If you wished to read into Portland State's 0-2 start last weekend, it wouldn't take long to realize that it isn't as dramatic as it may have initially appeared. Idaho and Eastern Washington have been, after all, two of the best teams in the conference over the last few years.

Idaho entered conference play the highest ranked Big Sky team in the RPI. They were the only team to pick up all six points in the first weekend of matches and swept the Big Sky's player of the week awards. And Eastern Washington? They have two straight Big Sky championships to show that going into Cheney and leaving with a win is a tall task for any opposition.

In addition to all of that, Rilee Castilla received a red card in the Idaho match. The Vikings played with 10 players for nearly 40 minutes and then were down one of their best midfielders in the game against Eastern Washington.

So the 0-2 start may not reveal much about this Portland State team other than they lost on the road to two of the conference's very best teams. But, it does mean that every match moving forward is critical if the Vikings hope to return to the Big Sky tournament for the second year in a row.

The Vikings are one of just three teams to enter week two with zero points. Montana, who played just one game last week, and Southern Utah join them. The top six teams qualify for the Big Sky tourney. This leaves PSU looking up in the standings at both of its opponents this weekend; Weber State and Idaho State.

This weekend could prove immensely valuable in the Vikings' hunt for the postseason. A chance to pick up some points at home cannot be wasted, as Portland State won't be back inside Hillsboro Stadium again until meetings with Montana and Northern Colorado on the final weekend of the season.

Portland State's record this year shows just how important these home matches could prove to be. The Vikings are 0-5 this season on the road, a negative trend that continued last weekend. But at home they have split their matches, scoring a huge comeback win against Pacific (Calif.) the last time out.

It is only week two, but Portland State may have already reached make-or-break time. If they can pick up three, four, or, ideally, six points this weekend, they will put themselves right back into postseason contention. A couple of losses at home and the Vikings would have a long road ahead of them to get back into the top six.

WEBER STATE (3-3-4/1-0-1 BSC)

•The Wildcats enter the match coming off a draw at home against Northern Colorado. It was a defensive battle as neither side could find a goal in 110 minutes. Contrast that to Weber State's first match of the weekend, a 5-2 drubbing of Southern Utah. The Wildcats attempted 23 shots and had four different goalscorers in a game in which they trailed early.
•Weber State averages a goal per game this year and holds opponents just under the same mark. While they have only scored 10 goals (sixth in the Big Sky), the Wildcats have 14 assists (the most in the Big Sky).
•Olivia Barton might not be the leading goal scorer for Weber State, but she could very well be their most dangerous player. She has five assists this season, the most in the Big Sky. She is tied for third in the conference in points, doing well to always get her teammates involved.
•Morgan Quarnberg provides the best finishing threat for the Wildcats. She has three goals this season to put her in a tie for third in the conference. She also leads the conference in game-winning goals with two this year, and is tied with Barton in points with seven (three goals, one assist).
•Weber State has the best defense in the Big Sky and are the only team in the conference to limit opponents to less than one goal per game. They also share the lead in the conference for shutouts this season with four.
•They don't create many corner kicks, and you may not want to expect a lot of set pieces in this weeknd's match. Weber State is 9th in the 10 team Big Sky with 29 corners this season. The only team behind them? Portland State, which has attempted just 21.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WEBER STATE

The two teams are tied in the all-time series 10-10-4. Weber State won last year's meeting between the two teams 2-0 in Ogden, Utah. Morgan Quarnberg scored both goals for the Wildcats, one from the penalty spot, and Sydnie Brough recorded a shutout in goal.

IDAHO STATE (2-7-0/1-1-0 BSC)

•Idaho State will play Sacramento State on Friday before taking on the Vikings. They enter the weekend coming off their second win of the season against Southern Utah. Christina Krieger scored the game-winner in a match that saw the Bengals attempt 14 shots on goal and 24 total. The 1-0 win was the only shutout recorded by Idaho State this year.
•Against Northern Arizona in the Big Sky opener, the Bengals had the lead on two separate occasions thanks to a brace from Makena Bambei. It wasn't enough, as the Lumberjacks scored the last two goals of the match, including an 84th-minute game winning goal, for a 3-2 win.
•The Idaho State offense has been productive this season, attempting 14.67 shots per game, the second highest mark in the conference. On the other hand, they have struggled to stifle their opponents this year in any capacity, allowing over 22 shots a game.
•Idaho State have allowed eight more goals this year than any other Big Sky team. They have given up 31 goals through just nine matches. This number is slightly skewed by a 10-0 loss to BYU. Still, the Bengals have allowed multiple goals in every game except last weekend's shutout.
•The Bengals haven't picked up a result away from home, losing all four games on the road this season.
•Makena Bambei leads the Idaho State attack. She leads the team with two goals and five points and has attempted 19 shots, the second highest number on the team. Delaney Johnston also has two goals while Brooke Kortekaas (one goal, one assist) leads the team with 20 shots.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. IDAHO STATE

Portland State leads the series 11-9-1. The Vikings have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams, including a 2-1 win in Pocatello last season. The Bengals jumped out to an early lead in the match, scoring eight minutes into the match.

