After the Portland State soccer team’s four consecutive wins in the month of September, it has been disillusioned by four consecutive weeks without victory. This weekend, the Viking girls will have two shots at redemption when they play the Idaho State Bengals and the Weber State Wildcats at home in PGE Park.
Viking soccer kicks of the first of its final four games in regular season conference play tonight at 7 p.m. against Idaho State University. The Bengals have only recently come off of a seven-game losing streak. Last weekend, Idaho beat Eastern Washington, 2-1. Washington is the team that shut out PSU, 5-0. The Bengals are currently 5-8-1 on the season and 1-2-0 in the Big Sky Conference.
The Vikings have not won a game against the Bengals since 1998. However, Idaho has been weakened after losing Stacey Allen the team’s number-one shooter. Until last week’s win, the Bengals had gone seven games without scoring a single goal. Tonight’s game with Idaho State is the Viking team’s first chance to find a win in conference play this weekend.
On Saturday, Portland State will play its last regular-season at-home match against Weber State. The Wildcats are currently first in the Big Sky Conference, after ending last season in last place. Weber state has already shut out three Big Sky competitors, Idaho State 2-0, Eastern Washington 3-0, and University of Montana 2-0. Having yet to be scored on in conference play, the Wildcats’ record is 3-0-0 in the Big Sky and 5-8-2 for the season.
The Viking women have never beaten Weber State at home, but this time they can’t afford to lose. With a season record of 5-8-1 and a Big Sky record of 0-1-1, Portland State has not won a game in conference play all season long. The Viking team needs to win all four of its remaining conference challenges, or at worst go 3-0-1, to be eligible for the Big Sky Championships.
This weekend poses make-or-break ball games for Portland State. Tonight’s game will reveal whether or not PSU is still a contender in the Big Sky. Saturday’s game against Weber State is at noon. The Vikings can use as much support as they can get heading into their final four. Go see them play, tonight and tomorrow, at PGE Park.