Slow starts have been a theme of the season for the Portland State women's soccer team, a trend that unfortunately continued Sunday in Seattle. The Vikings struggled to maintain much possession in the opening portion of the game and allowed a goal in the 15th minute that would hold on as the winner.

The Vikings looked much better on the attack in the final 10 minutes of the half and created some good opportunities to score in the second half but couldn't find the equalizer. The Redhawks doubled their lead in the 73rd minute and added the final goal in the 88th minute directly off a free kick.

The Redhawks also defeated Big Sky defending champion Eastern Washington by the same 3-0 score earlier this season. They improved to 2-1-1 with the win, while the loss drops the Vikings to 1-3-0 at the halfway point in the non-conference season.

"Overall we just have to work harder in training to be able to consistently make smart decisions during game play," coaches Katie Burton and Maureen Whitney said. "The team is starting to be able to recognize open spaces, numerical advantages, and mismatches during play.  The quicker we can do this the more dangerous we will be early on. This can only be done by establishing the habit of scanning the field during the run of play."

Maxine Nagramada recorded the first shot attempt of the game for the Vikings 35 minutes in. Her attempt from distance went wide, but it signaled a nice change for Portland State in the final 10 minutes of the half. The offense kept up pressure and created another good chance on a free kick that was well defended by Seattle.

The momentum created in the closing moments of the half was kept up by Portland State coming out of the locker rooms. The Vikings recorded a couple of chances in the opening 10 minutes of the half, including a cross from Ellie Vasey that Krystal de Ramos very nearly finished to level the game in the 55th minute.

Regan Russell attempted a slow rolling shot that challenged the goalkeeper minutes later as the Vikings kept looking for an equalizer.

But the Redhawks counter-attacked and scored on a cross in the 73rd minute to take the wind out of Portland State's comeback attempt. Rilee Castilla did some good individual work to create a shot late in match but it was saved. A goal scored directly off a free kick sealed the win for Seattle.

The talented Redhawks team controlled much of the match. The Vikings were outshot 18-4 and didn't attempt a single corner. Seattle attempted four corners and put eight of their shots on goal. The Vikings are still looking for confidence in the final third, something the coaches said just needs to translate over from practice.

"I think we are always hoping we can beat someone when we face opposition," the coaching staff said. "In practice we are confident, show a little ego and don't judge ourselves on mistakes. In games, we seem to give the defender across from us more credit than we give ourselves."

Portland State was whistled for 15 fouls and also picked up two yellow cards (Kasey Isobe and Maxine Nagramada).

The Vikings will return to action next Sunday at home against Pacific (Calif.). The game will begin at 1:00 p.m.

MATCH NOTES: The Vikings fall to 0-6-4 against the Redhawks in the all-time series … Senior Morgan Matthews went over 3,000 minutes played in the match. She started and played 55 minutes, recording one shot … sophomore midfielder Tea Poore also reached a career milestone, eclipsing 1,000 career minutes … Sunday's match was the first time a team scored three goals on Portland State all season. The last time an opponent had three goals was Oct. 13, 2017 when Eastern Washington beat the Vikings 3-0 in Cheney.