POCATELLO, Idaho -- The Northern Arizona soccer team got on the scoreboard first Sunday but allowed two Idaho State goals in the span of a minute and a half en route to a 2-1 loss in the first conference match of the season.
The Lumberjacks’ four-match unbeaten streak was snapped with the loss, as NAU fell to 4-6-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky play.
“I thought Idaho State was better than us in the first half, and we kind of woke them up after we scored our goal,” said head coach Andre Luciano. “They did a good job of finding a weakness in our defense and taking advantage of it twice. The second half was a flat-out even game, and we thought we had chances to tie the game whether it was a wide (shot), barely nicking the post or their keeper making a save. I’m disappointed not to get a point out of this, but there’s some room for growth for us after this game.”
Redshirt freshman Malia Tano started the game’s scoring in the 24th minute, notching her team-best-tying second goal of the season. Tano converted on freshman Demi Schmieder’s cross, as her shot hit the far goalpost and ricocheted into the net to give the Lumberjacks an early 1-0 lead.
The Bengals would respond quickly, though, tallying both the game-tying and game-winning goals at the 31:24 and 33:00 marks. First, Katie Flynn buried a shot past NAU junior Lauren Weaver for the equalizer. Just over a minute and a half later, Flynn would once again play a role, as her pass was received by Amanda Ellsworth, who bended it into the back of the net.
Idaho State would maintain its 2-1 advantage the rest of the game, but not without a push from NAU in the final minutes. In the 87th minute, junior Shawnee Morgan narrowly missed scoring the tying goal when her shot skipped wide of the net by a foot. Less than a minute later, senior Georgia Foltz would have a shot at the equalizer, but her attempt sailed high of the goal.
The two teams finished even in shots at 14 apiece, although the Lumberjacks placed eight shots on goal as compared to six for the Bengals. Idaho State held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. In addition to recording her team-leading fourth assist on Tano’s goal, Schmieder paced the Lumberjacks with four shots, three of which were on net. Tano, Morgan and Foltz all contributed three shots each. Weaver made four saves in goal.
The Lumberjacks return home next weekend for matches against Portland State on Friday night and Sacramento State on Sunday.
“We have to come out on Friday and figure out how to get three points and move forward,” Luciano said. “The key is to defend our home field. Taking away points on the road is a good thing, but we’re going to have to come out huge against Portland State on Friday night.”
