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HILLSBORO, Ore. — On Friday, the "young" Portland State women's soccer team became the "resilient" Portland State women's soccer team after a 0-0 draw with league-leading Eastern Washington. On Sunday, the Vikings proved their mettle once again, coming back after being outplayed in the first half to beat Montana 1-0 on a 71st-minute goal from senior Aurora Bodenhamer.
 
Montana (5-5-3, 1-2-1 Big Sky) outshot the Vikings 11-4 in the first half, but the Vikings (3-8-1, 1-2-1 Big Sky) came out of halftime firing with high pressure on the Grizzlies in the second half and outshot the Grizzlies 7-2 after halftime, including the decisive shot on Bodenahmer's goal.
 
"The message we told our players coming into the second half was about energy, momentum and ball winning to help create chances. Today, the players took control in the second half and did an awesome job," PSU head coach Laura Schott said.
 
Sunday's win continued the Vikings' resilient response to their tough opening weekend of Big Sky play, when the Vikings lost a pair of overtime matches on the road against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. The Vikings responded with four points between their two matches this weekend, the first time the Vikings have earned in a conference weekend since earning four points on a road trip to Northern Colorado and North Dakota on Oct. 17 and 19, respectively, during the 2014 season.
 
Additionally, the Vikings shut out both the Eagles and Grizzlies this weekend, marking the first time the Vikings had shut out back-to-back Big Sky opponents since winning a pair of 1-0 matches against Idaho State and Weber State on Oct. 10 and 12, respectively, during the 2014 season.
 
The Vikings earned the shutout Sunday behind four saves from goalkeeper Abbie Faingold, who made her best saves in the first half, when the Grizzlies controlled much of the run of play. Faingold's first save was perhaps her best of the match, as Montana's Hallie Widner got on the end of a loose ball in the box and fired a quick shot on goal in the fifth minute. Faingold read the shot well, though, and made a diving save to her right to push the shot wide.
 
The Vikings took over the match after halftime, coming out with high pressure on the Grizzlies' backline that allowed the Vikings to create several chances leading up to Bodenhamer's game-winner.
 
The Vikings' first chance of the second half came just four minutes after the break, when junior Katie Forsee sent a header on a long ball up to sophomore Krystal de Ramos, who beat the Montana defender marking her to the ball. Montana's pressure was just enough to where de Ramos wasn't able to get much on her shot, however, making it an easy save for Montana goalkeeper Kailey Norman.
 
Forsee then made her own chance essentially in the 64th minute, as she outhustled a Montana defender to a long ball in the Grizzlies' defensive third and fired a hard shot at a difficult angle that Norman could only block out for a corner.
 
Forsee drove much of the high pressure the Vikings used throughout the second half, which crystalized into the game-winning goal in the 71st minute for Bodenhamer. Forsee initiated the chance, as she pressured Norman on a ball passed back to her by one of her defenders, forcing Norman to send a quick clearance up the field. Bodenhamer blocked Norman's clearance right at the top of the box, however, and controlled the ball with enough time to place a hard shot to the right of Norman for the goal.
 
Bodenhamer's goal marked the 10th of her career at Portland State, giving her sole possession of ninth place all-time at the school.
 
The Viking defense took over once again from there, holding the Grizzlies to just one shot after Bodenhamer's goal to preserve the shutout win.
 
The Vikings will now take some momentum into their matches next weekend, a 180-degree turn from where they were last week following the two overtime losses. The Vikings face a split, home-and-away weekend next week, as they play Idaho State on the road Friday, before returning home for a match against defending Big Sky regular-season champion Idaho.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improve to 12-11-2 all-time against the Grizzlies following Sunday's win...Bodenhamer needs just one more goal to move into a tie for seventh place all-time with Julie Forrest (2001-04) and Katie Miyake (2002-04)…Bodenhamer also moved into a tie for seventh all-time with the fourth game-winning goal of her career, tying her former teammate Kayla Henningsen (2011-14).