CALDWELL, Idaho – Two goals in the first five minutes of the match propelled the College of Idaho to a key 3-1 Cascade Conference victory over Warner Pacific at Simplot Stadium.
The win kept the Lady Yotes (4-3-2, 1-0-1 CCC) unbeaten in league play heading into a Saturday's 1 p.m. showdown with defending NAIA national champion and top-ranked Concordia.
Converting their first two shot attempts, C of I built a lead they would not relinquish. In the second minute, Bri Blair played a ball up the right sideline to Jamiece Yizar who beat Knights (5-6-1, 2-1) defender Elle Nelson to the end line. Yizar crossed a ball in front of the goal mouth, with Katelyn Benavidez one-timing a shot into the net.
Three minutes later, freshman Hailey Woods played a long cross to the left corner of the box, finding the foot of Allie Boyd, who flicked the feed into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.
C of I had two quality chances in the period – but WP keeper Allie Holterman made two quality stops – one on a Benavidez drive in the 29th minute, and a leaping save of a Sabrina Mallett 20-yard shot in the 42nd minute.
The Knights would not go away, cutting the lead in half less than a minute into the second stanza, as Ashley Valencia pounced on a clearance attempted by the Yotes and slotted home the goal. WP looked to have scored the equalizer in the 87th minute – but Cristal Ruvalcaba was five yards offsides – and the goal was nullified.
The Yotes scored an insurance goal late in the 89th minute, as Jessica Whitehead played a great through-ball to Yizar who beat Holterman with a low drive to the right corner of the net.
C of I held an 18-8 edge in total shots and an 11-4 edge in corner kicks. Brittany Houghton made four saves in the victory, with the Yotes adding a team save in the 17th minute when Katy Radko cleared a Carly Turner shot from the goal line. Holterman had four saves in the loss, including a pretty diving stop of a Summer Jackson left-footed effort in the second half.
