KICKOFF
Last week, the Portland State women's soccer team had an edge-of-your-seat 2-1 loss against Northern Colorado, before falling 4-0 in a tough match against Northern Arizona.
This week, the Vikings are back home for the last time this season. They'll be taking on Idaho on Thursday, Oct. 29 (1 p.m. PT kickoff) and Eastern Washington on Sunday, Nov. 1 (1 p.m. PT kickoff).
MATCH #16: PORTLAND STATE (3-12-0, 1-5-0) vs. IDAHO (8-3-5, 2-1-3)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Thursday, Oct. 29, 1 P.m. PT, Hillsboro, Ore. (Hillsboro Stadium)
SCOUTING IDAHO:
- The University of Idaho Vandals are coming off a victorious 4-0 win over Southern Utah University (Oct. 25), after tying Utah Tech 0-0 (Oct. 22). They've won or tied 11 of their 16 games played, and are 2-1-3 in conference play.
- Sophomore Makenna Stuart scored two of the Vandals' four goals on Sunday. Stuart currently leads Idaho in points (10), goals (4), and shots on goal (17).
- Nine players have scored for the Vandals, with three recording three or more: Stuart (4), junior Hallie Prinos-Grumbach (3) and senior Calli Chiarelli (3).
- Sophomore Miranda Goldner leads the team in assists (6), earning two in the Vandals' last game alone.
- Idaho currently ranks last in the Big Sky for saves per game with 2.19, compared to Portland State's 5.53. Conversely, they're second in the conference for shots per game with 15.63, compared to Portland State's 9.87.
- Goalkeeper Paula Flores ranks second in the Big Sky for minutes played with 1416:54. She's first in the conference with a 0.572 goals against average.
- Flores is first in the conference and fourth in the nation in shutouts (9). She has a 0.763 save percentage, has allowed only nine goals this season, and has played the full 90 minutes in all but one match this season.
SERIES NOTES:
- Portland State has a 6-14-1 record against Idaho.
- The last time the Vikings faced off against the Vandals, they lost 1-0 (Nov. 5, 2025).
- Idaho has a 5-5-1 away record against the Vikings.
MATCH #17: PORTLAND STATE (3-12-0, 1-5-0) vs EASTERN WASHINGTON (6-6-3, 0-4-2)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Sunday, Nov. 1, 1 p.m. PT, Hillsboro, Ore. (Hillsboro Stadium)
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON:
- The Eastern Washington University Eagles' last two games resulted in a loss and a tie, falling 3-2 to Southern Utah (Oct. 22) and tying Utah Tech 1-1 (Oct. 25). They have yet to win a game in conference play.
- The Eagles are first in the Big Sky in saves per game with 5.75, just ahead of Portland State's 5.53. They have 13.33 shots per game compared to Portland State's 9.87.
- Sophomore Maya Bossenbrook and redshirt senior Deanna Montero lead the team in goals with four each. Bossenbrook scored in both of the Eagles' most recent games.
- Junior Mia Miconi ties Bossenbrook for first in points (9), ties Montero in shots on goal (12), and is second in goals (3).
- Sophomore Payton Hyde has started in goal and played the full 90 minutes in all 15 of the Eagles' matches this season. She's third in the conference in goals against average (1.133), second in save percentage (0.835), and first in saves per game (5.73) and total saves (86). She's recorded five shutouts.
SERIES NOTES:
- The Vikings have a 7-7-4 record against the Eagles. Their last match resulted in a 1-0 loss on Oct. 16, 2025.
FREE KICKS
- LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings only managed one goal in their two matches last week, when they fell 2-1 to Northern Colorado and 4-0 to Northern Arizona. Alexi Cataldi scored her first career goal against Northern Colorado. Goalkeeper Finley Crabtree had 13 total saves.
- RARELY TIED: The Vikings have yet to play a match that was tied entering the 75th minute. The Vikings have rarely been tied in any match this season. Out of 1,350 total minutes played, the Vikings have only been tied for 387 of those minutes. That's 29 percent of the time.
