Bengals set to welcome Vandals to Pocatello

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

Idaho State emerged drenched, soaked and bruised, but the Bengals were 1-0. It all felt worth it.

A day removed from escaping Davis Field with a 2-1 overtime victory over Boise State, ISU hosts the Idaho Vandals today at noon.

Friday afternoon, the Bengals and Broncos began just as the copious amounts of rain started to fizzle out, but the storm that saturated the greater Pocatello-Chubbuck area with 2.5 to 4 inches of moisture left Davis Field flooded.

Both squads slogged their way through the muck, and the Big Sky preseason co-favorites eventually outlasted the physical Broncos in extra time after Amanda Ellsworth banged home her seventh game-winning goal as a Bengal and the 17th overall goal of her career.

“It felt good,” Ellsworth said. “It felt like I was getting back on the bicycle (and) riding again.”

After exhibition contests against former alumni, a junior college club team from Salt Lake Community College and the College of Idaho, Boise State provided ISU its first real test of the season.

In some spots, the Bengals excelled.

There was perseverance. ISU fought through a 55-minute weather delay. Junior Madeline Gochnour curled in as pretty of a goal as possible from 30 yards out, but Boise State quickly erased any momentum with a goal of its own.

There were heroes, too. The two goal scorers, of course. But give some credit to Zaessja Madamba. Off the bench, the 5-foot-4 freshman was the one who grabbed the throw-in from the sideline and passed it back into the box where Ellsworth did the rest.

And in a game where Boise State left with an 18-7 shot advantage, senior defender Allyson Stainbrook and sophomore goalkeeper Sheridan Hapsic both did just enough to fend off the Broncos’ attack.

But as good individually as Stainbrook and Hapsic were, BSU exposed some communication and execution problems between the Bengals backline and midfield.

“Our midfield struggled tremendously in the first half and parts of the second half,” Gibson said.

Gibson did, however, approve of how her players adjusted as the match progressed.

“Overall, it was just the organization of our defensive line and the pressure in front of them,” Gibson said. “When it’s not good, they have to drop. When it’s good, they have to step, and they were kind of off on their timing a little bit.”

So there are some kinks in the system to still work out. Idaho provides the next opportunity.

The Vandals arrive in Pocatello off a 3-0 loss to Weber State in Ogden Friday. The Wildcats scattered 27 shots and held Idaho to two shots on goal.

“We knew we would take some lumps and bumps early on, playing some tough games and we found that out today,” said Idaho head coach Pete Showler in an Idaho Athletic Media Relations release. “We will learn from our mistakes and move on.”

The Vandals, picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll, started six freshmen.

ISU assistant Stephanie Beall was an assistant at Idaho for two years before coming to Pocatello in 2010. Gibson says they will lean on her knowledge of the Vandals’ system.

“We’ll rely heavily on her to kind of give us a bit of a scouting report,” Gibson said. “... They always play a very possession-oriented game. (Showler is) another English coach, so it’s kind of that English style of soccer that we can always anticipate.”

Notes: Idaho leads the all-times series with ISU with six wins, five losses and three ties. ... Under Gibson, the Bengals are 3-4 versus the Vandals. ... The last time Bengal soccer beat both the Broncos and Vandals in the same season was 2007.