CHENEY, Wash. – They fought and clawed their way back into things to force overtime, but the Vandals (4-4-2, 1-1-0) eventually ran out of gas, losing to Eastern Washington (8-1-1, 2-0-0), 2-1, on Sunday.
 
"First off, I feel like this was a great match between two of the top teams in the Big Sky," said head coach Derek Pittman.  "Credit to Eastern, they're playing with a lot of confidence right now.  They caused us a lot of problems and ultimately got the winner that finished us off.
 
"But I'm really proud of our players in their responses in the second half.  We were a little flat and we lacked the intensity that we needed in the first half and that's why we found ourselves down.  But we picked ourselves up in the second half and I thought we did an excellent job of putting them under a lot of pressure and getting the equalizer."
 
The Vandals conceded the penalty kick with less than one minute remaining in the overtime period.  EWU's Chloe Williams cut in from the right side and got taken out, resulting in the penalty.  Williams also stepped up an buried the penalty kick, giving EWU the win.
 
Torell Stewart came up huge in the overtime period, making three big saves in under one minute.  The first came on a close shot from the Eagles, with Stewart managing to deflect it just enough to force a corner.  She came off her line to close down the angle and make another big save on the second opportunity after the corner, then came up huge again in the air on the following service.
 
Idaho tied the game at one in the 86^th minute on an Elexis Schlossarek penalty kick.  Claire Johnson fired a shot at the top of the box and the EWU defender got caught with her hands up, yielding the penalty.
 
Delaney Romero broke the standstill in the 38^th minute, turning her defender and placing her shot just inside the far post.
 
Idaho took control of the possession midway through the second half, leading to a handful of chances in a short period.  Summer Kaneshiro sent in the corner, finding Emma Eddy.  Eddy redirected the cross toward the middle, eventually finding the feet of Olivia Baggerly.  Baggerly gathered and fired, but her shot went just high.
 
After another corner, the Vandals earned a free kick just outside the corner of the box.  Baggerly sent in a great ball, but the Eagle defense handled it well to end the barrage.
 
The loss is Idaho's first in Big Sky play since 2014, ending an unbeaten streak of 11 games.
 
Idaho returns home to take on Northern Colorado on Friday.  Check back with GoVandals.com later this week for more information.
 
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.