Soccer drops two in Colorado

The Portland State soccer team ended a disappointing road trip, with a pair of losses last week, losing to Colorado College 0-6 and Air Force 1-6, which were marked by a lack of scoring from the Viking side.

Colorado flat dominated the offensive end of the field on Friday, putting pressure on the Viking defense to perform all game. PSU’s goalkeeper Gretchen Pietras did all she could, stopping 10 shots on goal out of a total of 22. Colorado also conquered the margin of corner kicks with 17 to Portland State’s four. PSU was outshot by a margin of 22-12. The Vikings managed eight shots on goal, but none were sent past goalie Meghann Loseke. While Colorado improved their record to 4-2-2, Portland State dropped to 0-5-1.

On Sunday, the Vikings went into battle with another offensive minded team: the Air Force. PSU was once again outshot by a reasonable margin, 26-14. There were 18 shots taken on goal by Air Force, while Portland State shot a total of five for the game. Although PSU forward Jamie Giger scored in the second half off a rebound shot, the team only managed one goal through two tough road games. Vikings goalkeeper Gretchen Pietras recorded 12 more saves during this gamew Just one goal out of 12 for the two games was kicked off of a penalty kick, when defender Jamie McLaughlin was called for a penalty in the box late in the first half.

The Vikings have faced only one Big Sky opponent so far, Boise State. Their 0-6-1 record has resulted from a grueling schedule of inter-conference games. The Vikings will play Oregon State next, followed by Central Washington, and the University of Oregon before getting into the thick of Big Sky Conference play.