BOISE, Idaho - Sarah Rhodes scored a pair of second-half goals to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit, and Gonzaga University's women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Air Force Academy Friday afternoon at the Bronco Invite.
The Bulldogs (1-2-0) will face host Boise State University Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. The Broncos played Eastern Washington University in Friday's late match.
After the coaches challenged the older players earlier in the week to step up their leadership, Rhodes did just that.
She tied the match at 57:53, heading in Morgan Manchester's long throw-in to beat AF keeper Kelly Stambaugh to the near post.
"We probably had eight long throw-ins and we've been dangerous on them. It was fitting Rhodes could get a goal off a long throw-in," Gonzaga head coach Amy Edwards said.
It was Rhodes with an outstanding individual effort for the match winner at 72:15, taking on two or three players, shrugging two of them off and with one pulling on her jersey hit a shot from 20 yards inside the left post near the upper "V".
"It was a brilliant finish," Edwards said. "It was Sarah Rhodes right there taking this team on her shoulders."
The Falcons took the 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when Bridgett Murphy scored her first goal of the season, slipping between a pair of Bulldog center backs and scoring inside the left post from 15 yards.
Despite trailing at the half, Gonzaga head coach Amy Edwards believed the Zags played well with the exception of a couple of breakdowns, including on the lone goal.
"I did feel we played pretty well in first half. We created some opportunities. We broke down a couple times, and the one time they punished us for it. We had a miscommunication between our backs (on the goal)," Edwards said. "It was 1v1 from about 15 yards and she did a nice job of finishing."
The best Bulldog opportunity of the opening half came in the 38th minute, Katie Spangenberg getting a good-look shot off just a little too late that was blocked by the defense.
Despite some missed opportunities in the first half, Edwards said "we were playing quality soccer, knocking the ball around, but we just didn't put enough pressure on them."
Edwards thought a halftime adjustment was a major difference in the outcome.
"We switched from a 4-5-1 to a 4-3-3 and the whole communication at halftime was to create more opportunities and play more in their end in the second half, and we certainly did," Edwards noted.
Gonzaga held a 5-4 edge in shots in the first half, Air Force turning the tables for a 7-6 advantage in the second half. But Edwards thought the shot total "was a little misleading compared to our pressure offensively. I think 70 percent of the play was in their (Air Force) end."
Junior transfer goalkeeper Susan Brown also came up big a couple of times in the second half, making three of her four saves in the match in the final 45 minutes. One of those saves came in the 74th minute just after Murphy hit the crossbar, Brown stopping Stephanie Patterson's header.
"Susan came up with probably two critical saves through the second half to keep us in the match. Air Force has pace up front and we dealt with the pace and direct play all day," Edwards said. "They were dangerous on counters, and they had counterattacks for two of their opportunities in the second half."
After last week's 0-2 start when Edwards believed the Bulldogs didn't create opportunities while scoring just one goal in two matches, she saw improvement Friday.
"We're moving in a positive direction. I was extremely happy with the upper classmen leadership to help us to victory. That was the theme for us throughout the week," Edwards said.
