Idaho vs Hawaii
The Idaho soccer team returned Sept. 1 with a 1-0 win against Hawaii. The Vandals relied primarily on aggressive offensive play in the close-knit contest.
“Really proud of our players,” Idaho head coach Derek Pittman said. “From the opening whistle, I thought they came out and really put Hawaii under a ton of pressure. With the way Hawaii plays we didn’t want to give them a whole lot of time on the ball and I think we did a great job disrupting what they were trying to accomplish.”
It was senior Olivia Baggerly who provided the goal and broke the scoreless tie late in the second-half. The attacking pace of play has been a trend for Idaho in the last two matchups.
“Our staff did a great job this week preparing our players to be more attacking minded,” Pittman said.
Getting the ball near the goal transitioned into more shot opportunities. The team totaled 20 shots in the win, with Baggerly taking five of them, two of which were on goal.
Junior Bridget Daley took her fair share of shots in the effort as well. She matched Baggerly’s five, but none were on goal.
While the Vandals offense was working to provide the lone goal on the night, the defensive unit was holding its ground.
As time ticked down, Hawaii put a noticeable amount of pressure on the Vandals defense in desperation. Junior goal keeper Makayla Presgrave made several clutch saves in the win. In addition to Presgrave, the entire Idaho defense protected the goal all night.
The next Vandals matchup is against Seattle U Monday at 2 p.m. at the Kibbie Dome.
Idaho vs Seattle U
Idaho fell 5-3 to Seattle U in what started out as a tightly contested game ended in the Vandals second loss of the season.
Idaho head coach Derek Pittman said he was disappointed with the final score.
“I’m just disappointed, to be honest with you,” Pittman said. “I thought our players came out the right way and executed our game plan very well for the first 30 minutes or so. But this is part of our growing process. Our young players have got to understand, and this young team has to understand, that every minute matters.”
Senior forward Olivia Baggerly opened up the game on an exciting run down the field in the first minute of play, driving for the first goal. While the play did not end in a Vandal goal, it got the team off to a solid start. The first Idaho goal came in the 25th minute of play following a corner kick from junior forward Bridget Daley. Junior defender Kelly Dopke was lined up in front of the goal and sealed the point for the Vandals on a header.
Sophomore midfielder Morgan Crosby doubled the advantage in the 32nd minute with a direct shot from outside the 18-yard box that bounced off the post and in for the second Idaho goal.
Less than a minute later Seattle U responded when Leahi Manthei put the Redhawks’ first points on the board to bring the score to 2-1.
The Redhawks’ Holly Rothering went on to level the score after knocking a penalty kick into the goal in the 38th minute.
Pittman said he is proud of his team for fighting through but the team needs to learn from the mistakes.
“At halftime, its 2-2, we talked about the things we needed to fix,” Pittman said. “Proud of our players fighting back and finding the rhythm back to make it 4-3 but again, its part of our growing process. We’ve got to be better, (and) respond to adversity in a more positive manner. All of us, solve problems quicker on the field because good teams like Seattle U are going to punish us and they definitely did that today.”
It was only five minutes into the second half when Seattle U’s Manthei went ahead to score her second goal of the game to take the lead 3-2. Manthei drove the score up to 4-2 in the 59th minute off of a header that bounced in for the score.
The Vandals rallied and were able to get one more point on the board in the 67th minute of play. Junior defender Claire Johnson fought to keep Idaho in the game with a high shot outside the 35-yard line, barely missing the RedHawks’ goalie to score the final Idaho point.
Manthei sealed the game with Seattle U’s fifth goal, her fourth, in the 76th minute to finish the game 5-3.
Idaho finished with 10 shots, six on goal compared to Seattle U’s nine shots with six on goal.
Pittman said it is a learning opportunity to better prepare to face Oregon.
“We pride ourselves on being very organized and sharp defensively and we didn’t do that today and that ultimately that cost us” he said. “Our defense is our first thing we hang our hat on and we let ourselves down today and have got to be better as we get ready for Oregon.”
Idaho moves on to face Oregon 7 p.m. Friday in Eugene.
Zack Ozuna and Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]