Big Sky: The final frontier

Despite being one of the most successful teams in recent Big Sky Conference history, the Big Sky Tournament title has eluded the Portland State women’s soccer team. The Vikings have won the Big Sky regular season championship twice in the last three years but have faltered at the semi-final barrier on both occasions.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Vikings, the reigning co-Big Sky regular season champions, will have the opportunity to advance to the Big Sky tournament final if they defeat Weber State in Greeley, Colo.

This season, Portland State finished level on points with Northern Colorado (14 points) after seven regular season conference games (4-1-2 conference, 8-7-2 overall) and were declared the co-regular season champions.

“To win a conference championship with a road-heavy schedule like we did this year is very special,” Portland State head coach Laura Schott said in a press statement. Schott has been at the helm of Portland State women’s soccer for four years and is now the most successful coach in program history.

However, since Northern Colorado defeated the Vikings 0-1 when the sides met at Hillsboro Stadium last month, the Bears earned the number one seed and will host the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings got the second seed while Weber State finished third with 13 points.

Scouting the Vikings

Portland State won this year’s regular season conference championship in dramatic fashion. Needing a win to be declared the co-regular season champions in their final away game against Idaho State, senior Viking forward and captain Melissa Trammell scored a goal in the 106th minute to clinch a 1-0 double overtime victory.

On the offensive front, junior forward Megan Martin has been Portland State’s main weapon. Martin won this season’s Big Sky Offensive Most Valuable Player award. Martin scored five goals and had one assist in the regular season and was awarded the Big Sky Golden Boot this year. Martin was also selected to the Big Sky All-Conference first team.

“Martin has had a tremendous season so far,” Schott said. “I am really looking forward to see what she does this weekend in the tournament. She has been a great asset to our team this year.”

As a team, Portland State was one of the better offensive forces in the conference this season and finished tied for the second best scoring output. The Vikings scored nine goals from seven games and also lead the conference with 10 assists this season. Junior central midfield Amanda Dutra and Trammell were selected in the All-Conference second team. Senior forward Kala Renard earned an honorable mention.

Defensively, Portland State allowed six goals in the regular season, which is the second best mark in the league. Senior defender Toni Carnovale, who has been a solid and steady presence on the Vikings’ backline, was also named to the Big Sky All-Conference first team. Senior right back Esty Geiger made it to the All-Conference second team, while junior goalkeeper Melissa Ferguson and defenders senior Tish Wise and junior Carlie Martin all received an honorable mention.

“I’m happy to see so many of our student-athletes acknowledged for their outstanding efforts so far this season,” Schott said. Overall, the Vikings earned an impressive nine All-Conference selections.

Portland State possesses quality depth at goalkeeper, although Schott has preferred Ferguson over junior goalkeeper Lainey Hulsizer. Ferguson has played over 415 minutes in goal in 2011, compared to Hulsizer’s tally of 270 minutes. Ferguson took over the net and started the last four games of the season and has the conference’s lowest goals conceded record, allowing only two goals from five games.

Scouting the Wildcats

Earlier in the regular season at Hillsboro Stadium, Portland State junior Amanda Dutra scored her second goal of the season to help the Vikings earn a 1-0 win over their upcoming Big Sky tournament opponents Weber State. The win knocked the Wildcats out of the top position in the Big Sky table and enabled the Vikings to make their final push toward the Big Sky regular season championship.

Weber State head coach Tim Crompton and her team will be looking for a little revenge in tomorrow afternoon’s match.

“Winning is always a good formula,” Crompton said in a media statement. “We played well against PSU before, but it didn’t happen for us.”

“Every game we have played in the conference season has been under our control,” Crompton said. “Had we won on Thursday [against Portland State] we would have continued to have the opportunity to host the tournament.”

This season, Weber State finished in third place in the Big Sky with a 4-2-1 record (6-10-1 overall). Sophomore forward Felicia Sortor scored three goals this year while senior forward Jessie Bradley tallied two goals and an assist for the Wildcats.

In the conference, Weber State was the second lowest scoring team with six goals from seven games, and had the lowest total in assists with four. On the other hand, the Wildcats have been just as competent defensively as the Vikings, only conceding six goals on the year.

In the other semi-final of the day, host and top seed Northern Colorado will play fourth place Montana at the same venue shortly after the conclusion the Portland State match. The two teams met in the final game of the regular season and Northern Colorado won 2-0 with Bears’ senior forward, Ariel Cook scoring both the goals.

All the postseason action begins tomorrow. Weber State and Portland State are scheduled for a 1 p.m. kick-off. Northern Colorado and Montana are set for 4 p.m. start time. All the Big Sky tournament matches can be seen on Big Sky TV. ■