Bengals look to shake off the rust and improve upon last season following Black vs. Orange game

Unlike college football or basketball, women’s soccer doesn’t get an extended summer workout period.

So even though the Idaho State women’s soccer team got some extra practice and competition because of a trip to Europe this summer, its first exhibition game on Wednesday revealed some of the rust that had accumulated over the summer.

“That first period, it looked like it was our first (match),” said ISU head coach Dustin Downey, after the two Bengal squads tied 1-1 in their annual Orange and Black exhibition game. “I met with them at midfield and was just honest with them. I said we’ve been going a week and a half now, and that was the worst I’ve seen us play. You didn’t do anything we were working on.”

As the game evolved, however, both squads started to settle in, especially the Black team, which was the most veteran group. The Black squad overcame an early goal by Mary Za, kept the pressure on throughout the final two 30-minute periods and secured the tie on a rebound goal by freshman forward Camille Kollar.

“I was really proud of our team,” said Peyton Dion, a senior midfielder for the Black squad. “We had minimal subs, so everyone is playing 90 minutes. It’s really taxing on your body. We’ve been working really hard in preseason, so I think it was really impressive to come out and get the game finished, get the blood pumping and have every single person come out and play.”

The Bengals, who open their season with an exhibition match against Utah Valley in Orem Aug. 10, started practice July 30. Downey divided his squad virtually in half for the exhibition game, with only one substitute available.

“It’s a deep team, we could have put anybody with anybody to be honest,” said Downey, whose team finished sixth in the Big Sky Conference last year and became the first ISU team to qualify for the conference postseason tournament since 2014. “We went with the Black team as the more veteran, the (Orange) was younger and had more sophomores and freshmen on the team.”

Za, who was the third leading scorer on the team last year with eight points and four goals, broke the scoring drought in the second period, playing off a beautiful run by defender Samantha Steele.

“I saw an opportunity, so I made the run and I called for the ball,” said Za, a junior midfielder from Virginia. “Samantha played a beautiful ball and I just tapped it into the net.”

The Black squad spent the rest of the game building momentum before finally breaking through with the tying goal by Kollar. The Black squad outshot their counterparts 18-8 and had three corner kicks to the Orange team’s one.

“I think it was coming the whole time,” Dion said of the tying goal. “We got off to a rough first period, just kind of settling into the game. In the second and third period, we really settled in and found our footing. Once we scored that goal, we were on a roll.”

Downey, whose team finished 4-13-2 overall and 2-4-2 in conference play a year ago, is excited by the depth he’s started to build in his third year at the ISU helm.

“I think our competitiveness was good. I think our fitness level — we had one sub, so you saw two teams play pretty much for 90 minutes, which is great,” he said. “I think that shows the depth of our team. Now that I’ve been here for three years, you’re starting to see a little bit more depth, which is fantastic.”

In addition to Za, the Bengals return forward Saydree Bell, a Pocatello native who finished second in scoring last year with 12 points (five goals), Marta Nieto and Rachel Fullmer, who tied for fourth in scoring with seven points, and Isabella Winton, who had five points at midfield, but who Downey is experimenting with at fullback this season.

Lydia Keller, a sophomore from Idaho Falls who played five games last year, returns at goalie, and she is joined by redshirt freshman Trinity Hale and true freshman Sarah Maxfield as keepers.

“I think we just need to fine tune some things and learn how to play with different people,” said Za about what the Bengals need to do between now and their first game. “And really implement our style of play, which is quick passes, passes to feet, finding opportunities forward and just playing hard for 90 minutes.”