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CHENEY, Wash. — Sophomore forward Lynsey Gaines recorded a goal and assist in the first half for the Vikings Friday, and the Portland State women's soccer team beat Eastern Washington 2-0 in a Dam Cup match to gain sole possession of first place in the Big Sky.
 
The win puts the Vikings alone atop the conference after Weber State, which had shared the conference lead with PSU entering Friday, lost 2-1 at Southern Utah earlier in the day. PSU now stands alone in first at 3-0-0 in conference play, and stands 6-4-1 overall. EWU, meanwhile, drops to 2-10-0 overall and 0-3-0 in the Big Sky.
 
"Overall, a good team win on the road today," PSU head coach Laura Schott said. "Lynsey had a tremendous goal and assist, and our backs looked strong throughout the match."
 
Gaines assisted on the Vikings opening goal of the match, sending a cross into the box to sophomore midfielder Cori Bianchini in the 20th minute that Bianchini one-timed into the left side of the net.
 
Gaines then came back to put the Viks up 2-0 in the 28th minute with her first goal of the season. Freshman midfielder Abbey Bergquist played the ball to Gaines on the goal, feeding her at the top of the 18-yard box, where Gaines fired a shot inside the right post.
 
The PSU defense took over after that, with the Viks holding Eastern Washington without a goal over the final 62 minutes of the match. EWU tested the Viking defense in the second half, as the Eagles outshot the Viks 7-2 in the period and earned four more corners than PSU.
 
PSU goalkeeper Caitlin Plese handled the Eagles' shooting barrage well, though, as she made four saves to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard. Plese's play gave the sophomore her fifth individual shutout of the season, tying her for fifth on the single-season shutout list at Portland State.
 
All five of Plese's shutouts have come in the team's past seven matches, while the team has recorded six shutouts in its past eight matches overall. PSU has only lost one match in that stretch, and currently holds a five-match unbeaten streak.
 
Friday's shutout also extended the Vikings' current shutout streak to 224:39, the team's third shutout streak of over 200 minutes this season. The Vikings' longest shutout streak of the season was 280:27, which spanned four matches from Sept. 13-27.
 
The Vikings can top that streak when it returns to action Sunday, Oct. 6, with a road match at Montana at 11 a.m. (PT). Montana ended the Vikings' season in the Big Sky Tournament last season, but are 0-2-1 in the Big Sky this season after losing 3-0 Friday to Sacramento State.
 
Match Notes: PSU improved to 13-4-1 all-time against EWU with the win Friday…Coach Schott improved to 47-46-15 overall in her career at PSU, giving her the highest career winning percentage of any PSU head coach in school history…Schott had been tied with Bernie Fagan (29-29-7 from 1993-96) at .500 entering the match…The Vikings have not faced a deficit in the past 470 minutes of match play, a streak spanning five full matches...Friday's win was the second Dam Cup match win for Portland State this season…The PSU volleyball team won the first Dam Cup match with a 3-0 sweep of EWU on Sept. 23.