SPOKANE, Wash. – It was a beautiful day for spring soccer in Spokane and the Vandals did not disappoint on the pitch, advancing to the final of the Gonzaga 7v7 Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
“I think overall it was a very good day for us,” said head coach Derek Pittman. “In the past, we may not have taken this event as seriously as we would've liked so maybe we didn't get as much out of it. We had a purpose to go in and have at least one team, if not both, try to compete for a championship. Again, the standard here has been raised and the expectation is that whatever competition we enter, we want to win it.”
Idaho's Silver squad advanced to the elimination round after going 2-1 in group play, with wins over Montana and Eastern Washington. The Vandals would dominate Montana in the semifinals, 5-2, before falling to Eastern Washington on penalty kicks in the championship game.
“I thought overall on the weekend it was a very positive experience,” Pittman said. “The Silver team did a great job of playing together. They battled through adversity in their second game and recovered to win the group and then go all the way to the final.”
The Black team struggled early, but earned a solid 3-2 win over Gonzaga in its second game of the day.
“As far as the black team is concerned, there were some moments of really good stuff,” said Pittman. “For some of our younger players and less experienced players it was important that they get as many minutes as possible and that they get as many touches in a game-like situation as possible. There were spurts and moments of really bright spots, but with that group their biggest challenge is being consistent.”
Elexis Schlossarek led the team with four goals, while Olivia Baggerly and Kavita Battan each scored three. Torell Stewart was tremendous for the Vandals, having to play nearly every minute on the day. She made 55 saves and posted a save percentage of 82 percent while recording one shutout.
“Torell played in eight of the nine games and did an excellent job,” Pittman said. “She made some massive saves throughout the day for both teams. She showed some maturity on her part. She rose to the occasion in several moments, showing a lot of mental toughness and physical willingness to put herself out there in each and every game and sell out for every opportunity she had to make a save.
“I thought Lex did an excellent job in leading our team in shots, goals and assists. It was a goal of hers to be more of an offensive contributor and I thought she did that. I thought Kavita played very well, I thought Liv played very well. We also had some defenders do some good things. I was very pleased with Claire Johnson, I thought A.R. (Anna Rose Wiencek) did well in her role for her team. I thought Kelly Dopke, Madison Moore and Amanda Pease also did well defensively.”
Wiencek showed off her toughness on Saturday as well.
“I thought she did an excellent job in playing in her role. She took a knock in the first game, opened up a cut above her eyebrow and had to go get stitches,” said Pittman. “She missed one game but came right back in and played the rest of the day. She never complained a bit, just showed a lot of toughness, physically and mentally, that I was very, very proud of and excited to see out of her.”
The Vandals will be at home this weekend when they take on the alumni at 9 a.m. on Saturday and North Idaho College at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Sprinturf. Admission is free.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho soccer by following the team on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsSoccer, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals Women's Soccer.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.
