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HILLSBORO, Ore. — It's not a Portland State women's soccer match without a late deciding goal.
Two days after beating Southern Utah on a 98th-minute penalty kick in overtime, the Vikings found themselves on the wrong end of a late goal Sunday, as Northern Arizona's Lindsay Doyle scored her second goal of the match in the 86th minute to lead the Lumberjacks (6-5-0, 1-1-0 Big Sky) to a 2-1 win over the Vikings (3-7-0, 1-1-0 Big Sky) at Hillsboro Stadium.
The Vikings have now played five straight matches where the deciding goal was scored in the 80th minute or later, a streak that dates back to the fourth week of the regular season. Before their matches against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona this weekend, the Vikings lost a pair of 1-0 matches to Oregon and Utah Valley the previous week, with Oregon scoring in the 81st minute and Utah Valley scoring with just 28 seconds left in regulation. Before that, the Vikings beat Air Force 1-0 on Sept. 13, when senior midfielder/forward
Cori Bianchini converted a penalty kick in the third minute of overtime.
Doyle's late winner Sunday came after the Lumberjacks earned a free kick in the middle of the field with four minutes and 12 seconds left in regulation. Sophomore defender Missy Kettelkamp took the free kick for the Lumberjacks and sent a high-bouncing pass to the top of the Vikings' box where Doyle found it and directed it on goal with a one-touch, right-footed flick. Doyle's shot caught PSU goalkeeper
Angela Haluska off guard, and it found the left side of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Senior midfielder/forward
Cori Bianchini nearly equalized late, however, as she ran on to a pass up from sophomore midfielder
Katie Forsee. Forsee's pass drew NAU goalkeeper Meghan Dickmann off her line, but Bianchini beat Dickmann to the ball and cut back inside past Dickmann from 10 yards out. Bianchini then tried to poke a shot with her left foot, but Kettlekamp had tracked back by then and immediately blocked Bianchini's shot away.
Bianchini had better luck in the first half, as she opened the scoring in the match with a quality goal in the 30th minute. Freshman forward
Morgan Matthews flicked on a ball to Bianchini on the play as Bianchini was making a run up the middle of the field. NAU's Torey Braley was heavily tracking Bianchini, but Bianchini got past Braley with a subtle touch with her left foot in the box, opening herself up for a right-footed poke shot that tucked inside the left post.
The goal gave the Vikings the early 1-0 lead and moved Bianchini into a tie for fifth all-time in goals scored (12) and total points (34) at Portland State.
The Vikings controlled much of the play after Bianchini's goal, but the Lumberjacks came out with fresh legs in the second half and leveled the match again in the 65th minute when Doyle scored her first goal of the match on a nice passing combination. NAU's Cierra Gamble took the ball up the left flank on the play before crossing it in to Haley Wingender on the left end line. Wingender then cut the ball back to Doyle on the near post, who slotted a shot to Haluska's right and into the net.
Overall, the Vikings outshot the Lumberjacks 13-9, while both Dickmann and Haluska finished with four saves in the match.
The win for the Lumberjacks puts the preseason conference favorites back in the hunt for the regular-season title after they opened Big Sky play with an overtime loss at Sacramento State Friday.
The Lumberjacks also remain a bugaboo team for the Vikings, who have only won one match against the Lumberjacks since 2006. That match came at home in 2013, when Bianchini, then a sophomore, scored a golden goal to lead the Vikings to a 2-1 win in overtime.
The Vikings can jump back into the Big Sky race next weekend, as they face a pair of teams with two wins already in Big Sky play in Idaho and Eastern Washington. The Vikings play at Idaho at 3:30 p.m. (PT) Friday in Moscow, Idaho, and then head to Cheney, Wash., for a 1 p.m. (PT) match Sunday against Eastern Washington.
Match Notes: The Vikings fall to 5-12-5 all-time against the Lumberjacks after Sunday's loss…Bianchini now ranks two goals out of third place all-time at Portland State, as she'll tie former teammate Eryn Brown and Jamie Blakesley with two more goals…Bianchini also needs just one more point to move into a tie with Julie Forrest and Frankie Ross for third all-time in career points.
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