Ellie Vasey scored in the 24th minute and Liv Jillings provided the second half winner in the comeback victory.

VAMOS, DE RAMOS!

Krystal de Ramos continued an impressive streak of play last weekend and now finds herself at or near the top of a number of Big Sky Conference rankings.

She scored the opener last Sunday against Eastern Washington for her third goal of the season. Opposing defenses have struggled to find an answer for the piercing runs that de Ramos makes. All three of her goals have come from impressive runs where she took a touch or two and beat the keeper.

De Ramos, who missed the first two games of the year and has played in just seven matches, leads the Big Sky in goals per game with 0.43. Her three goals also put her in tie for third in the conference, trailing the leaders by just a single goal.

The senior forward also ranks in the top 10 in points (6, t-6 in BSC) and points per game (0.86, third in BSC).

PAPASTAMOS' PATIENCE PAYS OFF

Forgive the alliteration, but a freshman for the Vikings finally saw a lot of hard work pay off on the statsheet last Sunday. Sofi Papastamos has started every match of her freshman season, making major contributions as a defensive midfielder.

Against Eastern Washington, she showed off her skill offensively and picked up a couple of assists. She controlled the ball in the midfield and found de Ramos on the run with a perfectly weighted ball for the first goal of the match.

On the second, she held off a couple of defenders and played a short pass to Morgan Matthews, who did the rest. Matthews curled in a stunning shots from just over 25 yards for the goal.

It was the first two-plus assist game for a Viking player since Rachel Michieli did it last season against Sacramento State on Oct. 8.

MATTHEWS LIVES FOR BIG GOALS

Morgan Matthews has scored two goals over the last two seasons, and it is unlikely she will forget either of them soon. The only goal of her junior season was a fabulous volley that checked in at No. 6 in SportsCenter's nightly Top 10.

Last Sunday, she scored another fantastic goal, curling in a 25-plus yarder to cut Eastern Washington's lead to one. It wasn't enough in the end, but she showed that if defenses give her any sort of space she will make the most of it.

ABBIE FAINGOLD RECORD WATCH

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Abbie Faingold entered the 2018 season with a firm place as one of the best goalkeepers in Portland State history. Now, she is chasing after school records in numerous different categories.

Last weekend was a big one for Faingold, who reached two significant milestones. She eclipsed 4,000 career minutes played in the Idaho match. Against Eastern Washington, Faingold recorded her 200th career save. She is just the third Portland State goalkeeper to reach those marks, joining Cris Lewis (2006-09) and Kim Street (1996-98).

She also moved up to a tie for third in goalkeeper starts. She now has 46 career goalkeeper starts. She will likely pass Niki Brooks this weekend, but third is likely as high as she can climb in that category as she trails Kim Street by 19 starts for second. Faingold is fourth all-time in goalkeeper wins with 16 in her career. She trails Joell Giger by one for third place in the record book.

She is tied with Street for third in school history with 12 career shutouts. Faingold also cracks the top 10 in goals against average (1.63) and save percentage (.731).

HOPE AT HOME

The tough times kept coming away from Hillsboro Stadium last weekend as Portland State remains winless in road matches this season. But, a return home should give the Vikings some hope.

Portland State has played two matches in Hillsboro this season and have split the results. They opened with a 2-1 overtime loss to CSUN that saw all three goals come within the last 14 minutes of regulation. The Vikings controlled much of the possession in the first overtime period, but a CSUN counter-attack won the game for the visitors.

In the second home game, the Vikings overcame a halftime deficit against Pacific (Calif.) to pick up the second win of the season.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

10 - Portland State entered last weekend 2-0 in games that they attempted at least 10 shots in. While they reached that mark in both matches last weekend, it wasn't enough to get the wins. On the other side, Portland State has allowed every opponent this season to take at least 10 shots.
2 - The Vikings also had a 2-0 record when scoring at least two goals going into the weekend. In the 3-2 loss to Eastern Washington, that record fell to 2-1.
0 - The amount of wins or ties Portland State has when scoring either zero or one goals this year. The Vikings are 0-6 in such games.
1 - The number of career starts for Amanda Dahl, who got the first opportunity to be included in the 11 against Eastern Washington.
339 - The number of days Portland State had gone between red cards. Krystal de Ramos saw red last season against Eastern Washington on Oct. 13. Castilla's red card came this year on Sep. 21.

VIKINGS AND OPPONENTS IN TOP 100

Portland State, Weber State and Idaho State all rank in the top 100 nationally in a number of categories.

The Vikings are 10th in the country in fouls per game with 12.56. They are also tied for fourth with one red card and tied for sixth with 13 yellow cards.

The Wildcats are 59th in GAA (0.827), 44th in save percentage (0.842) and 96th in shutout percentage (0.40). Weber State also ranks 95th in assists (14) and is tied for 12th in yellow cards (12).

Idaho State ranks fifth in fouls per game (13.00), 31st in saves per game (6.11), 90th in shots per game (7.00) and 51st in yellow cards (eight).