When the lights come on and the pressure is at its highest, the Idaho Vandals women’s soccer team and redshirt junior Naomi Alvarez feel right at home.
With the game scoreless and their season on the line, the Vandals pushed forward toward Portland State’s goal. In the 77th minute, Alvarez, who had been all over the field, won the ball outside the Vandals’ 18-yard box and did the rest; she fired off a shot destined for magic.
The ball soared through the cold, wet air at South Field. By the time the Viking keeper looked up, it had floated not only over her head but into the bottom corner, sending the Vandals to a 1-0 victory and advancing them to the Big Sky semifinals.
The moment was a carbon copy of Alvarez’s heroics from two years ago, when she scored the game-winning goal in the Big Sky championship game against Northern Arizona to give the Vandals their first title.
Leading into the tournament, the Vandals had dropped points in their last two games and finished as the fifth seed in the Big Sky. Despite that, they attacked the week of practice with a mission to compete for a championship, starting with Portland State.
“We just have to bounce back. We just have to take everything that happened in this game and really throw it away, forget about it, and focus on what’s in front of us,” Alvarez said after the Vandals’ 3-0 loss to Northern Arizona. “It’s a must-win game, so we’re going to work super hard this week at practice and really be focused on everything to beat Portland State.”
While Alvarez stole the show with her goal, the Vandals’ back line was the true star.
The team had expressed frustration after their past couple of games about their defending, having given up five goals in their last two matches and surrendering a late lead against Northern Colorado.
Under head coach Jeremy Clevenger, great defense is the standard, and the ability to defend both individually and collectively is the secret to success.
After two games of struggles, the back line took care of business from the opening whistle. the Vandals allowed 12 Viking shots however only three of those were on goal. Junior defender Izzy Thoma was the rock for the Vandals all day, using positioning, soccer IQ, and instincts to keep the Vikings from threatening the goal. Junior Amalia Fonua, who has started the last few games for the injured Bella Gissendanner, showed her ability to stretch the field going forward and her 1-v-1 defending when called upon.
Freshman Miranda Goldner has started all 18 games this season and has been an exciting player for the Vandals. Her ferocious and aggressive defending style was on display as she brilliantly manned her sideline and forced the Vikings away from her side.
“She’s been a rock back there,” Clevenger said leading up to the tournament. “I give her even more credit because I’m very cautious about putting freshmen back there. She’s been amazing.”
The Vandals started to control the game more in the second half, their fluid passing and movement beginning to wear on the Vikings. They had been close to scoring several times before Alvarez put them on top.
After the goal, the Vandals did what they do best: defend. They used their talented back line, experienced roster and redshirt goalkeeper Paula Flores to get across the finish line and advance to their fourth straight semifinal appearance.
The Vandals will take on no. 1 seed and host Montana Grizzlies on Friday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m.
The Vandals have battled all season, and those tight games and long mornings on the practice field come down to one game to reach another Big Sky championship.
“Every game has been pretty close, you know,” Clevenger said. “We’ve had some things go our way, and we’ve had some things not go our way. Overall, being in those moments, competing when it comes down to crunch time, it really helps us.”
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].