MOSCOW, Idaho - Sophomore Chelsea Small's breakaway goal late in the first half propelled the University of Idaho women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Gonzaga and helped the Vandals set a school record for consecutive wins.

Junior goalkeeper Liz Boyden, who made five saves to earn her second shutout of the year, snatched up a loose ball in the box and boomed it across the field to spring Small, who outran the Gonzaga back line and tapped it in for the game-winner.

"It wasn't pretty," Idaho head coach Pete Showler said. "But we battled hard today. They came at us, but we defended it well."

With the win, Idaho moves to 6-2-0, while Gonzaga slips to 3-5-1. The Vandals are off to their best start in school history and have won five consecutive games for the first time in single-season school history.

As both teams battled to control the tempo and the pace, it was a close contest from start to finish and had the home-opener crowd of 372 on its feet for most of the game.

"I'm greatly appreciative of the crowd and I'm very proud of what the girls did," Showler said. "Gonzaga is a good side and that was a tough game."

Gonzaga out-shot Idaho by a 22-8 overall margin, but the key was in on-target shots, where it was locked at 5-5. GU also had four corners to Idaho's two and the Vandals were whistled for 10 fouls, compared to seven for the Zags.

Despite a couple close calls, including a GU shot that careened off the post in the second half, the Vandal defense held steady, especially over the final minutes when Gonzaga threw everything forward.

"They put us under a lot of pressure and we withstood it," Showler said.

The goal for Small puts her at 13 for her career and moves her into a tie for third all-time at Idaho. It was also her fourth career game-winning goal, which ties her for second in school history. The assist was the first of Boyden's career, but more than that, it was the first assist by a goalkeeper in Idaho soccer history.

The game was Idaho's first home contest of the season after starting off with its first seven in a row on the road, so naturally, the Vandal women will pack it up again on Tuesday for a day trip to Spokane, Wash., where they will face Eastern Washington at Joe Albi Stadium at 7 p.m.