POCATELLO, Idaho – Idaho State (1-7-0, 0-1-0 BSC) put up a fight against Northern Arizona (5-3-1, 1-0-0 BSC), but lost the conference opener 3-2 at Davis Field Friday night.
Makena Bambei broke through and gave the Bengals two leads, but the Lumberjacks responded with a late goal to steal the game.
Bambei entered the game without a goal despite leading the team in shots on goal. She tallied three shots and netted ISU's two goals, the sixth and seventh of her career. It was the first four-point half by a Bengal since August of 2016.
Brooke Kortekaas led ISU in shots with four and had one on goal. Parkhurst tallied three shots, all on goal, and added an assist on Bambei's first goal.
Christina Krieger and
Delaney Johnston collected two shots each, and
Paige Smith,
Tristen Spooner,
Karlin Wurlitzer and
Natasha Camacho-Bier all had one.
Laule'a Akana-Phillips played all 90 minutes in goal, allowing three goals and making five saves.
The Lumberjacks outshot the Bengals 27-18, but had just two more shots on goal with nine. Both teams committed nine fouls and had three corners. NAU was aggressive on the attack, earning six offside calls to ISU's three.
The game was all Bengals in the beginning. Just over one minute into play,
Jenna Parkhurst found Bambei on the left side and the junior broke her scoreless streak to give Idaho State the lead.
In the 10th minute, NAU found a seam as Ana Rivera passed the ball up the left sideline to Mei-Te Coco. Coco took the ball to the top of the goal box and crossed to Ari Gonzalez who knotted up the game 1-1.
After 26 minutes of even play, ISU was able to draw NAU's goalie out of the box and get a shot off. Another Lumberjack rushed into the goal and attempted to clear the ball, but it went straight to the chest of Bambei at the top of the 18-yard box. She launched a rocket and found net to send the Bengals into the locker room with a 2-1 advantage.
The 'Jacks stormed out of the intermission and Paige Maling earned a one-on-one opportunity against
Paige Smith minutes into the second half. The Bengal defender forced Maling low and took away the cross, but the NAU forward was able to chip the ball over Akana-Phillips' head and into the top shelf to tie the game 2-2.
Both teams had several chances to take the lead over the next 35 minutes of play before Haleigh Van Allen secured the win for NAU. Ana Rivera crossed the ball and Van Allen connected from three yards out.
For NAU, Van Allen netted a goal and led all players with seven shots. Gonzalez and Maling collected the other two goals for the Lumberjacks and combined for six shots. Coco had one assist and Rivera had two.
Taryn Benham played in goal for the entire game and made five saves with two goals allowed.
Idaho State returns to Davis Field to play the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Sunday at 1 p.m.
