KICKOFF
The Portland State women's soccer team stays home to play University of San Diego on Sunday (12 p.m. kickoff), this time at Lewis & Clark College.

After a 4-0 loss against Boise State and a 1-0 loss against Portland last week, the Vikings are hoping to make a comeback with a win against the Toreros. This season, the Vikings have struggled to come back from early goals scored against them – being outscored 9-2 in the first 25 minutes of games this season. In their win over Western Oregon on Sept. 6, the Vikings were the ones to score first. 

Another quick start would help the Vikings against the Toreros this week. The Toreros have a 3-2-2 record, compared to the Vikings' 1-7-0, and have won their last two games. 

MATCH #9: PORTLAND STATE (1-7-0) vs. SAN DIEGO (3-2-2)
LIVE STATS 
DETAILS: Sunday, Sept. 20, 12 p.m., Portland, Ore. (Lewis & Clark College)
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: 

• The San Diego Toreros have won three and tied two of their first seven games. Their last two games were wins: 3-1 over UC Irvine and 1-0 over Cal State Bakersfield. 
• The Toreros scored just three minutes into their game against UC Irvine, setting the tone early. Their lone goal against Cal State Bakersfield came 39 minutes into the match. 
• Their two losses have been close scores. Their first was a 2-0 loss against UCLA on Aug. 20. Their second was a 1-0 loss against UTEP on Sep. 3, who currently have the best record in the Mountain West Conference. 
• San Diego averages 9.4 shots per game, compared to Portland State's 7.9.
• Goalkeeper Chloe Walls has only allowed 5 goals this season and boasts a .808 save percentage and 0.71 goals-against average – numbers that rank her third in the West Coast Conference this season.
• Freshman Lily Johnson leads the team in shots on goal with four. She, alongside freshman Mia Teran and junior Ella Callanan, lead the team in points with three each.
• No player for San Diego has more than one goal. The goals scored for San Diego throughout their season so far have been by six separate players: Johnson, Teran, Callanan, Marissa Morales, Maquena O'Callaghan and Hannah Faklaris.

SERIES NOTES:

• The last (and only) time Portland State played San Diego was 16 years ago in a 5-1 loss on Sep. 19, 2010.

FREE KICKS

• LAST WEEK: The Vikings had a close loss (1-0) against the Portland Pilots last week and a larger score differential in their 4-0 loss against Boise State.
• EARLY GOALS: Both Portland and Boise State took early leads over the Vikings behind goals before the 25th minute of the match. That's been a common theme for the Vikings. Opponents are out-scoring the Vikings 9-2 before the 25th minute this season. Six of the Vikings' eight opponents have scored before that minute mark this season. The Vikings' two early goals both came against Western Oregon on Sept. 6, part of a 3-2 victory for the Vikings over the Wolves.
• UNTESTED IN TIED GAMES LATE: 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 720 total minutes played, the Vikings have only been tied for 149 of those minutes. That's just over 20 percent of the time.
• NO LEAD CHANGES: The first team to score has won all eight of the Vikings' matches this season. Opponents scored first and won seven of the Vikings' eight matches this season. Against Western Oregon, the Vikings scored first and eventually won 3-2.
• HOME SWEET HOME: The Vikings will not play a match outside of the Portland area between the end of August and the start of October. The Vikings won't play outside of the Portland area again until Oct. 1, when they open Big Sky play at Utah Tech.
• 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: Seventeen players have accounted for the Vikings' 63 shots this season. Aliayha Saldana leads the Vikings with 19 shots. Grace Sarabia and Yamille Picon follow her with eight and seven, respectively.

STATS ROUNDUP

• SLOW START ON OFFENSE: The Vikings' current goals-per-game average sits at 0.50. That's comparable to their averages the last two years (0.72 and 0.82 goals per game in 2024 and 2025, respectively). 
• DEFENSE FIRST: The Vikings have allowed multiple goals in five of their eight matches so far 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. The four goals Boise State scored last Sunday were tied for the most by an opponent against the Vikings, matched by their game versus Nevada (4-1 loss) on Aug. 30.
• KEEPER STATS: Despite some tough matches, the Vikings rank fifth in the Big sky with 4.50 saves per game. Goalkeeper Finley Crabtree ranks fourth in the conference with 4.00 saves per game individually.   
• RETURNING GOAL SCORERS: The Vikings returned their top six scorers from last season. Ocean Rideout led the Vikings with four goals and 10 points. Aliayha Saldana and Grace Sarabia tied for second on the team with two goals each. Bianca Potesta, another returner, also tied Rideout for the team lead with two assists last season.