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PORTLAND, Ore. --- With Portland trailing by a goal, junior Steven Evans notched two second half goals with the second coming in spectacular fashion as the Pilots came from behind to defeat the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners 2-1 on the first day of the 2012 Nike Invitational at Merlo Field on Friday night.
 
The win is Portland’s second in a row and improves the Pilots’ record to 2-1-0 on the young season. CSUB, who is receiving votes in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, drops to 0-1-1.
 
With the scored tied 1-1 in the 78th minute, Portland’s Richy Carrillo had possession just inside the halfline and in Bakersfield territory. Carrillo fed a short pass to Evans, who took a touch before burying a world class shot into the upper left corner of the net from 30 yards out. The CSUB keeper didn’t have a chance as Evans’ strike gave the Pilots a 2-1 lead.
 
The Roadrunners then desperately tried to find the equalizer in the closing minutes, but UP junior goalkeeper Justin Baarts knocked away CSUB’s final decent attempt with a save on a shot from 15 yards out in the 83rd minute.
 
It was also Evans who tied the score with his first goal of the game, which came in the 56th minute. With the Roadrunners leading 1-0, the Pilots were awarded a free kick near the left sideline and about 40 yards out from the CSUB frame. Colin Anderson sent a perfect ball into the box, where Evans was able to get a header past the Bakersfield keeper, tying the score at 1-1.
 
Evans finished with three shots on the night, with his third rattling the crossbar on a free kick in the 88th minute.
 
Cal State Bakersfield’s goal came on a penalty kick in the 28th minute. After it had been ruled that a Portland player committed a foul in the box, Gyasi Zardes converted the PK to hand the 1-0 lead to the Roadrunners. Zardes would go onto have a handful of good looks throughout the game, including when he banged a shot off the post with a strike from the top of the box in the second half.
 
Freshman Jaime Velasco nearly equalized for Portland following the PK, but his header also found the post. Moments later, Carrillo had a pair of quality shots saved by Bakersfield goalkeeper Eric Shannon.
 
Shannon made five saves on 15 shots by the Pilots, while Baarts countered with eight saves on 19 CSUB shots.
 
Evans, who is the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Week, now has four goals on the season, all of which have come in the past two games.
 
The Nike Invitational concludes on Sunday with Washington and CSU Bakersfield set to play at 12 p.m. at Merlo Field. The Pilots follow with a game against the Wisconsin Badgers at 2:30.
 
The Huskies defeated the Badgers 3-2 on Friday afternoon to open the tourney.