MOSCOW, Idaho - The Vandal soccer team will face the Portland State Vikings on November 3rd at 3:00 p.m. PST in the semifinal match of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The game will be played at host site, NAU and will be streamed on ESPN+.
ABOUT IDAHO: The Vandals earned a bye in the first round of the tournament with the No. 2 seed. Idaho sealed the No. 2 seed following an undefeated final weekend at home hosting Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
Idaho routed the Bears 4-1 on Oct. 20th featuring first career goals for three Vandals. The Bears scored their lone goal in just three minutes into the game, earning their first and only lead of the match. Jadyn Hanks earned a penalty kick for the Vandals and Margo Schoesler stepped up to equalize the match 1-1. Later in the first half, Naomi Alvarez scored the game-clinching goal with her head in the 44th minute. Karli-Yoshida Williams and Sara Rodgers also recorded their first career goals in the second half.
Idaho clinched the second seed with a dramatic 1-0 win over Northern Arizona. The first half was 50-50 with both teams registering six shots. The Vandals came out dominant in the second half possessing the ball for the majority of the time and firing off shot after shot. After two close chances by Schoesler and Yoshida-Willliams, the Vandals finally found their breakthrough in the 89th minute. Jayd Sprague headed in her third game-winning goal of the season off a corner from Alyssa Peters. Kira Witte registered an amazing save 30 seconds later, keeping NAU of the board, solidifying the win and earning her sixth shutout of the season.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings defeated Idaho State 4-1 on November 1st in the quarterfinals of th Big Sky Conference Tournament. The Vikings came from behind after trailing 1-0 in the first half. The No. 3 seed was led by goals from Abi Hoffman, CeCe Jenkins, Lucy Quinn and Sienna Higinbotham. The Vikings broke single-game program records for goals, assists, and points.
Earlier this season, the Vandals and the Vikings faced off in Portland resulting in a 2-1 loss. Senior, Alyssa Peters scored the lone goal for Idaho while Portland State's Hoffman and Higinbotham scored a goal each off of corner kicks. Despite the result, Idaho led with 16 shots to the Vikings' 12 and Kira Witte was only forced to make one save.
Since joining the Big Sky in 2014, the Vandals have not faced Portland State in the post season or in a neutral setting. The last time Idaho faced Portland State, it resulted in a 2-1 loss on PSU's turf on 10/6/23. Idaho has the edge in the series history, 10-5-0 with the first meeting in 2005.
BIG SKY HISTORY: Idaho is entering their 10th post season in the Big Sky since switching from the WAC in 2014. The Vandals are 2-4-2 overall in Big Sky post season appearances, featuring two title matches in 2015 and 2022. In the two times that Idaho has made it to the final, the match went to penalty kicks. The Vandals have not earned a conference championship title yet, but are aiming to take it this season.
Year Seed Final Game Opponent Result
2014 DNQ -- -- --
2015 #1 Championship Northern Colorado T, 1-1 (0-3 PKs)
2016 #1 Semifinals Eastern Washington L, 0-1
2017 DNQ -- -- --
2018 #2 Semifinals Northern Colorado L, 0-3
2019 DNQ -- -- --
2020 #2 Semifinals Northern Arizona L, 0-1
2021 #5 Quarterfinals Weber State L, 0-3
2022 #2 Championship Northern Arizona T, 0-0 (3-4 PKs)
