GREELEY, Colo. – The Idaho women's soccer couldn't overcome a slow start at Northern Colorado in the regular season finale on Sunday, falling 1-0 to the Bears.

Northern Colorado (4-14-1, 2-5-1 Big Sky Conference) tallied a goal in the sixth minute when Morgan King's free kick from a few yards outside the box kissed the bottom of the crossbar on its way to the back of the net to put the Bears ahead 1-0. 

UNC took the game's early momentum leading into the goal, and hung tough throughout the remainder of the first half.

The Vandals (11-5-2, 5-2-1 BSC) cranked up the pressure in the second half, but couldn't crack UNC goalkeeper Kaya Lindberg. Idaho rattled off nine second-half shots, including four on goal. The Vandals had a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks in the second half and had a handful more set-piece opportunities off UNC's eight second-half fouls, but simply couldn't convert.

For the game, Idaho out-shot UNC 14-7, including 6-4 in shots on goal. The Vandals had a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks and were on the right side of a 17-11 total in fouls. The Vandal offense was stymied in part by five offside calls.

Sienna Gonzalez had three shots, all on goal, in 50 minutes off the bench for Idaho. Meanwhile, Hannah Alfaro-Black and Margo Schoessler each had three shots, including one shot on goal for the Vandals. 

Idaho goalkeeper Paula Flores made three saves while Lindberg collected six in the shutout effort for UNC.

The result didn't impact Idaho's standing in the upcoming Big Sky Conference tournament. The Vandals secured a first-round bye into the semifinals and at worst the No. 2 seed after a pair of wins last week. Idaho needed Weber State to take at least one point off Montana Sunday, combined with a win at UNC, to win the Big Sky regular season title. Montana, however, took care of business at Weber State with a 3-0 win to claim its second-straight regular season title, assuring Idaho the No. 2 spot regardless of the outcome in Greeley.

In their 18th game of the season, and regular season finale, the Vandals were shutout for the first time in 2024 on Sunday.

UP NEXT
The Vandals are off until the Big Sky semifinals on Nov. 8 in Missoula, Montana, where Idaho will look to defend its tournament crown as the No. 2 seed. Idaho will face the winner of the Nov. 6 quarterfinal between No. 3 Eastern Washington and No. 6 Portland State. The Vandals tied Eastern Washington 2-2 in Cheney and beat Portland State 3-0 in the Kibbie Dome during the regular season. 

On the other side of the bracket, No. 4 Northern Arizona and No. 5 Sacramento State face off in a quarterfinal match for the right to play host and top-seed Montana in the semifinals. The Big Sky Championship game is Nov. 10.