Box Score PDFPOCATELLO, Idaho – Davis Field was alive with excitement Sunday afternoon as the Idaho State soccer team battled Boise State for a 1-1 double-overtime draw. With the tie, the Bengals move to 1-4-1 heading into their last three nonconference matches of the season.
"It's better than a loss," Assistant Coach
Chris Cogan said. "We're trying to solve problems, trying to progress and trying to move forward. This is a step in the right direction, which is what we want. We don't want to move backwards; we want to continue to progress and allow the flow of the current to take us where we want to go."
The first half started slowly as neither team was able to gain any advantage. The first goal came in the 22nd minute after junior forward Kayla Tucker crossed to fellow junior forward Baylee Blaser who knocked one in from the top of the box past ISU goalkeeper
Sheridan Hapsic. The Bengals were unable to counter in the first, and headed into halftime trailing the Broncos 1-0.
"We were struggling to connect in the midfield like we wanted to, like we are really capable of doing," said Cogan. "We became more direct in the second half and told the team, if you're central, send it wide. If you're wide, send it central. We just tried to put [Boise State] under and make them face their own goal a little bit."
Idaho State responded and turned on the motor in the second half, showing more aggression and composure than the first. The Bengals were able to fire off 12 second-half shots, including four on goal, but weren't able to connect.
Then, in the 73rd minute, sophomore forward
Maria Sanchez took a hard foul just inside the top left section of the penalty box. Boise State was whistled for the foul, and Sanchez lined up for the penalty kick. With a few shuffles of her feet and then a quick acceleration, Sanchez knocked the PK to the far right of the goal, just past the outstretched gloves of Boise State sophomore goalkeeper Janelle Flores.
A few last ditch efforts by both teams proved futile, and after 90 minutes of play the match was tied at 1-1 sending it to the first overtime.
In the first OT, ISU registered two shots to BSU's three, and in the second OT, BSU outshot the Bengals once more, 4-1. Neither team was able to break free for the game-winning goal, resulting in a tie.
Hapsic, who was in goal for the entire 110 minutes of the match, came up big for ISU; she faced 27 shots and made a career-high 13 saves.
"Sheridan was through the roof today," Cogan said. "I've been working with her on staying home a little bit because she is so reactive; she's so good at predicting where the shots are going, which she demonstrated today. Of her 13 saves, I bet at least seven of them were big-time goal-line saves."
The Bengals head out on the road for their next three matches and will face Utah Valley University Thursday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Clyde Field in Orem, Utah.
This Is Our Time
