Soccer Begins 2018 Season on the Road

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POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State soccer begins the regular season Friday, Aug. 24, with a match against the University of Texas at El Paso after an extended preseason that has given them a month of preparation. The team plays UTEP at 7 p.m. on the road and then travels to Albuquerque, N.M. to face the University of New Mexico Sunday.

The Bengals started the season with their first practice on July 23 and went 3-2 during preseason play in Costa Rica and at Davis Field. The Bengals scored at least one goal in every game with 12 different players finding the net. Idaho State also had 13 players earn an assist in preseason play.

The Bengals return 17 letter winners to the roster along with six starters. The team features five seniors including Esmeralda Nunez, Kenya Sherman, Meaghan Bare, Tristen Spooner and Brittany Garrett. The roster also lists eight juniors, five sophomores and nine freshmen.

The leading scorer from last year, Makena Bambei, returns to midfield for her junior season after tallying 11 points on five goals and one assist in 2017. Bambei was the team's leading scorer in the preseason with three goals and assists for nine points.

Brooke Kortekaas also rejoins the roster for her junior campaign after a three-goal season in 2017. Grinders Paige Smith and Tristen Spooner make reappearances after starting all 18 games a season ago and logging 1,457 and 1,261 minutes of play respectively.

Allison Gibson begins her 13th campaign with Idaho State. She holds an 80-123-22 overall record and brought back Stephanie Beall as her assistant coach.

Scouting UTEP
ISU has faced UTEP just twice in program history. Idaho State won the first matchup 2-1 on the road in 1999. The Miners evened the series with a 2-1 double overtime victory over the Bengals at Davis Field last season.

UTEP opened its season last week with a dominant 6-1 victory over Lubbock Christian after six Miners netted a goal. Sophomore April Pate recorded four points with a goal and two assists in the opener.

In their second game, the Miners played 103 minutes of scoreless soccer before allowing a goal to Abilene Christian. The double overtime loss brought UTEP to an even 1-1 record coming into Friday's game.

UTEP returned 18 letter winners to the roster although 14 of 23 players are underclassmen. The core of the team remains, as the top-three goal scorers from last season, Vic Bohdan, Anna Jimmerson and Lauren Crenshaw, return. Bohdan and Jimmerson, both sophomores, led the Miners in their freshmen campaigns with six goals apiece.

One of the eight returning starters, Alyssa Palacios, returns to mind the goal for her fourth-consecutive season at UTEP. The senior has logged over five thousand minutes between the posts and boasts a .838 save percentage with 18 career shutouts.

Scouting New Mexico
The Bengals head to Albuquerque looking for the program's first win over the Lobos. New Mexico has bested Idaho State in all three clashes. Their most recent game in 2016 was a high-scoring affair with New Mexico taking the 4-3 victory at Davis Field.

The Lobos began play with a game against Texas Tech last week, falling 2-0 to the Red Raiders. New Mexico recorded four shots with both shots on goal coming from senior Jennifer Munoz. The team hosts Pacific on Friday before facing Idaho State Sunday.

The team returned a handful of contributors from last year's squad that helped the Lobos to a Mountain West runner-up finish. Emily Johnson steps back into the goal box for New Mexico after playing every minute of the 2017 season. Jessie Hix returns for her junior campaign after finishing second in scoring with eight goals and being named to the All-Mountain West First Team.

Around the Big Sky
Idaho State was the only team that didn't begin regular-season play last week. Preseason favorite Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Portland State sit at the top of the standings with 1-1 records. Weber State lost its only matchup and Idaho, Montana, Montana State and Southern Utah each went winless in two games. All 10 Big Sky teams will be in action for the first time this week.

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