PORTLAND, Ore. - Coming off its first five-win season since 2018 and a third-place regular-season finish, an experienced Portland State women's soccer team is poised to continue its success in 2023. The Vikings will kick off their 2023 campaign this week, beginning with New Mexico State on Thursday, Aug. 17 (6:00 pm) and Seattle on Sunday, Aug.
20th (1:00 pm) at Hillsboro Stadium.
All Viking home matches this fall will air on
ESPN+. Live stats will also be provided on
goviks.com.
Nine of PSU's 16 regular-season matches will be played at home, which includes a five-game home stand to open the season.
Entering her seventh year at Portland State, head coach
Katie Burton will lead a 30-man squad alongside associate head coach
Maureen Whitney and newly appointed assistant Makenna Hadaller. PSU is slated for 16 regular-season matchups, consisting of eight non-conference and eight Big Sky matches.
The Vikings' roster features 21 returners from 2022 and nine newcomers, including five freshmen and four transfers. They'll have plenty of experience on the pitch as they head into the season with 13 upperclassmen, including four fifth-year players.
PSU was picked seventh in last week's Big Sky preseason coaches' poll, despite entering the 2022 postseason as the three-seed. The Vikings tallied 28 points and one first-place vote, tying last year's preseason favorite Northern Colorado for the seventh-place spot.
OPENING WEEKEND
New Mexico State at Portland State
Thursday, Aug. 17 | 6:00pm | Hillsboro Stadium (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Live Stats |
ESPN+
All-Time Series: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2022 (L, 3-0)
NMSU 2022 Record: 13-5-3 (WAC Tournament Champions)
Seattle U at Portland State
Sunday, Aug. 20 | 1:00pm | Hillsboro Stadium (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Live Stats |
ESPN+
All-Time Series: Seattle
leads, 8-0-4
Last Meeting: Aug. 21, 2022 (L, 2-0)
Seattle 2022 Record: 11-6-3
2022 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Made their 14th appearance in the Big Sky Tournament
- Secured the program's highest Big Sky Tournament seed since 2014 (3-seed)
- Notched the first five-win season since 2018
- Posted three consecutive shutouts to open Big Sky competition for the first time in program history
- Opened Big Sky play 4-0-1 which marked their best start to conference action since 2013
- Claimed their first wins over Northern Colorado, Montana, and Weber State since 2016
KEY RETURNERS
2022 honorable mention All-Big Sky selection
Hailey Green will lead the Vikings' back line in her fifth collegiate season. Green was the only fielder player in the Big Sky to play the entire 90 minutes of every match last season. She enters her final year having played 20 consecutive
matches and ended 2022 as one of just ten players in NCAA Division I to have a complete-game streak dating back to 2021. Joining Green defensively is a talented group of sophomores in
Kalo Iongi,
Erin Marynik and
Leah Heugly, who each recorded nine or more starts and over 1,000 minutes of action for the Vikings a season ago.
Fifth-year senior
Sienna Higinbotham along with juniors
Lucy Quinn and
Abi Hoffman will anchor the Vikings' midfield. Higinbotham will look to build on an already impressive career as she heads into her final season with 57 career starts under her belt. The two-time All-Big Sky selection has scored 10 goals and three assists in four years, finishing two of the last four seasons
as PSU's leading scorer. Quinn enters her third year with the Vikings after starting 17 of 18 matches last season. The 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Sky selection has notched one goal and two assists during her career. Hoffman, a 5'8 junior from Troutdale, Ore., is a consistent threat, tallying 27 starts, 18 points and 74 shots during her career. Hoffman was the Vikings' leading scorer in 2022, recording five goals and one assist.
Portland State's offensive attack will be fueled by senior
Raniyah Burton and sophomores
Elle Frazier and
Ocean Rideout. The trio combined for eight goals and 28 shots on goal in 2022. Starting all 18 games at the forward position, Burton earned 2022 Second Team All-Big Sky honors after scoring three goals
during conference action. Frazier and Rideout both had standout
freshmen seasons for the Vikings. Appearing in all 18 games for PSU, Rideout found the net in three contests as she finished the season with a team-high two game-winning goals. Starting all but two matches in her first season with PSU, Frazier will head into her sophomore year having totaled five points and over 1,200 minutes as a freshmen.
Sophomore
Natalie Cunningham is the lone returning goalkeeper for the Vikings in
2023 as she looks to make her first-career collegiate appearance
in goal this season.
NEWCOMERS
The Vikings roster features four transfers and five freshmen. Looking to play major roles defensively this season are
Ashley Peterson (Canby, Ore.), a sophomore transfer from Central Washington, and
Audrey Williams (Salem, Ore.), a junior transfer from Alcorn State. Graduate transfer goalkeeper
Eden Millan (Redondo Beach, Calif.), joins the Vikings after four seasons at NC State. A 5-8 junior forward,
Rachel Farr (Riverton, Utah), joins the Vikings following two seasons at Yakima Valley Community College.
In addition, Vikings' newcomers include freshmen
Kainani Jacang (Ewa Beach, Hawaii),
Megan Devall (West Linn, Ore.),
Kiara Van Deusen (Long Beach, Calif.),
Yammile Picon (Montebello, Calif.) and
Alexi Cataldi (Corona, Calif.).
2023 SCHEDULE
Following matchups against NMSU and Seattle, the Vikings will host three-straight home matches against St. Thomas (Aug 25), Pacific (Aug 27) and Iowa State (Sept 7). Their road schedule will begin on Sept. 10 at Utah Tech before heading to UC Riverside (Sept. 15) and CSUN (Sept. 17).
PSU will open Big Sky action at home, beginning with Northern Colorado on Sept 22. Following a home match against Northern Arizona on Sept. 24, the Vikings will head to Sacramento State on Sunday, Oct. 1. They'll return to Hillsboro Stadium for the final time to host Idaho (Oct 6) and Eastern Washington (Oct 8) before capping off the regular slate at Idaho State (Oct 13), Weber State (Oct 15) and Montana (Oct 22).
The top six teams at the end of the Big Sky regular season will qualify for the single-elimination tournament in Flagstaff, Ariz. (Nov. 1-5). The Vikings are gunning for their 15th postseason appearance and fourth under Burton.
