PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State women's soccer team will conclude its eight-game non-conference schedule this weekend at Hillsboro Stadium. The Vikings face Utah Tech on Friday, Sept. 20 (1:00 p.m.), and will welcome Seattle U on Sunday, Sept. 22 (1:00 p.m.)

Admission to Hillsboro Stadium is free for all fans and students. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, and live stats will be available for those following from home (links below).

For fans planning to attend Sunday's match against the Redhawks, please note that due to an event at the Hillsboro Hops stadium, all soccer game attendees will need to enter through a metal detector.

 

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2024 PORTLAND STATE SOCCER GAME NOTES -- WEEK 6

UTAH TECH (3-2-3) AT PORTLAND STATE (1-5-0)
Friday, Sept. 20 | 1:00 PM PT | Hillsboro Stadium (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Watch on ESPN+  |  Live Stats
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All-time Series: Utah Tech leads, 1-0-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 10, 2023 (L, 1-0)
Utah Tech's 2023 Record: 8-7-5 (3-2-4 WAC)
Head Coach: Lexi Brown, 2nd season
UTAH TECH NOTES: The Trailblazers enter the weekend with a 3-2-3 record, following a 0-1-1 performance in Idaho. They're searching for their first win since Sept. 5. This season, they've secured victories against Northern Arizona, Westminster College, and UNLV, and hold a 1-2-2 record on the road. Averaging 10 shots per game, the Trailblazers have scored 10 goals so far, with junior Lacy Fox leading the offense with five of those goals.

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SEATTLE U (5-1-2) AT PORTLAND STATE (1-5-0)
Sunday, Sept. 22 | 1:00 PM PT | Hillsboro Stadium (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Watch on ESPN+  |  Live Stats
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All-time Series: Seattle U leads, 9-0-4
Last Meeting: Aug. 20, 2023 (L, 5-0)
Seattle U's 2023 Record: 10-9-2 (6-2-1 WAC)
Head Coach: Julie Woodward, 28^th season
SEATTLE U NOTES: The Redhawks (5-1-2) are off to a historic start, carrying a 7-match unbeaten streak into the weekend after a 1-1 draw with the University of Portland last week. They are currently ranked second in the Pacific Region by the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Their only loss came in the season opener against Oregon, falling 1-0 back on August 15^th. The Redhawks have netted 15 goals while conceding only six, with eight different players contributing to the score sheet. They'll take on Idaho State on Thursday, Sept. 19^th before heading to Portland on Sunday.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH TECH AND SEATTLE U 

• The Vikings are looking for their first-ever wins against both Utah Tech and Seattle U this weekend
• Friday's game against Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) will be just the second meeting between the teams. The first matchup ended in a 1-0 loss for the Vikings in St. George last year
• The Vikings are still seeking their first win against Seattle U, despite having faced the Redhawks 13 times. They enter Sunday with an 0-9-4 record against the Pacific Northwest foe
• The Redhawks have been a common non-conference opponent for the Vikings, with this being the sixth matchup in the past eight seasons since the start of the Katie Burton and Maureen Whitney era

LAST TIME OUT - VS HAWAI'I
PSU suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat last Thursday against Hawai'i, conceding two late goals in the final ten minutes. Portland State took an early lead with a goal in the fourth minute, but Hawai'i's relentless attack, which included 25 shots—18 of them in the second half—proved too much. The Rainbow Wahine equalized with eight minutes left and secured the win with a second goal in the 85th minute.

ALL ABOUT ABI 
Senior midfielder Abi Hoffman scored consecutive goals in the second half against South Dakota (9/8), igniting the Vikings' thrilling comeback (51st and 69th minutes). She also set a career-high with seven shots in the game, placing four on target. Heading into the weekend, she ranks second the Big Sky in shots per game, averaging 2.67. She also tops the Vikings with 16 shots, nearly doubling her nearest teammate. She notched the third brace of her career at South Dakota, and has now scored a brace or a hat trick in each of her four seasons at PSU. 

ABI HOFFMAN'S CAREER RECORD STANDINGS

• Points: 40 (T-3rd; record is 57)
• Goals: 16 (T-4th; record is 23)
• Shots on Goal: 61 (T-5th; record is 88)
• Shots: 141 (4^th; record is 172)
• Shots per game: 2.46 (2^nd; record is 3.19)

OFFENSIVE INSIGHTS

• Junior forward Elle Frazier has netted goals in back-to-back games for the Vikings, scoring against South Dakota and Hawai'i
• Frazier and Abi Hoffman lead the Vikings offensively with two goals each 
• The Vikings were held to a season-low of just three shots against the Rainbow Wahine last week, their lowest shot count since the 2020-21 season
• Two weeks ago, the Vikings notched a season-high 20 shots and 11 shots on goal against South Dakota (9/8) 16 of those shots came in the second half
• The Vikings have earned just 18 corner kicks compared to their opponents' 36. They are 1-0-0 when holding the corner kick advantage

SECOND-HALF SUCCESS

• The Vikings have scored 24 of their last 32 goals in the second half (20 of 27 in 2023, 4 of 5 in 2024)
• Before last week's loss to Hawai'i, the Vikings had gone ten matches without a first-half goal. Elle Frazier ended that streak with a fourth-minute goal against the Rainbow Wahine
• Seven of PSU's last nine wins have been clinched with a game-winner in the final 30 minutes (6 of 8 in 2023, 1 of 1 in 2024)
• In 2023, the Vikings scored nine goals in the final ten minutes of the match
• Junior forward Ocean Rideout leads in career game-winners with three from her first two seasons.

