Women’s Soccer: ‘Ready for revenge’

Idaho women’s soccer is getting ready to hit the road and travel down to Boise, where they will play a double-header against the Boise State Broncos and the Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks.

Idaho’s last game was against the Broncos April 15, where they fell 1-2. The match was fast and physical from the opening whistle and kept the same level of intensity for the entirety of the match. 

Redshirt Sophomore Kayla Watanabe scored the first goal of the match off of a thru-pass from fellow forward, junior Myah Merino, which ended up being the only score Idaho was able to muster. 

Idaho was able to keep the lead into the half, but as soon as the break was over, Boise State came out and was able to hit the equalizer. The rest of the second half saw limited opportunities from both sides with the Broncos capitalizing on a rare look, scoring the game-winning goal with just two minutes remaining. 

Idaho will play Boise for the second time this week for a quick rematch after this intense game, one Watanabe said she is ready for. 

“I’m excited and ready for revenge,” Watanabe said. 

Idaho Head Coach Derek Pittman said he saw positives and negatives in the spring rivalry game. 

“I thought there were a lot of really good things. At times, we played some really good soccer. We defended very well against a sharp Boise State team,” Pittman said. “As far as a spring game goes, I thought it was the closest we will ever get to a full match.” 

Idaho will face NNU. The last time these two programs met was back in 2016, where the Vandals were able to pull away with a 3-1 victory. Then newcomer and now current senior Bridget Daley was able to score the first goal in the matchup with a rocket from the corner of the box. She has since played an important role in the Vandal’s offense in the years since. 

NNU is coming off a successful season, led by four-year head coach Mary Trigg, who has the program on the rise. Last fall, the program had 11 overall wins, eight conference wins and 10 shutouts, all of which are the most in program history. This lead to the first playoff appearance for the Nighthawks. 

This success led to Trigg receiving the GNAC Coach of the Year award. The team did lose their starting goalie and an all-conference defender, but they still have plenty of fire power left on the team. NNU has three returning all-conference second team players and an all-conference honorable mention. 

This is all looking to cultivate into a fast paced and intense match up to finish out the weekend.  

“We are focused on our objectives and expectations. How we need to defend and how we need to attack,” Pittman said. “We hopefully will just get better at what we are doing … and that is what the spring is about, for us to learn, develop, be able to take some chances, learn from those chances and ultimately grow in that process and get better.” 

Idaho will be playing first against Boise State with an 11 a.m. kickoff and then against NNU at3 p.m., both games Saturday April 21st in Boise, Idaho.  

Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected]