BOX SCORE - PDF | HTML

MOSCOW, Idaho — A deflected free kick in the 30th minute put the Portland State women's soccer team in a hole it couldn't climb out of against Idaho Friday, as the Vikings dropped a 1-0 decision to the Vandals at Guy Wicks Field.
 
The result drops the Vikings to 3-8-0 overall and 1-2-0 in Big Sky play, while the Vandals improve to 7-4-1 overall and stay perfect in Big Sky play at 3-0-0.
 
"This is a good group of players. They are fun to coach, they want to get better; we are just so young and injured we are spending most of our time plugging holes and changing rotations and it's just a lot for a team returning three starters," head coach Laura Schott said after the game. "We do need more bite, but I can guarantee we will have more in future years just by experience.
 
"We can still do well right now. We can still win, but there is a lot of factors that aren't controllable coming together."
 
Idaho's Olivia Baggerly scored the deflected free kick for the Vandals, which came on only the second shot of the match for Idaho.
 
The Vikings came out hot with two shots in the first six minutes of action, but the Vandals settled in after that and held Portland State without a shot for the rest of the first half.
 
The Vikings played a much better second half, however, as they totaled 10 shots as a team and outshot the Vandals in the period. Several different players contributed to the Vikings' push in the second half, as senior Tamia Hasan, junior Aurora Bodenhamer and senior Cori Bianchini all finished with multiple shots in the half, while sophomore Katie Forsee, redshirt sophomore Breanne Chilton-Eddy and freshman Dallin Esmond got in on the attack with a shot of their own.
 
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Angela Haluska, meanwhile, kept the Vikings within striking distance with four second-half saves to give her six total saves for the match.
 
Haluska has now saved six or more shots in six of the team's 11 matches so far this season, and upped her season total to 66 saves, a mark that ranks her second in the Big Sky this season. Haluska also ranks just seven saves short of tying the 10th-best single-season mark at Portland State, and still has at least seven matches remaining to reach that mark.
 
Haluska has often kept the Vikings in a match or preserved a lead for the Vikings this season, as eight of the team's 11 matches so far have been decided by a single goal. Additionally, six of those eight one-goal matches have been decided by 1-0 scores, with the Vikings 2-4-0 in those matches.
 
The Vikings could be in for another close match Sunday, as the Vikings face the other 3-0-0 team in the Big Sky standings in Eastern Washington, which beat Sacramento State 3-1 earlier in the day Friday. The Vikings and Eagles will kick off at 1 p.m. (PT) in Cheney, Wash.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fall to 4-6-0 all-time against Idaho after Friday's loss, and also drop to 1-1-0 against Idaho in Big Sky matches…The Vikings won the first Big Sky match between the two teams last season, after the Vandals rejoined the Big Sky Conference before the year…Haluska played her 20th career game in goal for the Vikings Friday, making her eligible to enter the top 10 all-time in saves per game, which she did at sixth all-time with an average of 3.75 saves per match.