Vandals making something out of once bleak season
Any team in search of inspiration should look no further than the Idaho soccer team.
The season looked bleak after the team completed its nonconference schedule. The Vandals went winless in nine games and were outscored 24-2.
Korbin McDonald
Idaho coach Derek Pittman refused to believe the 0-9 record was a reflection of how good his team could be. He preached it was a new season once the team started conference play, and the positive attitude seems to have worked.
Through four games in its first year competing in the Big Sky Conference, Idaho has yet to lose a game, with three wins and one tie.
Friday, the Vandals play Montana in arguably the biggest game of the year. The winner will take sole possession of first place atop the conference standings.
The perks of winning the regular season title go beyond getting the best seed in the conference tournament — the first place school will also get to host the tournament Nov. 6-9.
If Idaho does win, I’m positive the Vandal Roughs and the rest of fans will provide the team with an intimidating home-field advantage. But hosting the tournament will bring more than a packed Guy Wicks Field — the university and city of Moscow will benefit, as well.
The tournament will bring the 10 other Big Sky teams and their fans to Moscow. The hotels, restaurants and other businesses will flourish because of it.
Winning the Big Sky Tournament also guarantees a birth into the NCAA Tournament. That would be an impressive first season in the conference for Idaho and other Big Sky schools might start to resent Idaho joining the conference.
The thought of winning a conference title is something new for a program in its 17th year of existence. Established in 1998, the Vandal soccer team is on its fourth coach and has only had four winning seasons.
The program’s overall record is 112-203-25 and the team has never won a conference title. Its highest finish was third in 2010 when the team competed in the WAC.
While there are still seven games left in the season, it’s hard not to get excited. The current turnaround has the feel of something out of a movie and if Idaho does win the conference title, I’d argue that it should be made into one.
The Vandal soccer team proved it’s not impossible to turn a season around after a miserable start. A winning attitude can be changed midseason — other Idaho athletic teams should take note.
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]