The University of Idaho Argonaut

Idaho's Jill Flockhart jumps over Hawaii goalkeeper Kristina Ehrett to score the first goal of the game. The Vandals led 2-0 at halftime, but lost the game 3-2. It was the last game for seniors Ashley Perez, Sari Morrison, Anna Sandman and Lydia Beyerlein. Ilya Pinchuk/Argonaut

The Vandals’ season may have ended with disappointment, but the loss doesn’t detract from a fantastic season for the up-and-coming Vandal squad.

“The sky is the limit from this team,” coach Pete Showler said. “The team has taken huge strides — they have the ability to become a very good team, the next step is making sure they believe it.”

Senior Ashley Perez, who has been with the Vandals for four years, said the team really bonded and connected this year.

“We weren’t as close my freshman year as the team is today,” Perez said. “This year, we stepped on that field and we knew that every single player on that field worked hard to be there and we could trust them.”

Senior defender Sari Morrison said the biggest difference between the last few years and this year was the mentality of the team in the locker room and on the field.

“It wasn’t divided this year,” Morrison said. “We were a unit. It didn’t matter if you were a freshman or senior you were part of the team and every person played an important role of the team.”

The mentality paid dividends in the season, both in individual statistics as well as team performances. The Vandals tallied up 27 goals, up from 9 last year and the most since 2001. In addition, the Vandals took more shots this year than in any other year.

Many of those shots came from freshman Chelsea Small, who tied Idaho’s freshmen scoring record with 20 points, as well as destroying the previous record for shots taken. Small fired off an astounding 101 shots, 30 more than any other player in Idaho history.

The WAC has honored Small for her outstanding play, receiving the Soccer Freshman of the Year Award, as well as being named to the all-WAC team.

Showler describes Small as an extremely hard worker who makes things happen for everyone on the field. Even when she isn’t scoring, Small is setting up opportunities for her teammates to score, he said.

No one felt Small’s ability to setup more than Morrison, who was second on Idaho’s scoring roster with 7 goals on the season, despite being primarily a defender. Morrison converted on 3 penalty kicks, a new record for Idaho, as well as chipping in some self-described ‘real goals’.
Showler said Morrison has been a rock of leadership in the back end.

“Over the years, Pete and the other coaches helped me relax, gain confidence and become a good communicator,” Morrison said. “That put me into a leadership role — I was kind of the loudmouth on the field.”

The leadership, coaching and everyone buying into the system was the reason for the success this year. The Vandals closed out the season with five home wins, the most since 2000. Morrison’s leadership on the defense was a key reason why Idaho allowed only 91 shots on goal, the second lowest total in school history.

The Vandals fell just short of having a winning season, a win over Hawaii would have given them a 10-9 record. Showler said the next step is for the team to work on their mental aspect of the game during the off-season and pick up right where they left off next year.

Senior goalkeeper Anna Sandman, who has also been with Idaho for four years, said the team should have gone to the WAC championship this year, but is confident in the team’s future.

“Next year, they are definitely going to win the WAC tournament,” Sandman said. “The players we have work so hard and are so passionate about the sport.”

This year’s team has left a bright future for Idaho soccer and they lived up to their motto “tradition starts here.”