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POCATELLO, Idaho. – In her final regular season game for the Vikings, senior
Melissa Trammell scored arguably the biggest goal of her career in the 106th minute Sunday, to give the Vikings a 1-0 win in double-overtime over Idaho State to claim a share of the 2011 Big Sky Regular Season Championship.
With the time waning in the final minutes of the match, Portland State Head Coach
Laura Schott decided to change things up and go for the win. She moved senior defender
Esty Geiger from the back line forward, leaving three defending.
Geiger stepped up and won a ball on the right side of the field and sent it across the top of the 18-yard box on the ground where senior
Kala Renard slid, helping the ball on to Trammell. Trammell then took a couple of touches and slotted the ball into the right corner of the net for the game-winning, golden goal.
“Our team played very well today against a talented, young Idaho State team,” Schott said. “To win a conference championship with a road heavy schedule like we did this year, is very special.”
The Vikings went 3-3-1 in their seven home games this season and 4-4-1 on the road with a 1-0-0 record on a neutral field.
The match played evenly in the first half with each team recording four shots and two corner kicks. The Vikings then picked up the pressure in the second half, out-shooting the Bengals 12-to-6. The Vikings also forced five corner kicks in the second half, while the Bengals had none. Portland State then added five shots in the two overtime periods combined, to Idaho State's two.
After missing the previous match due to an injury, Renard led the way for the Vikings with six shots in the game, four on goal.
Toni Carnovale,
Kelsey Henningsen,
Megan Martin and Trammell all had two shots apiece in the match.
Keeper
Melissa Ferguson played the entire match in goal for the Vikings and recorded three saves, improving to 6-4-2 on the season with her fourth shutout. She ends the regular season with a goal-against average of 0.65, a new single-season Portland State record.
Schott and the Vikings win the Big Sky Regular Season Championship for the second time in three years, despite being selected to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll. It is the fifth straight year the Vikings have made it to the Big Sky Tournament.
Portland State and Northern Colorado both finished with 14 points in the conference standings with identical Big Sky records of 4-1-2. However, Northern Colorado will host the conference tournament after winning the regular season meeting between the two schools on Oct. 14 by a score of 1-0.
Northern Colorado will be the No. 1 seed and will face the No. 4 seed Montana on Friday, Nov. 4. The Vikings will be the No. 2 seed and will face off with the No. 3 seed Weber State in a rematch of last Thursday's 1-0 Portland State victory at Hillsboro Stadium. The winners will then face-off on Sunday, Oct. 6, for the chance to represent the Big Sky Conference in the NCAA Tournament.
Before the Big Sky Tournament in two weeks, the Vikings will host their annual Alumni Game next Sunday, Oct. 30 at Hillsboro Stadium. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m. PT.