POCATELLO — Momentum is a powerful thing, and the Idaho State women's soccer team experienced both sides of it in a 3-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara.
In the 33rd minute, sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Wieler stepped up to her line, staring down junior midfielder Caitlin Simons from 12 yards away at the penalty spot, ready to take the lead.
The crowd rose to its feet as the scene froze before the referee's whistle blew. In that one-on-one moment, adrenaline took over and Wieler's instincts came alive.
Simons approached the ball and fired it to her right, but Wieler wasn't fooled. She dove to her left and punched the ball away, stopping the Gauchos' chance to take the lead and firing up the crowd and her teammates.
"I honestly decided what side I was going to before she kicked the ball," Wieler said. "I was full of confidence and adrenaline before the kick, and the rush of it all helped me make the right choice and helped our team carry momentum forward."
Wieler's path in goal hasn't been straightforward this season. The sophomore from Simi Valley, California, has been splitting time with fifth-year University of San Diego transfer Aliya Garrett. The two have battled it out since training camp in July, and every day at training and in games, every time either steps between the posts, it's a competition.
Some run from competition; Wieler embraces it.
"A lot of growth comes from how people respond to situations, so I take every opportunity I get and do the best I possibly can," Wieler said. "Al has been the best teammate when it comes to competing, bringing good energy and bringing out the best in everyone, including myself."
Head coach Dustin Downey praised Wieler's three-save performance against the Gauchos.
"Hannah was huge tonight again," Downey said. "That was good to see, so we gave her some props for that too."
Downey acknowledged that the goalkeeper rotation is meant to bring the best out of both players.
"We want to put the best goalkeeper in there," Downey said. "It really comes down to our goalkeeper coach and our training sessions and the games and how they perform. We sit as a staff and say, 'Who's gonna give us the best chance? Who's playing the best? Who's gonna give us the best chance to win?' And that's how we're making our decisions as of right now."
Wieler's penalty save gave the Bengals a huge momentum shift — but a few minutes later, the roles reversed.
In the 36th minute, the Bengals began stringing passes together, and the ball found the feet of freshman forward Amanda Brayton, who slipped a pass to fifth-year Saydree Cooke, who was taken down in the box for a penalty. Senior midfielder Samantha Fenske stepped up and powered her right-footed shot into the bottom right corner to give the Bengals a 1-0 lead.
That lead lasted just over a minute.
In the 38th minute, Gauchos junior forward Isabella Ong lost her defender with an excellent turn toward goal, then fired a left-footed rocket into the bottom left corner to tie the game.
A minute later, the Gauchos flipped the game on its head. Senior Sophia Moness sprinted down the left touchline and found Simons with a pass; Simons worked it through traffic and into the back of the net. In under two minutes, the Gauchos had taken the lead.
For the second straight game at Davis Field, the Bengals surrendered a lead in less than five minutes.
"That comes on me as a coach and our staff, and we've gotta prepare our kids to be better and hungrier after scoring," Downey said. "We're gonna have to sit down and figure out what we need to do to change that mentality and put some sort of mental fortitude, mental toughness into our training sessions to try to be better there. It's unacceptable, especially on our home field."
The Bengals went into halftime trailing 2-1 and came out of the locker room looking to claw back into the game. Behind the midfield play of freshman Lena Bonnard and Brayton, they began to find some rhythm in their attack and started testing senior goalkeeper Maddie Buckley.
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, shots were piling up from everyone in a black jersey, but the Gauchos maintained control. Despite the flurry of shots, the Gauchos earned a corner kick with a chance to extend their lead. Junior midfielder Ava Jarolimek stood over the ball and sent it into the box, where it found sophomore defender Hailey Tyacke, who struck a header past Wieler for a 3-1 lead.
Through the run of play, the Bengals had their moments and looked dangerous, putting up 14 shots with six on frame. After a rough start, they got their movement and combinations working — but where they struggled was where it matters most: in the goal boxes. They didn't defend well enough in their own box, and they weren't clinical enough in front of goal in the Gauchos'.
"We talked about it at the end — we've gotta be better defensively in our box and better offensively in our box. That's where the games are won and lost, and that's where it was won and lost tonight," Downey said.
The Bengals will look to bounce back in their final home nonconference game against powerhouse Utah State, 5-2-1 on the season.
"We know we're playing a tough schedule, and we want to continue to get better and be ready for conference play," Downey said. "We want to win a conference championship, and hopefully playing some challenging teams in our nonconference schedule helps us prepare for that."
The Aggies and Bengals will kick off at Davis Field for senior day on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 4 p.m.