The Portland State women’s soccer team will begin their 2011 Big Sky regular season campaign against Sacramento State in Sacramento, Calif., on Friday. This game will be the first among seven regular season conference games. The top four teams in the conference will then make it to the Big Sky semi-finals.
Last season, the Vikings recorded a program-best 15 points in their regular season with five wins and two losses from their seven games. They finished the regular season in second place, two points behind leaders Northern Arizona. However, in the semi-finals, the Viks lost 1-2 to Sacramento.
The Viks are also coming off an impressive spring off-season (4-1-1), and they are picked to finish fourth in the conference in a coaches’ pre-season poll this year.
The Viks have a 4-6-0 record in non-conference action so far this season. The team is coming off a hard-fought 0-1 away loss against San Jose State. Senior forward and captain Melissa Trammel is currently leading the team with three goals and one assist. The Vikings began training for the season in August.
“We have had to fight through some adversity,” head coach Laura Schott said. “We have had some tremendous games and we have had games where we could have played better, but now we have to get ready for the conference.”
The team is currently on a four game losing streak. After four successive victories, including wins at home and in the Wolf Pack Invitational in Reno, Nev., the Viks have gone on to lose two home games in the Viking Soccer Classic and two games on the road in California, including the San Jose loss. However, the team hopes with Big Sky play beginning, they’ll be able to turn their form around this weekend in Sacramento.
“We are working on our mental game,” Schott said. “We are a talented team and I have a lot of faith in the players. But they need to believe in themselves.”
Last year, Sacramento State delivered the knockout blow to Portland State in the Big Sky playoffs. Sacramento came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over the Viks in Arizona. Sophomore winger Eryn Brown gave the Vikings the lead in the 13th minute before the Hornets put away two goals in the second half.
“The game against Sacramento is a rivalry game,” Schott said. “It is going to be a tough game. They knocked us out in the semis last year, so it is going to be a very competitive game and we have to rise to the occasion.”
Earlier in the 2010 season, the Vikings had defeated Sacramento 1-0 at Hillsboro Stadium in the Big Sky regular season. Eventually, the Hornets went on to win the Big Sky Tournament with a 1-0 win over Northern Arizona in the final. Portland State has been unable to pass the semi-final barrier for the last three seasons.
The Viks worked hard on their set-piece plays on Wednesday during practice, but the team with will have other issues to deal with in the near future. Junior defender Carlie Martin and Trammel were named as the team captains earlier in the season, but the Viks lost last season’s starters, Brown and senior midfielder Amanda Howie, to injury for the rest of the season. Also, junior midfielder Michelle Hlasnik is ill and won’t be joining the team on their trip to California.
“We have lost a lot of players to injury this season, but I commend the players who have stepped up and have helped the team,” Schott said.