RENO, Nev. - University of Idaho senior Melissa Canite knocked in a loose ball with 1:23 left to play and the Vandal women's soccer team took a 1-0 victory at Nevada on Friday night for the team's sixth-straight win.
Sophomore Lauren Layton sent in a volley that the diminutive Canite found in the six-yard "danger area" and put away for her second game-winner of the year at 88:37. The goal lifted Idaho to 13-3-0 overall and 4-0 in Western Athletic Conference play, while Nevada slipped to 6-7-2 overall and 1-3 in the WAC.
"Boy, was it a battle," Idaho head coach Pete Showler said. "We had a lot of pressure in the last 10 mintues and the ball was spending a lot of time in and around the box. The ball dropped down about eight or 10 yards out and Mel stepped up and stroked it into the corner of the goal."
The goal capped off a back-and-forth battle with many close calls. Idaho outshot Nevada by a 13-12 margin overall and 7-6 in shots on goal. All seven of Idaho's on-target shots came in the second half, while the Vandals held Nevada to just two after the break.
Junior goalkeeper Liz Boyden tied two school records on the night, as her six-save shutout was her sixth of the season and the 11th in her career. She tied Anna Sandman's single-season record of six blanks from 2007, as well as the career shutouts record, which is also shared by Jenell Miller and Tricia Haynes.
"Liz pulled off two really good saves herself to keep us in the game," Showler said. "She and the defense stood up big and they did what they needed to do. As a team, we adjusted well and we stepped up to the challenge of closing space way quicker in the second half, and it paid off."
The victory added another notch to Idaho's school-record total for the year, and the win ties the team record for single-season conference wins. The 2001 squad went 4-2-2 in the Big West Conference. Friday's win was Idaho's first over Nevada since joining the WAC.
Sophomore Chelsea Small led all players with seven total shots, while freshman Christina Boddie had three, Canite had two and senior Jenn Hull had one. Layton's assist was her seventh of the season and 11th of her career.
In addition to holding the 13-12 edge in shots, Idaho also held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Vandals were whistled for six fouls, while Nevada had seven. Each team was called offsides once.
After keeping the positive momentum on its side, Idaho will travel to Logan, Utah, for a meeting of the WAC's last two unbeaten teams. Idaho will face off with Utah State, which is 3-0-1 in the league after playing Boise State to a 0-0 draw on Friday.
"We knew both games this weekend were going to be battles," Showler said. "Today was, and I won't expect anything differently on Sunday. Utah State is a very good soccer team and I expect it to be a tough, tough match."
Sunday's game will kick off at 11 a.m. (PT).