- NON-CONFERENCE RECORDS: Non-conference records have been poor indicators of how the Vikings will finish the season in recent years. They were 1-5-2 at the end of their non-conference schedule last season, only to then go 3-3-2 within Big Sky play. The Vikings were similarly 1-5-3 and 2-5-1 through non-conference play in 2022 and 2024, respectively, only to then make the Big Sky tournament both years. The Vikings' best recent non-conference record came in 2023 when they went 4-5-0.
- SHOT DISTRIBUTION: Eighteen players have accounted for the Vikings' 148 shots this season. Aliayha Saldana leads the Vikings with 32 shots. Grace Sarabia is second with 18, followed by Elle Frazier with 15.
STATS ROUNDUP
- OFFENSIVE NUMBERS: The Vikings' current goals-per-game average sits at 0.60. That's comparable to their averages the last two years (0.72 and 0.82 goals per game in 2024 and 2025, respectively). Their shots per game currently sits at 9.9, which increased from last year's 8.4.
- SALDANA THE SAVE-YUH: Aliayha Saldana has scored three of the Vikings' nine goals so far this season.
- DEFENSE FIRST: The Vikings have allowed multiple goals in nine of their fifteen matches this season. That's counter to how the Vikings have been in recent years. Last season, they allowed only five goals in eight conference matches, and never more than one goal in any match.
- KEEPER STATS: Despite some tough matches, the Vikings rank second in the Big Sky with 5.53 saves per game. Goalkeeper Finley Crabtree is tied for third in the conference with 5.00 saves per game individually. She ranks fourth in the conference for total saves with 75.
- RETURNING GOAL SCORERS: The Vikings returned five of their top six scorers from last season. Aliayha Saldana and Grace Sarabia tied for second on the team with two goals each. Bianca Potesta, another returner, also tied for the team lead with two assists last season.
BACKGROUND FACTS
- PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: The Vikings were picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference in the league's preseason coaches poll. The Vikings are coming off a 3-3-2 league record in 2025 when they were also 4-9-4 overall.
- TOURNEY REGULARS: The Vikings qualified for the Big Sky tournament for the fourth straight season in 2025 but fell 1-0 in the quarterfinals to Idaho.
- FAMILIAR FACES: The Vikings returned eight starters off last year's team, including All-Big Sky second-team selection Grace Sarabia and honorable mention Aliayha Saldana. Additionally, Elle Frazier – an All-Big Sky second-team selection in 2024 – returns to the active roster after missing last season with an injury.
- THAT'S OUR MO: Head coach Maureen Whitney (Sacramento State, 2001) begins her third year as head coach. She has a 11-30-9 career record, 6-11-5 in Big Sky Conference matches. Whitney is in her 10th season overall with the Viking program.
- FROM THE WINDY CITY TO THE ROSE CITY: Senior midfielder Alexis Boyer, junior midfielder Gabby Flores and senior midfielder Renee Davis are all transfers from Chicago State. Flores and Davis were the Cougars' point leaders in 2025. Flores had four goals and two assists while Davis had three goals and three assists. Boyer, meanwhile, ranked fourth on the team with 1,417 minutes played over 19 total appearances and 18 starts.
- LOCAL TIES: Three Vikings – sophomore midfielder McKenna Eggleston, sophomore defender Gianelly Gargurevich, and sophomore forward Claire Masters — are from Tigard, Oregon, where they played together at Tigard High School under head coach Scott Eggleston (McKenna's father).
- SHE FLIES WITH HER OWN WINGS: Portland State has 11 Oregonians on the roster, 10 of which are from the Portland metro area… in the era of the transfer portal, PSU has 11 players on the roster who competed at other four-year schools.
- THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND: The Vikings have two intra-conference transfers in Kendel Johnson (Montana) and Josie DeLine (Weber State). Johnson played in four matches as a freshman as Montana swept the Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles last season. DeLine, meanwhile, played two seasons for Weber State (2023-24) before transferring to the Vikings ahead of their 2025 season.
- BIG SKY EXPANSION: The Big Sky Conference expands this season with the addition of Utah Tech and Southern Utah (despite the departure of Sacramento State). There are now nine conference matches (rather than eight). PSU will play four at home and five on the road. Overall, the Vikings have 17 scheduled matches, with eight at home and nine on the road.
