MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho women's soccer team picked up its 10th win of the season and improved to 6-0-1 at home on Friday night with a 2-0 victory over Weber State in Big Sky action.
The Vandals (10-4-2, 4-1-1 Big Sky) jumped on the board in the third minute, capitalizing on the game's first corner kick when
Sara Rodgers headed home a service from
Alyssa Peters. It was Rodgers' second goal of the season and Peters' conference-leading 10th assist. Peters, who broke the Big Sky Conference career assist record on Oct. 13, notched her 29th career assist on the play.
With 10 assists this year, Peters moved into a tie for second (Emily Nelson, 2000) in Idaho single-season history, three behind Clara Gomez's program-record of 13 (2015).
Idaho controlled the game throughout most of the first half, and eventually added to its lead in the 37th minute when
Sienna Gonzales slotted a through ball behind the Weber State (2-19-5, 1-3-1 Big Sky) defense for
Karli Yoshida-Williams, who beat Weber State goalkeeper Hadley Harris to the ball by a half-step and scored her third goal of the season.
The Vandals out-shot the Wildcats 10-4 in the first half and held a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks at the break. For the game, Idaho owned an 18-9 advantage in shots, a 6-5 edge in shots on goal, and took eight of the game's nine corner kicks.
Vandal goalkeeper
Paula Flores recorded five saves and logged her sixth shutout of the season, which is tied for the best in the Big Sky. Those six shutouts also move the redshirt freshman into a tie for ninth in program history.
The win secures Idaho's eighth-ever, and fourth consecutive 10-plus win season. Idaho also tied the program record for home win percentage with the victory, matching the 2018 squad's 6-0-1 record on home turf. The Vandals will have a chance to break that record in their home finale on Sunday against Idaho State.
With the victory, the Vandals move atop the Big Sky Conference standings at 4-1-1 in league play with two games remaining. The Vandals need one more win to secure a first-round bye into the semifinals of the upcoming Big Sky tournament, but it's Montana, which sits two points behind the Vandals with three conference games remaining, that controls its own destiny for an outright Big Sky regular-season championship.
Up Next
Idaho will play its last home game of the season on Sunday, Oct. 20, against in-state rival Idaho State at 1 p.m. in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. The Bengals enter Sunday's contest with a 1-3-1 conference record, but ISU goalkeeper Trinity Hale has been one of the best shot-stoppers in the league, ranking second in the Big Sky in saves and sharing the league-lead in shutouts with Flores. Idaho will recognize its seniors in a Senior Day ceremony following the game.
