FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Vandal soccer team will face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on November 5th at 12:00 p.m. PST in the championship 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 punched their ticket to their second-straight Big Sky Championship match after defeating Portland State 1-0 in Flagstaff on Friday afternoon. Senior, Hannah Alfaro scored the lone goal for the Vandals.

Alfaro sealed the win for the Vandals with her fifth goal of the season and eighth of her career. The penalty kick was her first attempt in her career. Alfaro is now tied for first on the team with 12 points with Jadyn Hanks.

Kira Witte kept the Vikings out of the net, recording two saves and registering her seventh shutout of the season and 20th of her career. Witte has grabbed 60 saves this season and boasts 0.82 goals against average.

This season, the Vandals have outscored their opponents 19-8 in the second half and have won six of nine matches after entering half tied 0-0. The Vandals have paved their way to the Big Sky championship match for the third time in program history.

ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The host school defeated No. 1 seed Montana on Friday night, 1-0. The Lumberjacks and the Vandals will face off once again in the championship match. 

NAU's lone goal came from Allison Veloz in the 22nd minute as she slid to beat Montana's keeper, poking the ball past her gloves. 

In the last game of the regular season, the Vandals defeated NAU 1-0 in a dramatic last-minute goal from Jayd Sprague. Last season, the Vandals and the Lumberjacks faced off in the championship match, ending regular time and overtime 0-0. The advancing team was decided through PKs and NAU earned the crown and moved on to the NCAA tournament. 

Since joining the Big Sky in 2014, the Vandals have faced Northern Arizona twice in the Big Sky postseason. The first meeting was in 2020 in the semifinal game where the Lumberjacks won 1-0. The last time as mentioned before was during the 2022 season. 

BIG SKY HISTORY: Idaho has entered their 10th post season in the Big Sky since switching from the WAC in 2014. The Vandals are 3-4-2 overall in Big Sky post season appearances, featuring three title matches in 2015, 2022 and 2023. In the first 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 St.                      L, 0-3
2022         #2             Championship       Northern Arizona           T, 0-0 (3-4 PKs)
2023         #2             Championship       Northern Arizona           --