The Idaho Vandals soccer team made the trip to Ogden, Utah, to face the Weber State Wildcats in search of their first victory of the season. However, after falling behind early and failing to find any rhythm, the Vandals dropped to the Wildcats 3-1, suffering their first conference loss of the season.
After falling behind 3-0, the Vandals looked for any bright spot and found an opportunity with a corner kick. In the 67th minute, sophomore defender Bella Gissendanner stepped up to the corner flag and delivered a back-post cross that junior midfielder Sara Rodgers headed into the bottom corner, giving the Vandals their first Big Sky goal of the season and Rodgers her second goal overall.
Over the past few games, the Vandals have struggled to create and convert scoring chances. Against a team that has been a scoring machine, especially at home, it was imperative for Idaho to get off to a hot start and maintain that intensity for the full 90 minutes.
The exact opposite happened. From the opening kick, the Wildcats were the better team, using fluid passing and relentless pressure to control the match. A corner kick of their own gave Weber State the opportunity to open the scoring.
In the 15th, minute the Wildcats played the corner short and passed the ball around the Vandals’ 18-yard box until they found senior midfielder Brynlee Meyerhoffer. After some excellent footwork, Meyerhoffer worked herself into space and slotted her shot past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Paula Flores to give Weber the early lead.
The Vandals tried to respond but managed just one shot in the first half, and their struggles continued as the Wildcats took their one-goal advantage into the break.
Weber State came out in the second half looking for insurance, and after a goalkeeping mistake, they found their second goal.
In the 49th minute, the Wildcats worked the ball around and found space for a shot. The attempt was fired directly at Flores, but she was unable to control the ball. It shot free and rolled directly into the path of senior midfielder Tenzi Knowles, who tapped in the easy goal to double the Wildcats’ lead.
The Wildcats put the game away eight minutes later with an outstanding strike. In the 57th minute, Weber State drove toward the goal with excellent passing that found senior forward Sayler Schlosser. Schlosser turned, got the ball onto her right foot, and rocketed a shot past Flores into the top-left corner to put the Wildcats up 3-0.
The Vandals refused to give up and continued to fight, finally beginning to string passes together, which led to their 67th-minute goal by Rodgers. Despite her early mistake, Flores was excellent for the Vandals in net, posting eight saves, seven of them in the second half, to keep Idaho’s slim hopes alive.
The Vandals have not won a game since their Sept 4 victory over University of Texas, El Paso and have scored just two goals during that span, leaving them searching for answers to their goal-scoring woes.
Idaho will need to regroup quickly as they head back on the road Thursday, Oct 2, to take on defending Big Sky champions California State University, Sacramento in a rematch of last year’s conference championship game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Sacramento, California.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].