After a somewhat forgettable visit to the Aloha State, which saw the Vandals tie their opening game of the trip on Tuesday August 18th against Western Michigan in a 1-1 draw. Later that week, Idaho fell to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 0-2 bringing the trip to an underwhelming close.
Despite the results, the trip provided the Vandals with an opportunity to evaluate where they stood early in the season and identify areas that needed improvement. With a competitive schedule ahead, the team knew there was little time to dwell on the past.
On the flight back home to Moscow, every player took the trip as a time to reflect and regroup for another exciting matchup at home against California State. The Vandals returned with a renewed focus and a fresh opportunity, as they prepared for another matchup at home against CSU Bakersfield. Back in familiar surroundings and in front of their home crowd, Idaho looked to use the lessons from Hawaii as motivation and come out with a stronger performance.
As soon as the first whistle blew, the Vandals offense came to life. The team had a total of nine shots on net in the opening 45 minutes, while crushing the CSU defense to a pulp. Although shots on net were prevalent, finding the back of the net against California State’s sophomore goalie Addyson Evans is easier said than done as she made four first-half saves. Every save seemed to give CSU another breath of life, but Idaho continued to push forward, looking for that one chink in the armor that could finally break the standstill.
After the first half, which saw no scoring, the Vandals didn’t take long to put the Vandals up first early in the second half. In the first five minutes of the second half, in just her first start of her career, Sophomore forward Makenna Stuart found the back of the net to take a huge 1-0 lead. While Idaho kept the pressure on offensively, CSU had no answer for the few times they had possession. As scrappy as CSU Bakersfield’s offense can be, the Vandals defense took care of business and stopped them from ever tying the game up as Idaho went on to win 1-0, boosting their overall record to 3-1-1. Throughout the game, the Roadrunners recorded only four shots on goal, while Idaho Senior Paula Flores recorded one save and achieved her 19th career shutout victory.
The Vandals had accomplished exactly what they came home to do: put the Hawaii trip behind them and get back in the win column. After a frustrating week in the Aloha State, Idaho responded with a complete performance against CSU Bakersfield, combining relentless offensive pressure with a defense that refused to bend or break. Makenna Stuart’s first career start and goal provided a huge spark that Idaho desperately needed, while Paula Flores and the Vandals defense shut the door for the remainder of the match. The 1-0 victory not only gave the Vandals a much-needed win, but also showed the team’s ability to bounce back from adversity and set the tone for what promises to be an exciting stretch of the season. With momentum now on their side, the Vandals will look to carry this hard-fought victory forward and prove that their best soccer is still yet to come.
The Idaho Vandals Soccer team’s next matchup will be against South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota on Thursday September 3rd