Vandals beat Hornets 2-0. – The Argonaut

The Idaho Vandals women's soccer team held a 1-0 lead late in the second half against Sacramento State in their first conference game and were looking for the game-winning goal they needed.

After a foul in the penalty area, the Vandals had the chance to decide the game with a penalty kick. In the 72nd minute, P1FCU Kibbie Dome midfielder Hannah Alfaro Black stepped up in complete silence and calmly scored the second goal, causing the Kibbie Dome to erupt.

The Vandals finished the final 16 minutes defeating the Hornets 2-0 and earning their first conference win. From start to finish, the Vandals dominated the game, and an early goal helped them do so.

Full-back Alyssa Peters attempted to cross the ball into the penalty area; However, this was stopped by the hand of the Hornet defender and the Vandals were awarded a free kick about 20 yards from the goal.

Hovering over the ball and closing in on the ball, Peters broke through the Hornet four-woman wall and fired a low shot into the bottom left corner that beat redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier at her near post and gave the Vandals the lead opened.

The free kick goal was Peters' first goal of 2024 and her second career goal.

“I was making those kicks and I realized I was close enough that I might as well shoot,” Peters said. “I saw a little gap; it went through the wall; I was lucky. It went in.”

After the goal, the Vandals put on a masterclass. They controlled the tempo and flow of the game and frustrated the Hornets with their tight passes and quick movements to create scoring opportunities. The Vandals outscored the Hornets 12-2 in the first half and kept the ball on the Hornets' side most of the time.

The Hornets came out of the locker room, flipped the script and began dictating the game. The team's elite defender and redshirt freshman Paula Flores made some key saves to help the Vandals weather the storm and post their second straight shutout.

The Vandals, who have struggled at times this season, looked like the championship defense of a year ago, and head coach Jeremy Clevenger is proud to see the defense starting to find its rhythm.

“We’re starting to find ourselves,” Clevenger said. Knowing how to defend each other is a process and we are starting to come together.”

A big reason for the Vandals' defensive woes this season was the first ten minutes of the second half. As of last Sunday, the Vandals had conceded a goal in the first ten minutes of nearly half of their games this season.

Flores credits the team's changing mindset as a catalyst for the two shutouts in a row.

“What has changed? I think our objective,” Flores said. “We set it up to be similar to the top five and I think we were able to dominate that? So I think that by concentrating on these small goals I achieved the goal of not allowing anything in these (first) 10 minutes. No matter if I have to stick my face in the ball, I will defend these 10 minutes religiously.”

With the win, the Vandals moved to a record of 7-3-1 (1-0) and continued their 4-0-1 home streak without a loss this year, 10-0-1 when including the streak of six unbeaten games from last year are included this season.

The loss drops Sacramento State to 2-5-3 (0-1) in conference play.

The Vandals will look to continue their winning streak when they host Portland State, 2-5-2 (0-0-1), on Sunday, September 29th at 1 p.m. A game that Peters and the Vandals expect to be a battle.

“Every year for the last few years it has gone both ways; “It was a good fight,” Peters said. It’s always a battle when we play against them and we’re looking forward to it.”

Jayden Barfuss can be reached at Arg-sports@uidaho.edu