MOSCOW - Freshman Jill Flockhart netted her second game-winner of the weekend and sophomore goalkeeper Liz Boyden led a strong defensive charge, as Idaho clinched its best non-conference home record in school history with a 1-0 win over Weber State.
"We played well against a tough, attacking team, we adapted to a difficult formation and played our game and we held a 1-0 lead for nearly an hour," Idaho head coach Pete Showler said. "Weber State is very well-coached, they work hard, they play with a lot of energy, and our girls held fast."
The win put Idaho at 7-4 overall, with a 4-0 home record. Weber State slips to 4-5 overall. The previous best home record by a Vandal soccer team was 3-0 in 2000, while the team also went 3-0-1 in 1999.
The game was a physical affair from the first whistle, as both teams pressured hard and bumped around for the ball, similar to Friday's 2-1 win over South Dakota. Also just like in Friday's game, it was a finesse play from Flockhart that made the difference, as the freshman midfielder went face-to-face with her defender, juked, stepped to the side, and fired off an uncontested blast to the far post at the 25:15 point.
Both teams put plenty of pressure on goal, and perhaps no player responded better over the remaining 64:45 than Boyden. The Wildcats made Idaho's keeper work hard for her fourth career shutout, but she responded with seven saves, including a short-range header and three diving stops.
The Idaho back line also responded to the challenge by limiting WSU's possession in the second half and keeping the Wildcats away from the Idaho goal over an intense final 15 minutes.
"We knew this was going to be a good team and we knew that we would have to pressure from minute zero to minute 90, so everyone put in the extra effort all the way to the end," Idaho center back Christine Leathem said. "Everyone did their jobs and we came out with the win."
Idaho attacked from everywhere, as 10 different players attempted shots from many different points on the field. Freshman Megan Lopez and Chelsea Small notched four attempts each, while Flockhart fired off three and five more Idaho players had two shot attempts, each.
The game statistics reflect just how close the game was. Idaho led overall shots by a 23-16 margin and had nine shots on goal to seven for WSU. Both keepers ended up with seven saves, while WSU was also credited with a team save. The Wildcats earned three corner kicks, while Idaho had two, and the Vandals committed seven fouls compared to WSU's four.
It wasn't the statistical dominance that Idaho had enjoyed in its two previous home wins over Eastern Washington and South Dakota, but that didn't bother Showler.
"I'll take a scrappy win over a pretty loss any day," he said.
With the non-conference slate behind them, the Vandal women now shift their focus to Western Athletic Conference play and the team's goal of qualifying for the WAC tournament for the first time in school history.
"The girls have come a long way, in terms of mental approach and how we play the game, and they're playing well," Showler said. "Every single squad member is important to everything we do, and we've worked hard on and off the field to get everything right, and it's coming to fruition.
"We're looking forward to what comes ahead."
Idaho opens WAC play at Louisiana Tech on Friday, at 5 p.m. (PST) at Ruston, before heading to Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday for a 12 p.m. (PST) kickoff against New Mexico State.
