Soccer is a game: one ball, two goals and 22 players chasing the same dream they’ve had since childhood. Thursday night brought the Idaho Vandals and Boise State University Broncos together with something bigger at stake: state pride and the pure love of a game that started on playground fields and now commanded the attention of roaring fans at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
After 90 minutes, the scoreboard read Idaho 1, Boise State 1. In a game filled with twists and turns, with goals scored within two minutes and three seconds of each other, the Vandals and Broncos shared the points and the pride of the Gem State while finishing non-conference play with momentum.
Vandals head coach Jeremy Clevenger was impressed with his team’s fight in finishing non-conference against a quality opponent.
“Rivalry games are going to have a lot of energy, a lot of physicality, and that’s what this was,” Clevenger said. “I thought the first half was great. We dominated the first half and were unfortunate not to get a goal there. Glad we got the first goal; it’s a good tie. They battled a tough team.”
As the game drew near, the Vandals headed back to their locker room after warmups, but graduate midfielder Annika Farley stayed out with the corner kick takers to practice her headers, a routine she performs before every game. All that practice struck gold when the whistle blew.
“I usually do that before every game,” Farley said. “Today, when we were practicing right before the game, they were pretty spot on. So I was feeling pretty confident going into today and really excited to take advantage.”
The Vandals and Broncos emerged from their halftime locker rooms deadlocked at 0-0, with both teams eager to find the scoresheet early in the second half.
After an excellent first half where Idaho controlled the game with sharp combinations and dictated tempo while limiting the Broncos’ opportunities, the Vandals carried momentum into the second half.
Two minutes in, the Vandals earned a corner kick. Sophomore defender Bella Gissendanner trotted to the corner flag and delivered an inch-perfect cross that found Farley’s head. In almost the exact spot where she’d been scoring headers during warmups, Farley rose up and powered her shot into the top right corner to give Idaho the lead, a lead that lasted just two minutes.
For Farley, who started the season hot with two goals before hitting a drought, breaking through and scoring felt great.
“It felt really good to finally break through,” Farley said. “I felt like there have been a lot of chances, especially in the [Grand Canyon University] game where there was one at the very end that I should have had. Finally getting a goal after missing a penalty kick a couple games ago feels good. And I feel like now they’ll start to roll again.”
In the 49th minute, the Broncos responded. After another promising Vandal opportunity, the ball ended up in the hands of freshman goalkeeper Ava De Leest, who launched it forward past midfield. After the Broncos won a couple of headers, the ball fell to sophomore midfielder Jillian Anderson, who fired a rocket that beat redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Paula Flores to the top corner, tying the game.
The second half became more of a back-and-forth battle but, like the first half, the Vandals’ backline remained solid, especially junior center back Izzy Thoma.In her three-year Vandal career, Thoma has played three different positions before finding her home at center back, where she’s become the foundation of Idaho’s defense.
“My first two years, I played this is my third position,” Thoma said. “My freshman year I was playing midfield, and last year I was at outside back. It’s been fun to really find my role on the team. I feel like center back is a position where I can control the field well, communicate with my teammates and step up to be the leader our team needs, especially with so many new players.”
Clevenger has been impressed with Thoma development at center back.
“She is our rock, our engine back there,” Clevenger said. “She’s our quarterback back there organizing everyone. When she’s called upon in big situations, she always shows up. She deserves all the credit.”
The Vandals have recorded five shutouts this season and will look to continue that defensive success as they begin conference play and push for another Big Sky championship run.
“We want to see the continued defensive effort we had,” Clevenger said. “I know we didn’t get a shutout tonight, but we did a great job back there. We have five shutouts this season. It’s about focusing on goal scoring and putting balls in the net. When we bring the energy and effort, when we win first and second balls, that’s what I want, and we need to continue creating those moments.”
The Vandals will kick off conference play against another in-state rival, traveling to Pocatello to face the Idaho State University Bengals on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].