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RENO, Nev. — The Portland State women's soccer team picked up its first win of the season in style Sunday, beating Nevada 1-0 on the Wolf Pack's home turf thanks to a surprise, 67th-minute goal from distance from the Vikings' Morgan Matthews.
 
The win snapped a 13-match road losing streak for the Vikings (1-5-0), as the Vikings hadn't won on the road since a 1-0 win over North Dakota on Oct. 19, 2014. Additionally, the Vikings snapped a two-match winning streak for the Wolf Pack (2-3-0), who were coming off a 2-0 road win over the Vikings' Big Sky rival, Sacramento State, on Friday.
 
The Vikings also won the match at elevation – Sunday's match was played at over 4,500 feet – something the team will need to replicate during Big Sky play, as four of their five conference road matches will be played at 4,000 feet or above.
 
"Obviously, a lot of results have gone the other way on us early this year, but we have a good young team and they deserved the win," PSU head coach Laura Schott said after the match. "The scores might not reflect it, but we're steadily improving."
 
Matthews, one of the 18 underclassmen on the Vikings' 26-player roster as a sophomore, scored the Vikings' first game-winner of 2016 while putting high pressure on the Wolf Pack's backline. Matthews went in for a tackle on one of the Pack's defensive backs and caught the ball with such force that it ricocheted up over the Wolf Pack goalkeeper's head and into the net from 30 yards out.
 
Matthews has now scored two goals for the Vikings this season, tying her with fellow sophomore Krystal de Ramos for the team lead. Matthews also scored two goals for the Vikings during her freshman season in 2015, giving her four goals already in her young PSU career.
 
The Vikings' defense, meanwhile, finished with its first shutout since a 1-0 win over Air Force on Sept. 13, 2015, almost exactly one year ago. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Abbie Faingold got credit for her first individual shutout in the match, as she earned it while making a career-high six saves, three of which came after Matthews' goal as the Wolf Pack pushed for an equalizer.
 
Sunday's win comes as part of a steady improvement for the Vikings, which started Sept. 2 in the Vikings' match against Fresno State. The Vikings led for all but 65 seconds in that match despite losing, 4-3, to the Bulldogs. The Vikings then mounted a comeback against Gonzaga last Sunday, turning a 3-0 deficit into a one-goal gap at 3-2, before giving up two late goals to lose, 5-2.
 
Friday's match against UC Davis showed more signs of improvement, as the Vikings tied a season high with seven shots in the match, and held UC Davis to 11 shots, a season low for a Viking opponent.
 
Everything came together for the Vikings Sunday, as the team set a season high with 14 shots against Nevada, eight of which were on frame. The 14 shots were the most for the Vikings in a non-overtime match since recording 27 shots against North Dakota on Oct. 16, 2015. Additionally, the Vikings had not recorded more than 14 shots in a non-overtime match on the road since recording 26 shots at North Dakota on Oct. 19, 2014.
 
The Vikings will now take some momentum into their final non-conference weekend of the season next week. The Vikings will face their second split, home-and-away weekend of the non-conference, as they host Colorado State at Hillsboro Stadium Friday, before heading out on the road to face San Jose State Sunday. The Vikings faced a similar schedule against Fresno State and Gonzaga, as they hosted Fresno State Friday, before playing Gonzaga on the road Sunday. The Vikings lost both of their matches against Fresno State and Gonzaga, but will hope for better next week after breaking through for their first win against the Wolf Pack.
 
The Vikings' match against Colorado State Friday will kick off at 1 p.m. (PT) at Hillsboro Stadium.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improve to 5-2-0 all-time against Nevada with their win Sunday…Faingold's six saves were the most by a Viking goalkeeper since Angela Haluska saved 10 shots in the Vikings' 2015 regular-season finale against Sacramento State…Nevada also finished with 14 shots in the match, meaning Sunday's match was the first this season in which the Vikings were not outshot by their opponent.