The Portland State women’s soccer season ended abruptly at the Big Sky Tournament in Ogden, Utah as the Vikings fell to Northern Arizona 1-0. It was a game of missed opportunities for the team, who could not capitalize on scoring chances and were held scoreless in the tournament semifinals. It was the second consecutive loss in the semifinals for the Vikings, who fell last year to Sacramento State.
End of the road
The Portland State women’s soccer season ended abruptly at the Big Sky Tournament in Ogden, Utah as the Vikings fell to Northern Arizona 1-0.
It was a game of missed opportunities for the team, who could not capitalize on scoring chances and were held scoreless in the tournament semifinals. It was the second consecutive loss in the semifinals for the Vikings, who fell last year to Sacramento State.
The defeat came at the end to an up and down season for the Vikings (5-11-4) under a new coaching staff fronted by Laura Schott.
The offensive potency that characterized the Vikings’ late season play and spurred the program’s second tournament berth in as many years was sorely missed against the Lumberjacks (11-6-4), who shut-out the Vikings for the second time this year.
On Oct. 19, the Vikings racked up four goals in route to a decisive 4-1 victory against conference rival Eastern Washington.
Since then, however, they struggled to find the scoring touch, registering just one goal (in a 1-0 victory over Idaho State on Oct. 25) in the subsequent four games.
On Thursday, the Portland State offense put itself in the right position, volleying 15 shots (to NAU’s 12) at Lumberjack goalkeeper Tori Rocke, but the freshman keeper stood firm and earned her seventh shut-out of the season
Viking junior goalkeeper Cris Lewis also played valiantly, and her five saves in the game brought her season total to 126, the third-best season in PSU history. But a shot fired by Lumberjack freshman Chanice Kittrell in the 37th minute of action found the inside of the far post.
The Vikings’ quest for the equalizer included nine shots in the second period, but the Lumberjack defense remained vigilant and the shutout result was the third in four games for Portland State.
The Lumberjacks will go on to face tournament host Weber State (9-9-2) on Saturday in the Big Sky Championships. The Wildcats defeated Montana (6-11-2) on Thursday 1-0, outshooting Montana 17-8, and earned the chance to play for their fourth Big Sky Championship.