CAREER FIRSTS 

• Elle Frazier (Jr., F) scored the fourth goal of her career in the 78th minute at South Dakota to secure the win (9/8), marking her first career game-winning goal
• Sydney Watson (Sr., MF) assisted Abi Hoffman's first goal against South Dakota (9/8), recording her first career assist
• Aliayha Saldana (Fr., F) scored the Vikings' first goal of the season in the opener at Boise State (8/16), marking the first goal of her collegiate career. On Sunday at South Dakota (9/8), she assisted Frazier's game-winner, marking her first collegiate assist
• Kainani Jacang (So., D) earned her first career assist on Saldana's goal in the season opener at Boise State (8/16)

LOTS OF LIV

• Junior defender Liv Frazier has played every minute of action this season, totaling 540 minutes on the Vikings' back line
• She has logged a full 90 minutes in 19 consecutive games since Sept. 10, 2022, extending her streak to 1,710 minutes
• Frazier has also started 21 straight games, a streak that began on Aug. 27, 2022

EXPERIENCE IN GOAL 

• Upperclassmen goalkeepers Natalie Cunningham and Eden Millan have split time in goal this season, with Cunningham having seen 90 more minutes
• Cunningham totaled a season-high nine saves against Hawai'i last Thursday, holding the Rainbow Wahine scoreless for 81 minutes despite facing 25 shots
• Millan recorded a career high seven saves against Oregon on Aug. 18
• Cunningham leads with 20 saves on the year and was credited with the only win of the season so far (at South Dakota, 9/8)
• Last year, the duo played a key role in the Vikings' four shutouts, with each contributing to two of them
• Cunningham led the Vikings in 2023 with 58 saves, recording a 6-5-1 record and a 1.39 goals-against average

MIGHTY MIDFIELD 

• 2023 Honorable Mention All-Big Sky midfielder, Abi Hoffman, returns to the Vikings' midfield for her senior season. She tallied 18 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 2023 which ranked second in the Big Sky, while her four assists during BSC play led the conference. She also compiled a team-high 48 shots, putting 20 on target. 
• Fellow senior Lucy Quinn, a 2022 Honorable Mention All-Big Sky midfielder joins Hoffman in the midfield this season. Quinn has started 36 of her last 37 matches and recorded three goals with two assists over the past two seasons.
• Fifth-year senior Sydney Watson rounds out the experienced group after starting all 18 matches last season, logging 1,424 minutes of action in the midfield. So far, Watson has played all but 11 minutes in 2024.

YOUNG TALENT 

• Three true freshmen have seen action for the Vikings this season: Aliayha Saldana, Grace Sarabia, and Sydney Spotts
• Both Sarabia and Saldana have started all six matches, combining for 904 minutes of action. Sarabia accounts for 509 of those, playing all but 31 minutes during her freshman campaign so far
• Saldana has been a key part of the Vikings' attack, ranking second on the team in both shots (9) and shots on goal (6) and is the only Viking to have recorded both an assist and a goal this season

2024 VIKING ROSTER BREAKDOWN 

• The Vikings return 20 players from their 2023 roster
• They welcome 11 newcomers, including eight true freshmen and three transfers
• Among the returners, eight started at least 12 matches last season
• Out of the 31 players on the roster, 17 hail from the state of Oregon

2024 PORTLAND STATE COACHING STAFF 
In a notable shift this off-season, former Associate Head Coach Maureen Whitney was promoted to Co-Head Coach by Katie Burton, who previously held the position alone. Whitney joined Portland State as an assistant coach in 2017, was elevated to Associate Head Coach the following year, and now steps into the co-head coach role alongside Burton. Both coaches are in their eighth season at PSU this fall. Additionally, Lindsay LaMont, a former Oregon State goalkeeper and Viking assistant coach from the 2022 season, returns to the staff as a full-time assistant, working primarily with the goalkeepers.

2023 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS 

• 8-8-2 overall, 4-2-2 BSC
• Third-place finish in final BSC regular season standings
• Most wins since 2017 (8)
• Most All-Conference honorees since 2017 (4)
• Highest win % since 2014 (.500)
• Most goals scored since 2013 (27)
• Advanced to the Big Sky tournament semifinals becoming one of only four teams in program history to win a BSC tournament match