They absorbed pressure, fought for every inch and, when the moment came, they found the answer. Under a cool Pullman night and the glare of the stadium lights, the Idaho Vandals’ women’s soccer team came to make a statement. In the 79th minute, Tori Peters delivered it loud and clear.
Peters slipped past a tight Washington State defense to bury the game-winning goal that silenced Lower Soccer Field and gave the Vandals a 1-0 victory over the Cougars.
Peters was active all night, getting in the correct positions and threatening to put one in the back of the net from the opening kickoff. Forward Karli Yoshida-Williams found Peters with a ball over the Cougar defense. Peters ran under it and calmly guided it past the Cougar goalkeeper to give the Vandals the lead with 11 minutes left in the game.
“We work all the time in practice about getting across the goal face when the crosses are coming in, I just had to run through it and put it away,” Peters said.
After the Vandals’ goal, the Cougars went on the attack and had the chance to tie it four minutes later. A nice combination of passing led to the Cougars being in on a goal. Freshly into the game, goalkeeper Ella Martin was not going to let the Vandals walk away with anything except a win.
The Cougars were in on goal and took a shot trying to beat Martin. Her quick reflexes and unwavering nerve had Martin save the shot and gather it in her arms to keep the Vandals in front and help them close out the Cougars.
From the start of the game, the Vandals looked like they were winning as they trotted out with their new formation. They went on the attack, and their fluid attack and passing gave the Cougars fits. Transfers Calli Chiarelli and Georgia Whitehead made their presence known right away.
Chiarelli, a transfer from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, switched her position from outside back to forward when she joined the Vandals and showed no signs of difficulty.
Her lightning-quick speed and silky style of play were the forefront of the Vandals’ quick start. The Vandals, who already have a fast forward line, look to use that as their advantage in the future.
“If we keep doing that and making those behind runs and getting the ball played over the top, we’re going to outrun every single team,” Chiarelli said. “We have a fast forward line and we’re going to keep challenging those back lines to step up and chase us.”
Whitehead, a Washington State transfer, played outside midfielder for the Vandals and was ferocious on both ends, getting the Vandals into dangerous areas on the offensive end and making slide tackles on the other end.
The Vandals and Cougars were both held scoreless heading into halftime, but the Vandals looked like they were getting into gear.
The Cougars flipped the script and became the more aggressive team for the first 10-15 minutes of the second half. Getting some fresh legs back in the game helped the Vandals, and they gained control again and broke the deadlock to pay off all their hard work.
“It was [a] good challenge for us, and I want to see where we’re at against a good side,” Head Coach Jeremy Clevenger said. “We had some very strong moments, and some moments that we learned from, but ultimately we got the job done and [I’m] proud of the group and the battle.”
The Vandals as a team were sharp and showed flashes of what the team could be going forward. All three lines were in sync throughout, which led to the breakthrough by Peters and the victory.
Peters, who appeared in 20 games in her first two years in a Vandal uniform, is ready to prove herself and gain a bigger role for the Vandals in the fall.
“I’ve been putting in the time and that work, coming out and showing I deserve it,” Peters said. “I want to be playing with everybody, I want to be here, and I want to score goals.”
For Chiarelli and the other transfers, the spring is very important to show their worth and what they can bring to the Vandals. Chiarelli has enjoyed the spring and the team’s progress throughout.
“Our spring season has been really good,” Chiarelli said. “Coming into this program, the intensity and the level of play of the girls here is amazing. It’s been awesome to see everybody competing at practice and trying to get better. I love the competitiveness of the program.”
With the position change, Chiarelli is setting some personal goals for her to improve on before the ball gets rolling in the fall.
“Personally, for me, more confidence in hold up play. I’ve never actually been a forward before. So, more confidence on the ball and knowing that I can make those runs and play those balls and get on the back of crosses.”
“You’ve got to be consistent. Spokane is a good team, we got the job done today, but you got to … do it back-to-back,” Clevenger said. “We’ll recover and that should give us confidence for Saturday’s match.”