SPOKANE, Wash. – In their first-ever home NCAA Tournament game, the Gonzaga women's soccer team used a first half goal, and held off Idaho, for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win, 1-0, Saturday.
 
In front of a record crowd of 1,874 fans at Luger Field, the Zags (14-3-2) advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time, in their second appearance in tournament. GU's last NCAA Tournament first round game as a 1-0 setback at USC in 2005.
 
"I thought we did a good job minute one through 90," GU Head Coach Chris Watkins said. "Idaho is a good team. They are really disciplined defensively. It was hard to find spaces between them. I thought we played well. We usually score three to four goals a game, but when your opponent is that disciplined and that sharp, sometimes it is hard. I was happy with our performance all the way through. In every position, we did a good job tonight on a night we needed to."
 
The 2023 Bulldogs continue to set program firsts and break records. Saturday, they scored their first NCAA Tournament goal from Marissa Garcia in the 16th minute, and then stymied the Vandals who entered the match on a six-game win streak.
 
Garcia climbed to seventh in program history with her 18th career goal. The junior found the back of the net for the ninth time this season off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. She struck a ball that went over the defensive wall and found the corner of the net.
 
"I practice those in practice," Garcia said. "We have a lot of good strikers. Giana (Riley) scored three goals at Pepperdine, so I wondered if I should let her take it. But I felt confident in myself and I was working on it. Once I hit it, I thought, 'Wow, this is an amazing feeling!' I couldn't have done it without Chelsea Le and her getting the foul drawn."
 
Gonzaga had several of chances to find a second goal, but its defense kept the Vandals scoreless. Lauren Towne had a pair of saves in the GU net.
 
"I think as a defensive unit, we have improved a lot, game by game," Zag defender Grace Courter said. "It comes with the experience of all the games we have played. Our back line has gotten really comfortable and really experienced in that high-pressure scenarios. We had to stay composed and I thought we stayed composed as a whole."
 
The Bulldogs controlled 63 percent of the match's possession, and outshot Idaho 16-5. GU had a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Zags took only five shots in the first half, while the Vandals (12-5-2) had one.
 
Following a 1-0 upset by UC Irvine over top-seeded and defending national champion UCLA Thursday, the Zags and UCI will now meet in the second round. The west coast programs will square off in Lincoln, Neb., as fifth-seeded Nebraska avoided a first round upset and will host second and third round games. The Cornhuskers play Tennessee Friday as well. Game times have yet to be set.