VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State women's soccer team opened up its spring schedule on Friday afternoon, playing cross-town rival, Portland at Merlo Stadium. Freshman Lynsey Gaines tallied the Viks' only goal of the contest while goalkeepers Angela Haluska and Caitlin Plese along with the defense combined for the shutout.

“We played really well today,” said head coach Laura Schott. “We saw a lot of really good things from a lot of players. We have a very young team and we took some great steps forward tonight”

Portland State created plenty of offense in the first half, tallying six shots, four of which were on goal. Gaines broke through midway through the first stanza rocketing a shot off the fingertips of the Pilots goalkeeper from 20 yards out. The Viks nearly tallied another marker as a PSU shot ricocheted off the far goalpost, dribbled across the goal mouth, glanced off the near post, before it was corralled by Portland. The Viks went into halftime outshooting the pilots 6-4.

The Pilots poured on the pressure early in the second half, hemming the Viks in their own end. While Portland tested the PSU defense, racking up five shots through the final frame, none of them beat the backline and second-half goalkeeper, Plese.

While PSU ended the contest holding the advantage in shots 11-9, it was the Pilots who got the edge in corner kicks, 4-0.

“The spring schedule is always about development and a lot players will get playing time,” said Schott. “We want to see where we're at and what we need to do get better before we start our fall schedule. We have seven more games this spring and we are looking forward to seeing what we need to fine tune and what we're good at.”

The Viks will next be in action on April 14, when the squad host Seattle University at Hillsboro Stadium. The match is slated for 10:30 a.m.