HILLSBORO, Ore. – The Portland State women's soccer team opened Big Sky play on Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 victory over Sacramento State at Hillsboro Stadium.

The win marks the Viking's first Big Sky victory since October 6, 2019, as Head Coach Katie Burton and her squad improved to 3-5-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference action. Sacramento State fell to 1-6-2 on the year.

"It's always important to get that first win of conference play," Burton said. "It creates confidence and helps the team believe in their abilities and what they can do as a unit. We had a number of players step up today, but it was all around a team effort for a team result."

Viking freshman Abi Hoffman had a monster day, beginning with her first career goal in the 4th minute set up by fellow freshman Lucy Quinn.

After the teams exchanged several shots in the opening minutes, Sacramento State was able to find the equalizer in the 22nd minute.  The score remained knotted at one as the teams headed into the break.

Just two minutes into the second half, Hoffman netted her second goal of the day. A Sienna Higinbotham attempt ricocheted off of Hornet goalkeeper Katie Price landing at the foot of Hoffman to secure the 2-1 lead.

The Hornets were quick to respond once again, knotting the game at two with a goal of their own in the 48th minute.

Hoffman found her most impressive goal of the contest just minutes later at the 50-minute mark. Firing from 22 yards out, Hoffman squeezed the go-ahead goal in the upper left corner just beyond the fingertips of Price.  

Portland State's final strike of the day came in the 75th minute when Sofi Papastamos served a corner kick perfectly to the head of Higinbotham who sent it to the back of the net, securing a two-goal advantage.

The Viking's defense buckled down in the final 15 minutes, holding the Hornets scoreless as they locked in the 4-2 victory.  

"It was great to get on the board early today," Burton said. "We had a fantastic sequence that we've been working on all week that gave us the result we needed to get on the front foot early. The girls made all of the halftime adjustments with their movements on the offensive side of the ball which made the difference. I'm extremely proud of the group and where they can go in the Big Sky!"

Hoffman, who entered the match without a goal in her Portland State career walked away with the program's first hat trick since 2017.

The Vikings out-shot Sacramento State 18-14 while notching five corner kicks in the contest. Sidney O'billovich earned the win in goal for PSU, making five saves in her third start of the season.

Portland State will look to carry the momentum into next week as they head on the road to take on Northern Colorado on Friday, Oct. 1 (6 PM PT).