In a back-and-fourth contest, the Seattle University women's soccer team came out on the winning end over University of Idaho Sunday afternoon at Championship Field. After a scoreless first half, senior Jamie Coe received the ball and passed it off to junior Kara Kuttler who was 13 yards out. Kuttler straightened out her aim and her shot flew past the diving Idaho keeper into the far post to take the game at 1-0. For the second straight game, Coe passed off the game-winning assist.
"I am glad we got the shutout today," said head coach Julie Woodward. "It was not one of our best performances and credit is due to a much improved Idaho team. They stayed in the game the entire time with us and today's game was definitely a nail biter."
The Redhawks (2-0-0) came out of the gate with shots firing and two solid scoring opportunities in the first minutes of the game; however Idaho (0-2-0) seemed unphased by SU's initial offensive attacks. Idaho had the biggest opportunity to get on the board first in the 39th minute, as the Vandals earned a penalty kick after a Redhawk foul in the box. UI's Cassandra San took the shot, but SU's goalkeeper Madison Goverde read the ball on point and caught it before it had a chance to roll into the far post.
SeattleU could not find a solid rhythm versus Idaho, as the ball crossed between sides continuously. The Redhawks had 12 total shots, five of which were on goal, while the Vandals had 11 total shots, three of which were on goal. It was a very even keeled contest, where no team definitively dominated. Despite UI's ability to match up with SeattleU well, the Redhawks kept their heads in the game. The Coe-Kuttler tandem worked to keep the ball in the Idaho half and the SU defense was relentless when the Vandals penetrated the backline.
After facing a strong test versus UI, SeattleU proved that they are capable of battling to the wire and coming out on top. After back-to-back shutouts in their first two games of the season, the Redhawks will square up with cross-town rivals University of Washington on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The 7 p.m. match will be played at Huskies Soccer Stadium on the Washington campus. This will be the season opener for the Pacific-10 team. Two days later, on Friday, Aug. 28, SU will square off with Utah Valley in a neutral sited match in Moscow, Idaho at 4 p.m.