After the final whistle blew on the Vikings (1-9-2) 1-0 loss to Fresno State (4-7-1) on Sunday, the feeling on the home sidelines was one of lost opportunity. Braving the soggy weather at the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Center, the Vikings struggled to get their offense rolling and sustain any kind of momentum during the 90-minute match.
If you’ve ever attended a Portland State women’s soccer game, you know it is hard to miss junior goalkeeper Cris Lewis. She’s the one in the goalie box, screaming her head off for most of the 90-minute match. Lewis, who hails from the Seattle area, sees it as one of her duties as the starting goalkeeper to get her team fired up for competition. She leads not only vocally, but also by example.
After experiencing their first victory of the season, a hard-fought 2-1 win over Nevada on Sept. 7, the Vikings were hopeful that a winning streak would follow.
Following an offseason in which the women’s soccer team lost their head coach and overturned their roster, expectations were slim. After being defeated at the hands of national powerhouses USC and UCLA, the Vikings earned their first victory of the season on the road against Nevada, 2-1 on Sept. 7.