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Portland State University Athletics

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Sofi Papastamos
Steve Brenner
2
Winner Weber State WSU (4-3-4)
1
Portland State PSU (2-8-0)
Winner
Weber State WSU
(4-3-4)
2
Final
1
Portland State PSU
(2-8-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Weber State WSU 1 1 2
Portland State PSU 1 0 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Wildcats Outlast Vikings in Hillsboro

Portland State put their potential on full display Friday afternoon in Hillsboro. Abbie Faingold had an incredible highlight reel save, which Viking fans have come to expect from the redshirt senior. A pair of freshmen combined for a beautiful goal to level the match. In the end, however, it wasn't enough.

Weber State scored in the 73rd minute and withstood the Vikings attack down the stretch to escape with a 2-1 road win. The Vikings now fall to 2-8-0 on the year, but more importantly are 0-3 in Big Sky play. Weber State moves to 4-3-4 with a 2-0-1 record in the Big Sky.

It seemed to take months to get to the conference season, but now that it has arrived time is moving faster than the Vikings would like. They are now one-third of the way through the conference slate and still have no points to show for it after losing on the road last weekend to Idaho and Eastern Washington.

Sunday's match against Idaho State now becomes crucial if the Vikings want to give themselves a shot and climbing back up the league standings and into a qualifying spot for the Big Sky tournament.

Friday's match was an incredibly even game between two times that have been physical all season long. The sense of urgency became apparent immediately for the Vikings, who attacked early and often. Weber State didn't back down in a first half that saw plenty of chances for both teams.

It was the Wildcats who struck first in the 10th minute of the match by way of Morgan Quarnberg. One of the best players in Weber State history, and a player that scored both goals in the match between these two teams last year, found a pocket of space for a run. Nixie Hernandez rolled one through and Quarnberg did what she does best, scoring the 20th goal of her career and putting the visitors on top in the 10th minute.

The early goal seemed to boost the spirits of the Wildcats as their attack looked very dangerous for a long stretch after the goal. Portland State continued to press high and in the 21st minute it paid off.

The Vikings forced a turnover and Amanda Dahl went on a long run into Wildcat territory. The freshmen drew the defense out to the right and then slid a ball back through the middle of the defense to fellow freshman Sofi Papastamos. Papastamos calmly finished it to level the match at 1-all.

There wasn't much to separate the two teams at half and even at the end of the game. Portland State attempted one more shot than Weber State, but the teams had the same amount of saves and nearly the same amount of corners.

An injury in the second half seemed like it may be the difference maker between the two sides. On a 50-50 ball, Weber State goalkeeper Nicki Pittman collided with a Portland State player and was removed for the game.

She had played every minute for the Wildcats this season. Kaytlin Bradley entered the match as a substitute, playing her first minutes of the season in a crucial road match. The Vikings presented some challenging balls, but in the end Bradley was up for every one of them.

Weber State would do well maintaining possession and keeping the ball away from their new keeper. In the 73rd minute, they finally found the game-winner. A cross came to the front post and Abbie Faingold came out to meet it. She dove, but the ball was deflected into the middle of the box.

Taylor Scadlock fired a shot at the empty net that was deflected slightly but not enough. It found the top corner of the goal and put the Wildcats ahead with 17 minutes to play.

Portland State nearly found the equalizer late. Regan Russell played a nice cross into the box toward Dahl. Already with an assist in the game, Dahl patiently waited and took the header with textbook form, driving it low and right.

In perhaps the most important play of the season for both teams, Bradley reacted quick and made a spectacular diving save to keep the Vikings off the board. The Wildcats did well to burn off the final minutes of the clock and seal the win.

The Vikings now desperately need a result against Idaho State on Sunday. The Bengals and Vikings will begin play at 1:00 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadium. The game can be seen on WatchBigSky.com.

 
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