HILLSBORO, Ore. - The Portland State Women's soccer team scored a season-high five goals en route to a 5-2 victory over Eastern Washington in Sunday's home finale at Hillsboro Stadium.

Sunday's victory was the Vikings' third straight, improving to 7-5-1 overall and 4-0-1 in Big Sky action. Winning six of their last seven matches, the Vikings have both solidified their spot at the top of the Big Sky soccer standings and secured a trip to the conference tournament. 

The Eagles suffered their second straight loss on Sunday, falling to 2-11-1 and 1-3-1 in conference action.  

The Vikings started hot in front of a large senior day crowd, scoring two goals in the opening ten minutes of action. Sienna Higinbotham began the scoring, finishing a perfect cross from Raniyah Burton in the sixth minute. Abi Hoffman extended the Vikings' lead just 65 seconds later with a 35-yard strike over the fingertips of EWU's leaping goalkeeper. 

Eastern Washington added to the frenzy in the eighth minute, turning a blocked shot into a goal to cut the Vikings' lead in half. The match was scoreless for the next 18 minutes before a Viking corner kick in the 26th minute. Audrey Williams' initial shot was blocked but Higinbotham redirected it for the score, securing her second brace of the season. 

With their backs against the wall, the Eagles scored a much-needed goal in the 53rd minute to pull themselves within one. Portland State's Lucy Quinn gave the Vikings some breathing room in the 81st minute, working her way around two Eagle defenders before sending a left-footed beauty into the upper left corner of the net. 

The Vikings' defense buckled down in the closing minutes, holding EWU to just two shots in the final 20 minutes. Ocean Rideout put the cherry on top for the Vikings in the 85th minute, sending home a rebounded shot attempt from Burton to seal the deal.  

Natalie Cunningham earned her second win of the weekend in goal for Portland State, collecting six saves in the contest.

For just the eighth time in program history, the Vikings recorded 25+ shots, finishing the contest with 26. They put a season-high 17 shots on goal, the most of any Viking time since 2001. 11 Vikings contributed to the shot total while Burton led the way with a career-high seven attempts.

PSU will close out the season with three road matches over the next two weeks. Holding a one-game lead in the standings, the Vikings will travel to Idaho State (Friday, Oct. 13) and Weber State (Oct. 15) next weekend before closing out the regular season at Montana on Sunday, Oct. 22. 

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