Belling the Bengals

Portland State women’s soccer resumes normal services on Sunday as it plays host to the Idaho State Bengals at Hillsboro Stadium.

The Big Sky Conference’s reigning regular season champions have been undefeated at home in conference play for the past four seasons, and look to keep that streak alive this weekend. In the 12-game streak, the Viks have outscored their opponents 23-5 in conference matches in Portland.

On the other hand, after an impressive 5-2-1 start to their season, the Bengals have been unsuccessful in conference play and currently languish at the bottom of the league standings. They are 1-3-1 in the conference and 6-9-2 overall.

“In Big Sky soccer, every game is very important,” Portland State head coach Laura Schott said. “This game with Idaho State will be no different. Idaho State has had some good results this year, so I anticipate a highly competitive game.”

The Bengals are coming off a 1-0 win to Sacramento State on Thursday. Earlier in the season they defeated Boise State and Seattle, two teams to which the Vikings have lost this year.

Last year, the Viks registered an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Bengals at PCC-Rock Creek. Former Viking Dolly Enneking scored two goals, and now-seniors Frankie Ross and senior Emily Rohde each scored one goal. This season, Ross is leading the team with 12 points from four goals and four assists.

Portland State started the 2010 Big Sky campaign with a bang, earning convincing home wins over Eastern Washington and Montana in the opening weekend. However, the Viks could not replicate the same results on the road the following weekend, and lost to Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona. Having started at the top of the standings after the first week of conference play, the Viks slipped to fourth place after the second week.

“We are in a good position,” Schott said. “We are coming off some good performances with undesirable results last weekend. But we will be focused and ready for the upcoming weekend’s games.”

The Vikings conceded a combined five goals in last week’s two away games, a statistic Schott attributes to her team allowing too many shots.

“We need to force our opponents into difficult positions and see our defensive plays through to completion,” she said.

In Thursday’s midweek game at Weber State, Portland State won 3-0. With this result, Portland State now stands second in the league standings with an 7-9-1 overall record, and 3-2-0 in conference action.

First kick is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday in Hillsboro. The game can also be followed via live stats at goviks.com. ?