing streak again to New Mexico State on Oct. 27. They just managed to get themselves into the running for a seed in the tournament with the win.
Going into the last week of WAC play, Idaho was fifth in the WAC, but do to stipulation put upon Grand Canyon upon entering the WAC, they were ineligible for postseason play — giving Idaho the seed.
The luck for Idaho’s conference bid did not stop there.
Cal State-Bakersfield, trailing Idaho by only one win, could have stolen that seed from Idaho with a win in either of their two final matches if Idaho could not win a single match in a two-match weekend against conference leader Seattle. Both Idaho and Cal State-Bakersfield lost their pair of matches giving Idaho the last lucky break it needed to get into the WAC Tournament.
Despite losing both of their matches to Seattle, Showler said that his team has shown over the pair of matches that they could compete and win against heavily favored Seattle. Idaho did not win the upset but was beat 6-1, the worst deficit between the two teams in their series.
During the season, senior Chelsie Breen started in her 79th game, fourth in Idaho history in starts, and was voted first team All-Conference by the WAC coaches.
After the last game of the tournament Sunday, graduating junior Katie Baran and freshman Gabby Leong were both picked for the All-Tournament team. No Vandal has gotten the postseason honor since 2011.
Curtis Ginnetti can be reached at [email protected]