POCATELLO — The Idaho State Bengals women’s soccer team faced its biggest challenge yet.

Along with hosting No. 18 Utah State, the Bengals also battled through two lengthy lightning delays.

On the field, the Aggies were superior in nearly every facet, earning a 6-0 victory and dropping Idaho State to 2-5-1.

Utah State outshot the Bengals 32-5, posting 14 shots on frame, six of which found the back of the net by five different goal scorers. Idaho State was held to a season-low five shots and zero shots on target.

The result, however, wasn’t the story.

Before the game, six seniors and two fifth-years were honored on the Bengals’ senior day. Fifth-years Saydree Cooke and Aliya Garrett, along with seniors Emma Casenave, Samantha Fenske, Samantha Esparza, Stephanie Roper, Daphne Egelhoff and Gracie East, walked onto Davis Field with parents, family members and the memories of their time as Bengals.

The senior class is a mix of transfers and four-year Bengals, but all have made an impact beyond the field.

“I just want to shout out our seniors — I think they worked really hard and wanted to show tonight that they’re here for a reason, and they deserve to be here,” assistant coach Summer Miles said. “The younger girls look up to them, and they set the example of how to work hard and how to be there for your teammates.”

The group is the heartbeat of the team and sets the tone every time they’re together, on and off the field, with one goal: to make the most of whatever remains of the season.

“On and off the field they have my back, and I think being a Bengal is just about having each other’s back, working hard, and just putting in the work,” Roper said. “A lot of us know that this will be our last season or possibly our last time playing soccer. So we have a drive to want to be good, a drive to work for each other, and we feel really connected this year.”

That connection starts with the two captains and longest-tenured Bengals, Cooke and Egelhoff.

Egelhoff has been the heart of the Bengal defense since she stepped on campus in 2023. She has appeared in 49 games, logging 3,302 minutes and scoring her one career goal during the 2024 season. Egelhoff has been a natural leader both on and off the field and says she’s fallen more in love with the program every year she’s worn the orange and black.

“Being an Idaho State Bengal means the world to me,” Egelhoff said. “I think my love for the program has grown over the past four years. Wearing the orange and black every day, getting to come out and practice, do the thing I love every day, playing with a group of girls that are just my best friends and people I know always have my back. My coaches always have my back. I just love representing the logo for the community.”

Cooke, a Pocatello native who got the loudest roar from the crowd when her name was announced, grew up with Bengal colors running through her veins. After a freshman season at Weber State, she traded in the purple and white for orange and black, returning home to become a vital piece of the program’s foundation ever since.

Cooke has played in 39 games over her four seasons as a Bengal, amassing eight goals, 11 assists, 27 points and 2,480 minutes — despite missing all but 79 minutes of the 2024 season.

Another senior who has been with the program since 2023 is Esparza, who has appeared in 14 games and recorded one assist in 349 minutes.

The Bengals have also leaned on the transfer portal over the past four years, and this senior class reflects that. Roper has appeared in 17 games, logging 1,351 minutes with two goals and four assists. Fenske has played in 24 games with three goals, three assists and 1,834 minutes. Casenave has made 10 appearances for 203 minutes.

Rounding out the class are two 2026 transfers, Garrett and East. Garrett has split time in goal but has shown veteran poise between the posts, including seven saves against the Aggies. In six games since transferring, she has recorded 21 saves, allowed 13 goals and posted two shutouts across 450 minutes.

East, who has paired with Egelhoff at center back, has made an immediate impact. She has appeared in eight games, recording one goal and one assist in 690 minutes.

This senior class hasn’t always been together, but this year they’ve made it their mission to band together — playing for the logo, the community and themselves, and for some, for the last time they’ll ever kick a soccer ball competitively.

“We’re super close on and off the field,” Egelhoff said. “It gets intense on the field, but we can talk to each other and demand more from each other because we’re so close, and because we know that we have high expectations for ourselves and for each other. We have a good identity of how we want to play and how we can show that to the younger girls to represent what it means to be an ISU soccer player.”

The Bengals will close out nonconference with a trip to New Mexico to take on the University of New Mexico on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m.