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HILLSBORO, Ore. — First-half goals from freshman midfielder Abbey Bergquist and junior forward Eryn Brown led the Portland State women's soccer team to a 3-1 win over Northern Colorado Friday in the team's conference season-opener at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
The first-half goals came as the Vikings (4-4-1, 1-0-0 Big Sky) dominated the Bears (4-4-2, 0-1-0 Big Sky) in the period, outshooting them 6-2 and controlling possession for long stretches.
 
"Today's performance was a great way to kick off conference play," PSU head coach Laura Schott said. "Northern Colorado is a very good team and I expect them to do well this year."
 
The Bears had entered the match leading the Big Sky in shutouts this season, only to see the Viking offense break through against them early.
 
Bergquist's goal came in the 14th minute of the match, following a shot off the post from sophomore forward Lynsey Gaines. Both teams battled for the rebound off Gaines' shot, but PSU sophomore midfielder Cori Bianchini eventually took control, sending a quick touch to Bergquist in the box. From there, Bergquist sent a hard shot on goal that tucked just inside the right post for the score.
 
The goal put PSU up 1-0 in the match, and Brown followed with her goal just over 15 minutes later. Bianchini again started the play for the Vikings, as she passed to Brown on the right post inside the box. Once with the ball, Brown made a quick move to free some space from a defender and sent a shot across the ground to the far post and past UNC goalkeeper Natalie D'Adamio to put PSU up 2-0.
 
In the second half, UNC forward Essence Ortiz-Laneir converted a penalty kick 21 seconds into the period to cut the deficit to one, but the Vikings came right back in the 60th minute, scoring their third goal of the match to go back up by two. Brown initiated things this time, sending a hard shot on goal from distance that D'Adamio saved but couldn't corral. The resulting ricochet fell to junior midfielder Ariana Cooley, who hammered the ball into the net from point-blank range.
 
The Vikings defense took over from there, as UNC could never muster a serious threat on the Vikings' lead. The PSU defense held UNC to just six shots in the match, the lowest total for any PSU opponent yet this season.
 
Friday's win broke a three-game losing streak for the Vikings against Northern Colorado, as the team hadn't beaten the Bears since winning 3-2 at home on Oct. 9, 2009. The Vikings had won five straight to open the all-time series against Northern Colorado, but had lost three straight since then until Friday.
 
The Vikings return to conference play Sunday, Sept. 29, when they host North Dakota at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
"Every game in our conference is important and North Dakota will be a good challenge for us," Schott said. "We're looking forward to Sunday.
 
Sunday's match will kick off at 12 p.m. (PT.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings lead the all-time series with Northern Colorado 6-3-0 after Friday's win…Brown's goal gives her 12 in her career, moving her into a tie for fourth all-time at PSU…Brown's three points in the match also give her 29 in her career, moving her to seventh all-time at PSU…Brown's six goals this season tie the amount she scored as a freshman in 2010, and sit tied for the eight-best single-season total in school history…Brown's 16 points this season also rank tied for the eighth-best single-season total in school history…Friday's match was the second match this season in which Bianchini has recorded two assists for the Vikings…With four assists already, Bianchini needs just one more to tie the sixth-best single-season mark in the category…Bergquist's and Cooley's goals were each their second of the season.