KICKOFF
The Portland State women's soccer team returns home for the first time in two weeks, as the Vikings host Nevada Sunday for a noon kickoff.
 
The Vikings are returning home after a two-match road trip to California. The Vikings dropped a 2-0 decision to California Baptist last Thursday, before falling 1-0 to San Diego State last Sunday. Early goals cost the Vikings in both matches. California Baptist scored its opening goal in the third minute. San Diego State, meanwhile, had a 10th-minute goal hold up the rest of the way against the Vikings.
 
Nevada comes in 1-1-0 in their first year under new head coach Jeremy Evans. The Wolf Pack beat Pacific (Calif.), 2-1, last Thursday, before losing by the same score at home against Sacramento State last Sunday.
 
MATCH #5: PORTLAND STATE (0-4-0) vs. NEVADA (1-1-0)
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
DETAILS: Sunday, Aug. 23, 12 p.m., Hillsboro, Ore. (Hillsboro Stadium)
SCOUTING NEVADA:

• The Nevada Wolf Pack were picked to finish 10th in the 11-team Mountain West Conference this season.
• Three Nevada players made the Mountain West Watch List in Olivia Loomis, Landri Steenhard and Valeria Ramon. Steenhard, a midfielder, was the only freshman in the conference named to the Watch List
• The Wolf Pack enter their first year under head coach Jeremy Evans in 2026. Evans came to the Wolf Pack after 10 seasons at Lake Tahoe Community College where he went 144-47-26 (.724) overseeing the women's program. That included a 93-9-3 (.900) record in Golden Valley Conference (GVC) play, as well as eight straight GVC titles.
• The Wolf Pack opened their season with a 2-1 road win over Pacific (Calif.) last Thursday, coming back from a halftime deficit with two second-half goals. Charlotte Bonney scored the equalizer off an assist from Loomis in the 61st minute. Ten minutes later, Jasmine Navarro slotted in a penalty kick for the eventual game-winner.
• Nevada dropped its home opener, 2-1, to former Big Sky Conference school Sacramento State last Sunday. The Hornets scored the first two goals of the match, both in the first half. Nevada clawed back within one off a goal from Ella York in the 58th minute.
• The Wolf Pack average just 6.5 shots through their first two games. They've created nearly as many corner kicks (5.5 per game), ranking them third in the Mountain West Conference in the category.
• The Wolf Pack rank fourth in the Mountain West with 5.0 saves per game. Goalkeeper Mia Collins accounts for all of that, ranking her third in the Mountain West and 62nd nationally individually.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Vikings lead the all-time series between them and the Wolf Pack, 6-2-0.
• The Vikings have won their last six matches against the Wolf Pack, though the teams haven't played since 2017 when the Vikings won 1-0 at home.
• The Wolf Pack's last win over the Vikings came in 2006, 1-0, on the Vikings' home turf.

 
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• The Vikings dropped both matches of a California road trip last week. They fell 2-0 to California Baptist last Thursday, before losing 1-0 at San Diego State Sunday.
• The Vikings are no strangers to a tough non-conference schedule. 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 2-5-1 through non-conference play in 2024 and were 1-5-3 in 2022. The Vikings' best recent non-conference record came in 2023 when they went 4-5-0.
• The Vikings have yet to score a goal this season. They're scoreless through their first four matches of the season for the first time since 2006.
• Early goals have cost the Vikings in three of their first four losses, including both matches last weekend in California. Four of the seven goals the Vikings have allowed this season have come before the 20th minute of the match. The three exceptions all came against Oregon on Aug. 13, when the Ducks scored all three of their goals in the second half.
• Sixteen players have accounted for the Vikings' 32 shots this season. Aliayha Saldana leads the Vikings with seven shots. Yamille Picon follows her with four, while everyone else has recorded either one or two shots.
• 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.
• The Vikings qualified for the Big Sky tournament for the fourth straight season in 2025 but fell 1-0 in the quarterfinals to Idaho.
• The Vikings returned eight starters off last year's team, including All-Big Sky second-team selection Grace Sarabia and honorable mentions Ocean Rideout and 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.
• Head coach Maureen Whitney (Sacramento State, 2001) begins her third year as head coach. She has an 8-22-9 career record, 5-6-5 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. Davis and Flores were the Cougars' point leaders in 2025. Davis had four goals and two assists while Flores 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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. Among non-conference opponents, California Baptist, now a member of the Big West Conference, won the Western Athletic Conference last season and competed in the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State and Boise State were powerhouses in the Mountain West Conference last season, with the Broncos going 8-0-2 in league play. PSU plays at University of Portland on Sept. 10.