SACRAMENTO, CALIF – Sophomore Alyssa Pease and Freshman Chloe Bell each scored a goal as Idaho (4-12-2, 4-3-2) fought hard to the end of a  2-4 loss to Sacramento State (9-9-0, 4-5-0) Friday afternoon at Hornet Field.

From the opening whistle, the Vandal offense was dominant. They took their first shot just 11 seconds in and Pease netted the first goal in the 20th minute after a slotted pass from freshman Olivia Baggerly. Idaho doubled their lead less than four minutes later when Bell found the top corner of the net, denying the keeper a chance at the ball.

“We played fantastic from the opening whistle and scored two great goals,” head coach Derek Pittman said. “It was a perfect opening 25 minutes.”

The Vandals held a 2-0 advantage over Sac State until the 43rd minute of play when Kylee Smith crossed the ball to Kristen Bridges who tapped it into the goal. Two minutes later, with 16 seconds left in the first period, the Hornets equalized the game after Bridges received a pass from Regan Smithers and was able to break in and find the back of the net.

“We had to switch some people around midgame and we were able to hold on until the last five minutes of the half when we made a couple errors under pressure that led to the two goals,” Pittman said.

At half, Sac State held a slight edge on shots leading 8-6, while Idaho led the Hornets 3-2 on shots on target.

The Hornets broke away from Idaho in the 75th minute after a Vandal miscue clearing the ball in the box. Bridges added her third goal of the match after shooting the ball from the top of the box into the right corner of the net. With 12 seconds left in regulation, Adaurie Dayak added her first goal of the night on a breakaway shot to finalize the game 4-2.

Idaho collected eight shots on the night, four of which were on goal. Bell and sophomore Gabby Leong each added two shots apiece with Bell putting two shots on goal to contribute to the offensive effort. Stewart finished with four saves in net.

“The good news is we are still tied for second in the Big Sky with a great chance to get a result on Sunday,” Pittman said. “There is still a lot to play for but in order to reach those goals we have to continue doing what makes us a good team. We will recover and be ready for Sunday.”

The Vandals continue their road trip as the battle Portland State Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in their final Big Sky Conference match.