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HILLSBORO, Ore. — Goals from sophomore midfielder Emma Cooney and junior forward Eryn Brown led the top-seeded Portland State women's soccer team to a 2-0 win over fourth-seeded Northern Colorado Thursday in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
Thursday's win advances the Vikings (12-4-2, 8-0-1 Big Sky) to the Big Sky championship match, where they'll play third-seeded Weber State, which beat second-seeded Northern Arizona 3-0 in the first semifinal Thursday. The championship match will kick off at 3:30 p.m. (PT) at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
"Winning the semifinal is a big step for our group," PSU head coach Laura Schott said, who's teams had been winless in five previous trips to the semifinals. "We were focused, and a number of our players played well today."
 
Cooney opened the scoring for the Vikings with her goal in the 36th minute, when she fielded a punch-out from UNC goalkeeper Natalie D'Adamio following a long free kick from junior defender Kayla Henningsen. D'Adamio's punch fell right to Cooney, and Cooney fired a one-timer to the near post that caught D'Adamio out of position.
 
Cooney's goal gave the Vikings' the early lead, though a clearance off the line from junior midfielder Melissa Bishop kept the Bears (9-6-5, 5-2-2 Big Sky) off the board earlier in the match. The Bears sent a corner into a scrum in the box on the play that UNC defender Paige Morris eventually found to put a header on frame. Morris' header found PSU goalkeeper Caitlin Plese out of position as it sailed to the right post, but Bishop was there to clear the ball for the Vikings.
 
Bishop's save swung the momentum to PSU, which eventually led to Cooney's goal in the 36th minute.
 
The Vikings then took over in the second half, as they outshot the Bears 10-1 over the first 32 minutes of the period.
 
Brown's goal came amidst that run, as she put the Vikings up 2-0 in the 72nd minute. Brown found a loose ball in the box on the play, and controlled it with a header to herself before firing a quick shot just inside the left post. The goal was Brown's eighth off the season, tying her for the fourth-most goals in a single-season by a PSU player in program history.
 
The Bears amped up the attack after Brown's goal, but Plese and PSU defense kept them out of the net. Plese and the defense recorded their 10th and 11th shutouts, respectively, in the match, extending single-season records for both the player and team.
 
Saturday's championship match will give the Vikings' another chance to make history, as the program goes for its first-ever Big Sky Tournament title. Additionally, the Vikings would earn their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with a win Saturday.
 
"Weber State is a good team that got a good win today, and we're looking forward to playing them Saturday," Schott said.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings had been just 1-7-2 in Big Sky Tournament matches before Thursday, with their only previous win coming in 2002 in the semifinals against Montana…PSU improves to 7-3-0 all-time against Northern Colorado with Saturday's win…College Sports Madness announced its Big Sky All-Conference team before the match Thursday, and Plese and freshman defender Kristin Moyer were named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively…Plese, Henningsen and sophomore midfielder Cori Bianchini also made the Big Sky All-Conference First Team, according to College Sports Madness, while Brown and junior defender Kelsey Henningsen made the second team…The Vikings take a six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1) against Weber State into their match against the Wildcats Saturday…The Vikings also take a 12-match overall unbeaten streak (10-2-0) into Saturday's match, which stands one short of the Big Sky record that Weber State set at 13 in 1998.