HILLSBORO, Ore. - After three ties in their first four conference games, the Portland State women's soccer team sought a breakthrough. They found it on Thursday evening at Hillsboro Stadium, scoring in the 55th minute to secure their first Big Sky victory of the year with a 1-0 win over Northern Colorado.
It marked the Vikings' third win of the 2024 season and third straight victory over the Bears as they improved to 3-6-4 and 1-1-3 in conference play. The defeat dropped Northern Colorado to 3-13-0 and 1-4-0 in Big Sky play.
The win marked the Vikings' second consecutive shutout, with
Eden Millan achieving her third of the season in goal for PSU. The Redondo Beach native recorded 10 saves in the win and has now allowed just one goal in her last three outings.
Portland State came out strong Thursday evening, creating several scoring opportunities in the opening minutes of action. They rattled off six shots and a corner kick within the first eight minutes, narrowly missing several attempts. It wasn't until a free kick shortly after halftime that the Vikings found the back of the net.
Liv Frazier delivered a ball into the box, where
Abi Hoffman got a touch, causing it to deflect off the Northern Colorado goalkeeper and into the goal, giving Portland State a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute.
The goal was the 17th of Hoffman's career and a significant milestone, moving her into second all-time in career goals and points, with a total of 44. Additionally. it marked
Liv Frazier's first career assist.
Northern Colorado applied pressure in search of the equalizer, but Millan and the Vikings' defense held strong, despite facing four shots and a corner kick from UNC in the final eight minutes. The Bears out-shot the Vikings in the second half, 10-5, but Portland State maintained the overall shot count at 18-15. This victory marked the third consecutive game where the Vikings out-shot their opponent and saw them record 18 or more shots in four of their last five outings.
PSU's season point leader,
Elle Frazier, notched a season-high five shot attempts in the win, tying her career-best while setting a new career high with four shots on target.
Kalo Iongi and Hoffman each contributed three shots to the Vikings' total.
Portland State will use this victory as a building block as they enter the home stretch of the regular season. They will return to action next week with a road match against Northern Arizona on Friday, Oct. 18, in Flagstaff (6:00 PM PT) before traveling to Montana on Sunday, Oct. 20 (11:00 AM).
