MOSCOW, Idaho - Idaho soccer hits the road to face the University of Washington at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Vandals won their season opener against UC Riverside. Washington earned a 1-1 draw with Oregon State at home in Seattle. This is the third meeting in program history.
ABOUT IDAHO
Annika Farley and
Georgia Whitehead scored goals for the Vandals in the 2-0 shutout win over UC Riverside at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. On the defensive side,
Paula Flores faced two shots and stopped both for her ninth career shutout.Â
Four starters return for the Vandals, including leading scorer Farley and Flores along with veteran forward
Karli Yoshida-Williams and midfielder
Sara Rodgers. Eleven letterwinners return, but Idaho brought in six transfers and nine freshmen to bolster the roster this season.Â
The Vandals have won double-digit games in each of the last four seasons and have made the Big Sky Championship match three years in a row, falling in a shootout in two of the three years while advancing to the NCAA tournament in 2023.Â
Farley, Rodgers, Yoshida-Williams and
KV Miller combined for 14 of Idaho's 35 goals last season. On the defensive side.
ABOUT WASHINGTON
The Huskies opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Oregon State at home in Husky Soccer Stadium. UW is coming off of NCAA second round appearance. UW finished 10-7-4 last season in their first year in the Big Ten.Â
Big Ten All-Tournament Goalkeeper Mia Hamant did not play in the season opener, instead Sophomore Tanner Ijams was in-goal for the Huskies Thursday. Midfielder Kelsey Branson scored the lone goal of the game for the Huskies in the season opener.Â
Head coach Nicole Van Dyke is 45-29-21 in her sixth season as the head coach for Washington.Â
PRESEASON BIG SKY COACHES POLL
As a team, the Vandals were picked third behind preseason favorite Montana and No. 2 Eastern Washington. Idaho is the only team to make the Big Sky Championship match each of the last three seasons.
PRESEASON HONORS
Idaho graduate midfielder
Annika Farley was named to the All-Big Sky Preseason team and the United Soccer Coaches Midfielder Watch List released before the season began.Â
Farley, a returning First-Team All-Big Sky honoree led Idaho with five goals and 13 points on the season after starting in every game for the Vandals.
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A team captain for 2025, she helped the Vandal defense record eight shutouts on the year while contributing on the offensive end of the field.
Junior
Izzy Thoma was named to the Preseason All-Big Sky team as a Defender. She played in all 20 games a season ago.Â
SUPER SCHEDULE
The Vandals play an outstanding schedule this season, which includes a trip to Big Ten Washington, an East Coast swing at UMass Lowell and Stonehill College and home non-conference games against Washington State, South Dakota, UTEP and Boise State.Â
FABULOUS FLORES
Vandal goalkeeper
Paula Flores was among the best in the Big Sky. She recorded eight shutouts on the season, second in the Big Sky. She allowed the just 21 goals in 20 games, for a goal-against average of 1.038, third in the Big Sky and first among full-season starters. She opened the 2025 season with a shutout against UC Riverside.Â
TRANSFERS INTO MOSCOW
Six new Vandals came via the transfer portal this winter.
Kya Parke (CS Fullerton),
Amalia Fonua (Jackson State),
Deanna Montero (Washington),
Georgia Whitehead (WSU),
Karina Da Silva (Washington) and
Calli Chiarelli (SIU Edwardsville) all transferred in ahead of the spring semester. All players were available in the spring for conditioning and spring games.Â
Whitehead scored the first goal of the season for the Vandals.Â
UP NEXT
The Vandals head to the East Coast for games against UMass Lowell (8/21) and Stonehill College (8/23). Â
FOLLOW ALONGÂ
Follow along for everything Vandal Soccer on X (@Vandal_soccer), Instagram (@vandalssoccer), and Facebook.Â
TICKETS
Tickets are available for all Vandal Soccer home matches at GoVandals.com/tickets.Â