Idaho soccer hit the road this week to take on Weber State in Ogden, Utah where with the help of junior forward Bridget Daley the Vandals found a way to win 3-2.
“I’m really proud of our players,” head coach Derek Pittman said in a news release. “We really tried to get back to being a lot more competitive and showing a lot more grit this past week in the training session and I thought our kids really responded well to that.”
Weber State (3-11-2, 2-4-2 BSC) wasted no time taking charge of the score. The Wildcats netted the first goal of the game just 11 minutes into play from Weber State’s Megan Quarnberg.
To make matters worse the home team scored less than two minutes later to take the lead 2-0.
“It was difficult going down two goals early but I thought our players really showed some resolve, stuck to the gameplan and did an excellent job finishing the chances that we were able to create,” Pittman said.
Luckily for Idaho (6-9-2, 2-5-1 BSC), Weber State was done scoring for the night and the Vandals were just about to get going. Daley took advantage of a loose ball from the Weber State goalie and fought to get the goal to bring the score to 2-1.
Daley once again came through for the Vandals in the 57th minute when she converted a penalty kick into Idaho’s second goal of the night to level the score at 2-2.
Daley capped off the scoring for the night with a goal with less than five minutes to play. Junior midfielder Megan Goo created the turnover for the Vandals and shot the ball up field to senior midfielder Olivia Baggerly. Baggerly got the ball to Daley who knocked it in for Idaho’s third goal of the night.
“We know what Bridget is capable of,” Pittman said. “It’s been coming. She has created a number of chances. She’s been a bit unlucky in some situations.”
The Vandals outshot the opponents 19-9, seven of which were on goal for Idaho compared to five from Weber State.
Idaho still has a chance to make the Big Sky Conference tournament but needs to win two more games to get a bid. The Vandals play Idaho State 12 p.m. Sunday in Pocatello, Idaho. Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @mere0415