CHENEY, WASH – An early score in the second half by sophomore Gabby Leong gave the University of Idaho women's soccer team the momentum they needed to collect a 1-0 shutout victory against Eastern Washington Sunday afternoon.
After playing to a scoreless first half, the Vandals held the edge on shots 10-5 going into the half.
“We take a lot of pride in our defensive organization and they way we defend together as a team,” head coach Derek Pittman said. “I believe that today we defended really well, which helped us limit the number of shots Eastern Washington was able to take.”
Leong struck during the 47th minute of play from inside the 18 on a ball set up by sophomore Kavita Battan. Leong's goal marks her third of the season moving her into the top goal scorer for the Vandals this season.
“It was a great goal for Gabby,” Pittman said. “At half we changed a few things around and we were able to come back out and get the goal early in the second half.”
The Eagle's applied the pressure with two minutes left in regulation with three shots on goal within a minute of each other; fortunately EWU could not find the back of the net thanks to sophomore goalkeeper Torell Stewart's quick hands.
“We lost some of our momentum in the last ten minutes of the game,” Pittman said. “We allowed Eastern Washington to take some shots that they shouldn't have, but we were able to keep them from equalizing the game and we became the first team to shut them out in conference play.”
The Vandals led the Eagles in shots 15-10 over the match, while the Eagles held the edge on shots on target 7-3. Stewart registered seven saves during the game, while Alyssa Pease led the Vandals in shots with four. With the victory the Vandals climb to 4-10-1 on the season and 4-1-1 in Big Sky Conference play.
The Vandals return home next weekend for their final two home games of the season. It's homecoming week for Idaho as they play host to Weber State on Friday (Oct.17) at 3 p.m. PT and welcome Idaho State for Senior Day and the annual pink game on Sunday (Oct.19) at 1 p.m.
