The Idaho women’s soccer team picked up theiitsr first win of the regular season, beating the Grambling State Tigers by a score of 3-1. This was also the first win for new head coach Jeremy Clevenger as a Vandal and at the D-1 level.
Idaho came into the game wanting looking to follow a game plan that consisted of a balanced attack on offense, working in both long ball passing to their speedy forwards and slow, and methodical passing once the defense adjusts and to stay calm when pressure came, moving the ball out into open space.
“We executed it,” Cleveger said. “. We really cause Grambling problems with our ball movement and decision making,” said Clevenger in a post-game interview. “I think that was the difference tonight.”
The Vandals held possession for a majority of the game, winning most of the up in the air balls in the middle, in part due to thanks tosenior defender Kelley Dopke and her 5-foot-’10-inch” height. In the 13th3th minute, an excellent string of passes from senior forward Bridget Daley, to junior forward Myah Meriano, to freshman midfielder Maddie Haas, finally ending to at the feet of junior midfielder Morgan Crosby, who hit a laser to the top right of the frame to give the Vandals an early lead.
Later in the 33rd3rd minute, redshirt junior forward Kayla Watanabe gathered a through ball and got a shot off with her left foot, where it slid past defenders and the keeper to the back of the net, doubling the Idaho lead.
In the second half, the Vandals went back to work. Senior defender Claire Johnson let off a shot from the top of the 18, where the Grambling keeper was able to keep it out by pushing it against the top bar, but Crosby was ready as the ball landed on the goal line and netted her second goal of the match.
The match would then hit a gridlock, with neither side able to get close to the net to add to the lead. That was until the 82nd 2nd minute when Grambling was awarded a penalty kick off of an apparent hand ball inside the box by an Idaho defender.
Grambling’s Alyssa Ozuna was able to capitalize and net a goal. Idaho would go on to win the match 3-1.
Idaho plays its their next match against North Dakota at the Montana Invite in Missoula, 1:30 p.m. Montana on Friday, August 31st, at 1:30 PM in Missoula, Mont .against North Dakota.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected]