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BSU Soccer Team finishes second in Governor’s Cup
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The Boise State Soccer team hosted the Governor’s Cup at BOAS Tennis & Soccer Complex last weekend. The tournament featured three Idaho Universities: University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Boise State University as well as the University of Montana. After beating the Montana Grizzlies 2-1 Friday, the Broncos lost to Idaho State Sunday and finished second in the tournament. The ISU Bengals went on to win the Cup.
Idaho State opened the tournament with a 3-0 win against the University of Idaho Vandals. The first goal of the game came when Idaho scored on their own net14 minutes into the game. Michelle Okura made it 2-0 in the 27th assisted by Kilee Quigley. Tia Burns gave the Bengals the 3-0 lead just seconds before the end of the first half. In the second stanza Idaho State failed to score another goal on eight shots.
In Friday’s second game the Broncos faced the Montana Grizzlies. Montana started out strong and put pressure on the BSU goal for the first 15 minutes. Montana forward Lindsay Winans came close to scoring the first goal of the game in the second minute when her shot hit the post.
“Obviously the first 15 minutes weren’t great.” Said BSU head soccer coach Steve Lucas. “But they (the players) adjusted on their own. All we had to do is give them a little look. They handled it well.”
The Broncos scored on their first attack 16 minutes into the game. Junior midfielder Melanie Bohnet sent a lead pass to senior forward Kristin Hall who got around charging Montana goalkeeper Grace Harris to score.
Katie Keller added another Bronco goal in the 60 minute. Keller stole the ball from the Grizzlies and went one-on-one against Harris. The junior midfielder beat Harris with a shot to the lower left corner.
Montana cut the Broncos lead to 2-1 in the 69 minute when Winans scored on an assist by Grizzlies midfielder Mahlleace Tomsin. Winans almost tied the game with four minutes to go. She hit the post for the second time on a shot that had BSU goalie Kim Parker beat.
“I’m extremely happy with the way the game went,” said Lucas. “Every time we play them, that’s the game. They’re hard to play against; their style is tough to play against. We’re disappointed we gave up a goal because we didn’t feel like we should have. Other than that, we won against a great team and that’s exactly how those games go every time we play them.”
Lucas paired up forwards to put constant pressure on the strong Grizzlies defense. He rotated forward pairs Kristin Hall and Randi Baker, Annie Tom and Danielle Schwalbe, and Samantha Gambala and Emma Boyack.
“Their backs like to just hit big balls out,” said Lucas. “So we knew we had to pressure those guys and it was hot. We needed those forwards to run a lot and we just told them to just run until you can’t run and we’re gonna go in about 17, 18 minute intervals.”
In the first game Sunday, Montana beat Idaho 4-0. The Grizzlies dominated the entire game out-shooting UI 13-4.
In the afternoon match, the Broncos played Idaho State to determine the winner of the fourth Governor’s Cup.
In an evenly played first half the Bengals scored the lone goal of the game. Idaho State forward Tia Burns beat BSU defender Alli Tsuchida on a long ball and put the ball past charging goalkeeper Parker. Tsuchida had hurt her left hand in the game against Montana Friday while fighting for the ball.
“The ball bounced near my hand,” said Tsuchida. “I kicked the ball, but the girl kicked my hand. She got her cleats on it.”
Tsuchida had to play with a cast against ISU, but said that that did not affect her play.
“It is just there to protect it (the hand).” said Tsuchida.
The junior defender from Honolulu, Hawaii was named defensive MVP of the tournament after the final game Sunday.
The Broncos came out of the locker room pushing for the tie for the entire second half. The team created several chances but failed to put the ball in the net. The Broncos had six shots in the second stanza, but only two forced saves by ISU goalkeeper Lyndsay Gensler. The other shots sailed either high or wide.
“We’ve got to finish,” said Lucas. “I mean I’m happy with some of it, but I’m disappointed because we lost. We just basically shot them down for 45 straight minutes. We did everything we could, except score.”
Lucas liked the overall play of the team during the tournament.
“If we got five goals dropped on us or something like that, I’d be concerned,” said Lucas. “I’m happy. I thought our backs played well, our central midfield played well and I thought our forwards played well at times. They’ve got the freedom to do whatever they want to do and whatever they need to do to score. They got to start taking advantage of that and being more creative.”
Junior midfielder Erin Wofford did not play all weekend and is listed day-to-day. Wofford sparked the Broncos’ offense with two goals and an assist in their games against Northwestern Nazarene and Southern Utah
The Broncos will have two more games this week. The BSU hosts Utah Valley State Wednesday before going on a five game road trip, starting at Eastern Washington Friday. Lucas is not concerned about the tight schedule, though.
“Our regular day off is Tuesdays, so we’ll take that day off and treat it like a normal week.” said Lucas. “We train hard, so the games are gonna be just as tough as training, so our schedule will stay the same.”
The game on Wednesday will be held at Boise State Soccer Stadium. Kick-off is at 5:00 p.m.
ANDREAS KREUTZER