PULLMAN, Wash. – A tough opening 30 minutes proved to be too much to overcome, as the Vandals (1-1-0) fell at Washington State (2-0-0), 3-1, on Monday night.
“WSU is a fantastic team. They have tremendous talent,” said head coach Derek Pittman. “In the first half we gave up too much space. They moved the ball really well and we didn't defend as well as we would have liked to. Again, credit to WSU. They were the better team in the first half. But I was proud of our team for fighting back. I thought we stood up for ourselves and I thought we did an excellent job in the second half.”
Kayleigh Frederick got the Vandals back to within two in the 37th minute. Clara Gomez lined up a free kick near the Cougar bench and found Frederick in the box. Frederick made no mistake and buried her first collegiate goal.
The Vandals had their chances in the second half but couldn't capitalize to cut the lead any further.
The Cougars got on the board early, scoring on a corner kick in the ninth minute. Goalkeeper Amanda Poertner made a tremendous save just prior to force the corner.
The Cougars would add a second in the 28th minute on a rocket from the top of the box, then a third off a cross in the 33rd.
The Cougars controlled the pace early on, but the Vandals responded well through the final 60 minutes. Idaho was outshot on the night 20-7.
Poertner finished the game with six saves, including a handful of impressive diving stops to keep the game in reach.
More than 1200 fans packed the Lower Soccer Field to give the Cougars a great home field advantage.
“It was a lot of fun to come here and play in this environment,” said Pittman. “The amount of fans that came out, especially all the Vandal fans that made their way over tonight. We hope everyone will come back to our place on Friday night and help us set a new attendance record when we take on New Mexico State.”
Idaho returns to the pitch on Friday afternoon when they host New Mexico State at 5 p.m. The Vandals will also be hosting a pregame Fan Fest beginning at 3:30 p.m., with free t-shirt giveaways, an inflatable bounce house and appearances by the Vandal Cheerleaders and Joe Vandal.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho soccer by following the team on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsSoccer, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals Women's Soccer.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.
