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POCATELLO, Idaho – Sunday afternoon at Davis Field was one for the books as the Idaho State Bengals trampled the visiting Northern Colorado Bears 6-2 for their largest margin of victory since defeating Minot State 4-0 in Pocatello on Aug. 25, 2012.
"We have outshot the majority of our opponents this year, and unfortunately the ball hasn't gone the way that we've wanted it to, and that is in the back of the net," Head Coach
Allison Gibson said. "We've been talking a lot over the last two weeks about breaking the seal…To see the seal get broken today against a team like Northern Colorado, the 2015 Big Sky Conference tournament champion, it couldn't have come at a better time. I'm so happy for this team."
Idaho State (5-9-0, 2-2-0 BSC) outshot Northern Colorado (6-5-1, 1-2-0 BSC) 23-21 with a 13-8 advantage in shots on goal, yet it was the Bears that broke the seal first. UNC's Maddie Roberts connected in the 18th minute and less than 10 minutes later UNC's Brooke Braden shot from the far right side of the field to the back left corner of the goal for the 2-0 lead.
Six minutes later, the Bengals turned on the jets and scored three goals in less than four minutes. The scoring run started when freshman
Michaela Didericksen found sophomore
Meaghan Bare for ISU's first goal at the 32:59 mark of the first half. At the 35:31 mark, sophomore
Nikolina Musto dribbled down the left side of the 18 and fired a shot to the back right corner to tie the game at 2-2. Exactly a minute and 10 seconds later, Didericksen ran onto a through ball from Musto and shot the ball to the bottom right corner of the goal. Just like that, the Bengals took a 3-2 lead.
But Idaho State's first half scoring run wasn't finished. Didericksen once again found the back of the net in the 43rd minute after she beat UNC's goalkeeper one-on-one and dribbled into the goal. The Bengals kept the Bears at bay for the remaining two minutes and headed into the break with a two-goal cushion, 4-2.
"With Michaela, I think it's just a matter of her having the confidence," Gibson said. "We worked this week with her on outrunning opponents and then coming across the face of them so she doesn't get escorted away from goal. Now she's gunning it to goal instead of looking to pass it on in that final third; she's actually taking it on her shoulders. So that's really exciting to see."
Coming out of the break, both sides were quiet for nearly 35 minutes until ISU junior
Sami Rodriquez lofted a ball over UNC's last line of defense to a streaking
Esmeralda Nunez who knocked the ball to the back right side of the goal in the 80th minute. Five minutes later, Musto struck again finishing the through ball from sophomore
Tristen Spooner to give ISU the 6-2 edge.
"Nikki wasn't a goal scorer for us last year; we've adjusted her position for us to get her closer to goal," Gibson said. "She's been working really hard on her finishing so to see her have the success is exciting."
Idaho State returns to the pitch Friday, Oct. 7 for a 4 p.m. kickoff against Portland State.
NOTES
- Idaho State's six goals are the most goals the Bengals have scored in a single game since netting seven at Southern Utah on Oct. 6, 2007.
- The Bengals' six goals ties for the second-most in ISU history.
- ISU's six total goals leads the Big Sky Conference this season for goals scored in a single game; previously the Bengals and Idaho led the conference with four total goals scored in a single game.
- Michaela Didericksen's five total first-half points ties the most points by a single player in a half in ISU history. The last time a Bengal recorded five total points in a half was Sept. 13, 2015 with Maria Sanchez recorded five points in a half at Utah State.
