PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's soccer team concluded a busy first week of fall camp Tuesday, wrapping a week of two-a-day practices in anticipation of the Aug. 23 season-opener against the University of Oregon.
"The start of the season has been wonderful," head coach Laura Schott said. "The team looks great. Freshmen are getting introduced to the team, they're mixing in well, and our leadership has been very good so far."
Developing the team's underclassmen has been a big focus during the first week of practice, as 18 of the team's 26 players will be freshmen or sophomores this season.
"We've been working on a lot of team concepts. Having a young team this year, we want to make sure that we have our attacking schemes and defensive schemes down, and so far we've been doing very, very well," Schott said.
The Vikings continue preseason work with two exhibitions in the Portland area later this week. The team will first play at Concordia University (Ore.) Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 11 a.m., then play at the University of Portland Saturday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m.
Schott said she'll use the two exhibitions to further evaluate the Vikings' players going forward.
"We're going to give everybody a chance to show what they got and we're looking forward to seeing who steps up and arrives in those games," Schott said. "It's a separation point, but I think our players are ready for it and they're going to show well."
For more information about both exhibitions, see below:
MATCH SITE INFORMATION:
The Vikings will play Concordia at Tuominen Yard, the Cavs' new campus facility in northeast Portland. Directions to the Concordia campus can be found here.
The Vikings will play Portland at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex in North Portland. Directions to Merlo Field can be found here.
ABOUT CONCORDIA:
The Concordia Cavaliers have become one of the premier women's soccer programs in the NAIA under 17-year head coach Grant Landy. Landy has led the Cavaliers to three NAIA National Runner-Up finishes in his tenure, and 13 straight Cascade Collegiate Conference titles. Like the Vikings, the Cavs will also feature a youthful roster in 2013, as the Cavs' roster features nine freshman and 15 underclassmen out of 26 players. The Cavs lost seven seniors off last year's team that went 17-3-2 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. The Cavs return first-team NAIA All-American Hannah Kimsey, however, who played the 2010 season for the Vikings and was named an honorable mention All-Big Sky selection.
ABOUT PORTLAND:
The Pilots have grown into a national power over the past 20 years, twice winning NCAA national titles (2002, 2005), and qualifying for the NCAA National Tournament in 19 of the past 20 seasons. In 2012, the Pilots went 11-5-5, advanced to the second round of the NCAA National Tournament and finished the season ranked 24th in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll. The Pilots return first-team All-WCC selection Amanda Frisbie off that team, and return second-team All-WCC selections Michelle Cruz and Rebekah Kurie as well. Midfielders Devlyn Jeter and Noelle La Prevotte were also named to the WCC All-Freshman team, while La Prevotte and goalkeeper Erin Dees were named All-WCC honorable mentions.
NOTE: The exhibitions will not count towards PSU's all-time series against either Concordia or Portland
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST CONCORDIA:
The Vikings lead the all-time series against Concordia, 2-0-0. PSU last played a counting match against Concordia on Sept. 1, 1999, when Landy was in his third season coaching the Cavaliers. Schott has never played a counting match against the Cavaliers in her career at PSU.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PORTLAND:
PSU trails the all-time series against the Pilots, 0-6-0. The Vikings' last counting match against the Pilots was also their closest, as they lost 1-0 on a goal in the 75th minute on Aug. 20, 2010. That has been the only counting match against the Pilots in Schott's tenure at PSU, leaving her 0-1-0 against them.
YOUTHFUL MOVEMENT:
With 18 of the Vikings' 26 players being underclassmen, the Viks will have a youthful roster during the 2013 season. The Vikings lost seven seniors off last year's team, including leading scorer Amanda Howie, all-time assists leader Amanda Dutra and starting goalkeeper Lainey Hulsizer. The Vikings' youth is not without talent, however, as Torie Morris returns to the team after earning All-Big Sky second-team honors as a freshman last season. Additionally, the team returns All-Big Sky honorable mentions Kayla Henningsen, Kelsey Henningsen and Lynsey Gaines. Gaines, like Morris, earned her honor as a freshman last season, putting her and Morris in position to lead another talented group of underclassmen. Of the Vikings' 18 underclassmen, nine will be freshmen and nine will be sophomores.
2012 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings won a share of their second straight—and third in the past four seasons—Big Sky regular season championship last season. The Viks finished the season 6-2-1 in the Big Sky, putting them tied atop the conference with Idaho State and Montana. As a result, the Vikings advanced to the Big Sky Tournament for the sixth straight season, but lost 3-2 to Montana in the semifinals. Overall, nine different players received All-Big Sky honors during the season, while another nine received Academic All-Big Sky honors.
VIKINGS UNDER SCHOTT:
Head coach Laura Schott has turned PSU into a perennial conference power within the Big Sky, as she has led the team to three Big Sky regular season titles in her first five years at the helm. The Vikings have also never finished worse than second in the Big Sky during Schott's tenure, and have never missed the Big Sky Tournament. Additionally, Schott became the all-time wins leader at PSU in just her fourth season at the school, and holds a 41-42-14 overall record.
