Idaho State vs. Utah State postgame blog

Utah State 3, Idaho State 2

For a full game recap, click here.

And check this out for a full photo gallery.

Anti-Star of the game: The center referee. Or is he/she called the head referee in soccer? The point is, a great game — where Idaho State and Utah State exchanged goals back and forth like a tennis volley in the second half — came down to a bad call in Idaho State’s box.

Utah State’s Lauren Roundy drew the foul, props to her, but she didn’t have possession of the ball; and ISU’s Allyson Stainbrook was going to clear it out of the box anyway.

It was such a physical game to begin with, where both teams pounded each other for 90 minutes, that the call on Madamba felt out of place and misjudged.

Listen, we all want referees to be consistent, right? The final whistle that awarded Utah State a penalty kick in the 88th minute wasn’t consistent with the match’s previous 87 minutes.

Was their a foul? I don’t know. I’m up in the stands. I’ll take the referee's word that there was. But should he have swallowed the whistle and let the players decide the game? Absolutely.

(As an additional note: I actually believe Utah State deserved the win. The Aggies were skilled throughout the field, accumulated more quality scoring chances and had some great goals. The end result going to USU isn’t necessarily unjust. Instead, the road getting to that final score feels crooked and incomplete.)

Star of the game: As a positive for ISU, Stainbrook played brilliantly — again. The senior buried her third goal of the season (all of them have come in ISU’s previous two game). Stainbrook is a master on free kicks, too, where, I believe, she recorded five shots on goal against the Aggies.

Here’s what her coach, Allison Gibson, had to say after the game about her: “She is so determined. ... I can’t imagine a coach in this country not wanting her on their team this year. She is incredibly driven, determined. She knows the system. She knows everyone’s role within the system.

“She is just literally the total spark plug for us. Not just rah, rah, rah, she’s literally directing traffic from the frontline to the midfield to the backs, back to the midfield. And giving everything she has for every single moment. ... She’s our standard. You’ve got to look at yourself. ‘Am I playing that hard? Am I doing that well? Am I giving that much?’ She’s our benchmark player right now. Every time we reach her, she takes off again.”