Last fall, junior forward Georgia Whitehead was wearing crimson and black across the border for the Washington State Cougars. Now, she’s a key piece for the Idaho Vandals women’s soccer attack.
Whitehead was the difference maker this past weekend, with a two-goal performance against Sacramento State, finally breaking free from her bad luck with the crossbar and ending the Vandals’ scoring drought.
“It was obviously a fun day putting two goals in. My teammates set me up really nicely. It’s something that we needed,” Whitehead said. “We knew we needed to set a standard for ourselves after a rocky preseason and start to conference, so we knew we needed to set the standard high and keep that standard up. We were in a goal drought, so putting those two goals in was important for us, and I think it’s going to keep coming now that we broke that barrier.”
Head coach Jeremy Clevenger praised Whitehead for her brace and believes it raised the team’s confidence in the process.
“Georgia had a great day, and it was a really positive thing,” Clevenger said. “We needed to get the balls in the back of the net and give the team confidence. I think it was a good boost for our group.”
Whitehead also had a positive game against Montana on Sunday, Oct. 6, posting two shots one that came mere inches from scoring.
A Coeur d’Alene native, Whitehead has been part of a revamped Vandal attack. Through her career as a Vandal, she has logged three goals and has been one of their most dangerous pieces in the attack.
With Whitehead and the newly revamped front line gaining confidence, the Vandals could look a lot different heading into the back half of conference play and the Big Sky tournament.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at arg-s[email protected].