POCATELLO − The Idaho State women's soccer team was 15 minutes away from its first win at Davis Field in 2026.

What happened in those last minutes instead was a two-goal lead surrendered and a 3-3 tie with Mountain West opponent UNLV on Thursday, Aug. 27.

The Bengals, on the back of three first-half goals, were in command at 3-1 until two penalty kicks were called within 10 minutes of each other.

The first came in the 75th minute, when redshirt senior Kaitlin Taylor stepped up and sent fifth-year goalkeeper Aliya Garrett the wrong way to pull the Rebels within one.

Ten minutes later, UNLV was given another spot kick.

The Rebels' slick passing found redshirt junior Macee Makenna, who collided with a Bengal defender, and the referee pointed to the spot for the second time.

This time it was junior midfielder Summer Pyles, who powered her shot into the roof of the net to tie the game.

Frustration mounted as the final whistle blew and the Bengals moved to 1-1-2.

"Two penalty kicks in one half's pretty unheard of. I'm pretty disappointed in the officials, to be honest," ISU head coach Dustin Downey said. "From what we saw on the second penalty kick, it was not a penalty kick. The idea of video review is that we can go back and look at it, and I don't know what he saw that we didn't."

Thursday made a pattern of it. Idaho State has conceded five goals this season, and three of them have come from the penalty spot.

"We're earning our goals, and I feel like we're letting the other team get away with free goals," Downey said.

First half goal show

Coming off their first win and first multi-goal game of the season at Cal State Bakersfield, the Bengals got the action started early.

In the seventh minute they worked the ball forward with a long ball over the top. Fifth-year forward Saydree Cooke never gave up on the play, stepped between two UNLV defenders and won the ball before being taken down by the goalkeeper. The ball sprung free, and senior forward Samantha Fenske kept it from crossing the end line and squared it to a wide-open sophomore forward Lacie Poll, who tapped in the first goal of the night.

The lead lasted four minutes.

The Rebels responded, and after a sequence of passing the ball found Taylor, who sprayed it wide to sophomore forward Julia Salem. Salem settled it, cut back to change direction and fired into the top corner, beating Garrett's outstretched arms to tie the game.

From there Idaho State took control, dictating the game, creating chances and holding the tempo.

In the 29th minute the ball found senior defender Gracie East, who split two defenders with some fancy footwork and unleashed a strike into the bottom corner to put the Bengals back in front.

Five minutes later, they struck again. After winning another free kick, East stood over the ball and slipped it sideways to Cooke, who struck it high over the goalkeeper for her first goal of the season and the Bengals' third of the half.

"First half, things looked bright for us, we were connecting passes I think that's the best half of soccer we've played this season," Cooke said.

East agreed.

"We brought all the energy, we set the tone, we were scoring goals left and right," East said.

Second half switch

The Rebels came out of the break on the front foot. The Bengals did not.

"We went into the locker room and we thought there was no chance we were going to let up," Cooke said. "I think we came out a little lackadaisical, and that ultimately resulted in two penalty kicks and a tie."

UNLV, which has 21 new players and a new head coach, showed the fight to keep pushing until the final whistle and got the result, keeping the Bengals winless at Davis Field.

"We haven't lost on Davis Field, but we haven't yet won on Davis either," Downey said. "We had a couple girls speak up in the huddle and were like, ‘Look, this just can't happen anymore.’"

Downey also pointed to individual performances that were not up to par.

"There was a couple people, that unfortunately might struggle to get on the field," Downey said. "I didn't think they really helped our team. We had a lot of girls busting their butts, and I'm not sure everyone out here did that for the entire time. Sometimes the hard way to learn is you've got to ride the pine."

The Bengals have created shots all season, but the efficiency had not been there. Against the Rebels they got more quality out of fewer attempts, putting seven of their 16 shots on target and finishing three of them.

East, one of the team's experienced players, still believes in the group.

"Honestly, I think we're a really good team, in and out," East said. "No matter how the scores have been or anything like that, I think we're a really strong and hard team, and we're gonna just work really hard and put our all in it."