PORTLAND – Coming off a trio of Big Sky victories and a trip to the Big Sky tournament in 2019, the Portland State women's soccer team is eager to kick off its overdue 2020 campaign against Eastern Washington this Friday (March 12).
Fourth-year head coach Katie Burton and Associate Head Coach Maureen Whitney will lead the 2021 spring campaign. Burton added to her staff prior to the season, announcing the addition of goalkeeper coach Nick Irwin in January 2021.
BIG SKY DIVISIONAL SCHEDULE
Before COVID-19 delayed the 2020 fall season, Portland State was picked to finish eighth in Big Sky competition. The Vikings received 22 points in the 2020 Big Sky Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll while Montana, the reigning 2019 Big Sky regular-season champion was voted to win its second consecutive title.
The Vikings will cap their regular-season schedule at eight Big Sky Conference games, in a season much shorter than they're accustomed to. Choosing to forego non-conference action, PSU will make the most of what's to come during the shortened season as it has been nearly 18 months since they've laced up their cleats for live regular-season action.
The Vikings will compete in the Northwest Division of the Big Sky schedule, prepped to play all four teams in their division over a four-week span.
They will open divisional play on the road In Cheney, Wash this weekend with a pair of matches against Eastern Washington. Burton and her squad will then return back to their home turf on March 19 and 21 to take on the University of Idaho at Hillsboro Stadium.
Facing its final two weekends, the Vikings will head to Missoula, Mont. to battle the Grizzlies before closing out their regular season stint in a pair of home matches against Sacramento State at Hillsboro Stadium (April 9 and 11).
The top two teams from each division will advance to the 2021 Big Sky Women's Soccer Spring Championship. The tournament is scheduled for April 15-17 and will be hosted by Weber State in Ogden, Utah.
RETURNERS
With the loss of three seniors following the conclusion of the 2019 season, PSU will return nine starters to its roster.
Among the returners is Sienna Higinbotham who had a breakout year in her first season with the Vikings. The Albany, Ore. native led the Vikings with five goals in 2019, ending the season tied for sixth in the Big Sky with 11 points.
Also returning to the offensive attack this season is junior Sofi Papastamos who notched six assists in 2019 and earned second-team All-Big Sky honors.
2019 All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Tia Poore will be back in action for the Vikings after starting 19 games for PSU and recording 22 shots (8 on goal).
Enya Hernandez will return to the goal for the Vikings after 17 starts in 2019. She recorded 78 saves en route to a .748 save percentage.
Defenders Liz Hansen and Liv Lagerquist hope to spark the defensive efforts as they clocked 3,123 combined minutes during the 2019 season.
NEWCOMERS
Four freshmen will see their first career collegiate action this spring. Raniyah Burton (Richmond, Calif.), Cameron Dixon (Albuquerque, N.M.) Ani Jensen (Salt Lake City, Utah), and Emma Jones (Scappoose, Ore.) will look to make an impact in their first year as Vikings.
Graduate student Diana Santiago joined the Vikings squad in January, coming to Portland after two seasons with Oregon State.
OPENING WEEKEND: SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings will open their 2021 campaign on Friday against Eastern Washington. The Eagles will enter the weekend with a 1-2 record after falling to Washington State and Gonzaga in non-conference action. EWU earned their first win of the year over the College of Idaho (5-0).
EWU has scored six goals through three matches averaging 11.7 shots per game for a shot on goal percentage of .486. The Eagles were tabbed a third-place finish in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll released in July. They are led by seventh-year head coach Chad Bodnar, who returns 10 starters to his squad this season.
Portland State leads the all-time series over the Eagles (14-10-2). The teams last met at the end of the 2019 season when Eastern Washington knocked the Vikings out of the Big Sky tournament with a 3-0 defeat.
The Vikings will face EWU on Friday at 12 P.M. in Cheney, Wash. before closing out the two-game series with a matchup on Sunday (1 P.M.).
