Women’s soccer preview

Records entering the games: Portland State looks to resume normal services in the Big Sky Conference as they hit the road and face Eastern Washington tonight and Montana on Sunday. The Vikings are coming off a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Northern Arizona after winning their conference opener against Northern Colorado, 3-2.

Last year’s meetings: In their match against Eastern Washington last year, the Vikings emerged victorious by a 4-1 margin with goals from Kala Renard, Frankie Ross, Kat Robertson and Nathalie Wollmann. The Viks also defeated Montana 2-1, with Ross and Robertson registering their names on the score sheet.

Scouting the Eagles: Currently perched atop the Big Sky Conference, Eastern Washington shares first place with Sacramento State after winning their first two games against Weber State and Idaho State. The Eagles’ attack is led by Brittany Sparks who has nine goals this season and is the conference co-points leader alongside Portland State’s Dolly Enneking.

Vikings head coach Laura Schott said she respects tonight’s opponents.

“They are a hard-working team that isn’t afraid to make contact with the opposition,” she said. “I expect a very direct, hard-hitting game plan from them. They always bring a lot of energy to conference games.”

Scouting the Grizzlies: Montana lost their first conference game to Idaho State, but bounced back to defeat pre-tournament favorites Weber State, 2-1. Head coach Neil Sedgwick is in his fifth year with the Grizzlies and his top scorer, Kaitlyn Heinsohn, has two goals this season.

Scouting the Vikings: The Viks’ morale should get a boost from the news that they are now among the top 100 teams in the nation, as ranked by the NCAA. At 96th in the list of 322, Portland State is the top-ranked team in the Big Sky, ahead of Sacramento State at 122nd. Also, Enneking and fellow senior Cris Lewis are now on the NCAA’s list of top 100 players.