THIS WEEK:
Sept. 29: at Miami (FL), 7 p.m.
Oct. 1: at Florida International, 11 a.m.
THE OPPONENTS
Miami: The Hurricanes dropped to 6-4-0 Sunday with a 6-1 loss at UConn. Friday, Miami won 2-1 at St. John’s. Laura West leads the team with six goals and one assist, while Jennifer Sanchez had two goals against St. John’s. Elizabeth Swinson has a 1.97 goals against average in 10 games.
Portland has never faced Miami in women’s soccer.
Florida International: The Golden Panthers dropped a pair of games last weekend in a tournament, falling to 5-3-0 on the year. FIU lost 4-1 to Florida State, and 4-0 to East Carolina.Sasja Odenyo leads the team with 21 points (9g-3a), and Michele O’Brien adds seven goals. Adrienne McWilliams has a 1.80 goals against average in eight games.
Portland is 1-0-0 against FIU all-time, a 5-0 win at home in the 1998 season. FIU head coach Everton Edwards has been a coach in past years at Portland’s summer soccer camps.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Portland 4, Pacific 0: Portland scored twice in a 70-second span midway through the first half Sunday, and went on to beat Pacific 4-0. The Pilots, which picked up goals from four different players, improved to 8-2-0, while Pacific fell to 5-3-1.
The Pilots struck first at 28:07 when Vanessa Talbott ran onto a nifty Kylee Barton through-ball, and Talbott easily slotted the ball to the far post past Pacific goalkeeper Megan Pickering. Talbott’s goal was the 37th of her career, tying Justi Baumgardt (1993, 95-97) for fifth all-time at Portland. Just over a minute later (29:17), Imani Dorsey headed in a corner kick from Emily Patterson.
Portland, which held a 14-1 shot advantage in the first half, then went ahead 3-0 at 60:55 when Betsy Barr dribbled through six players and deftly kicked the ball past a sprawling Pickering.
Lauren Mussallem put on a similar display of ball control at 76:05, wheeling through the Tigers’ defense before spinning a defender and notching her goal.
The Pilots outshot Pacific 25-2, as Portland keeper Cheryl Loveless had to stop just two harmless shots for her 29th career shutout, extending her own career record.
Washington 2, Portland 1: Tami Bennett had a goal and an assist Saturday as Washington beat Portland 2-1, ending a 15-match winless streak against the Pilots.
Washington (8-1-0) hadn’t beaten Portland since 1983, a stretch which saw Portland go 14-0-1 against the Huskies. Saturday’s loss was also just the 13th Portland defeat on Merlo Field since the facility opened in 1990.
Saturday, Bennett fed Erin Otagaki with a centering pass in the 32nd minute, and miscommunication among three Pilot defenders then left Otagaki alone in front of the Portland net for the goal.
In the second half, Bennett controlled a high bouncing ball behind the Pilot defense in the 51st minute and beat Portland keeper Cheryl Loveless to the near post.
Portland closed within 2-1 in the 74th minute when Lauren Orlandos’ short cross was headed in by Erin Misaki, but the Pilots couldn’t equalize late in the game largely due to stellar goalkeeping by Washington’s Hope Solo.
Solo had 10 saves on the day, including several leaping and diving stops to snuff Portland chances.
NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT
The good news is that the Pilots remained in the polls despite a split in two games last weekend. The bad news: we’re still confused!
Portland actually improved in two polls (College Soccer Writers and Soccer Times), but dropped in two other polls (NSCAA and Soccer Buzz).
The Pilots moved up three spots to #18 in the College Soccer Writers poll, and up two spots to #19 in the Soccer Times poll. The coaches’ NSCAA poll, however slammed Portland down nine spots to #23, while Soccer Buzz dropped Portland just two spots to #16.
Portland remains unranked in the Soccer America top 20 poll.
In the West Region, Portland is #8 according to Soccer Times, #7 in Soccer Buzz, #7 by the NSCAA and #8 by the College Soccer Writers.
LOVELESS ON THE MOVE
Senior keeper Cheryl Loveless was forced into just two saves Sunday against Pacific, and recorded her 29th career shutout, extending her school record to two over Erin Fahey (1991-93, 95), who recorded 27 career shutouts.
Loveless is also second in career goals against average (0.605), and second in career saves (167). On the West Coast Conference lists, Loveless is second in goals against average, and second in shutouts.
BARTON, TALBOTT ALSO CRACK TOP 10
Senior forwards Kylee Barton and Vanessa Talbott broke into Portland’s career top 10 lists last season, with time to make serious runs at top 5 listings.
Talbott is now tied for fifth in career goals with 37, and her goal against Pacific put her alone in sixth for career points (79).
On the West Coast Conference lists, Talbott is 10th in career goals, and 14th in total points.
Barton is tied for seventh in Portland career assists with 23, and needs only 10 points to tie for 10th.
TIME TO CHECK THE RECORDS
The Pilots became the first team in Portland women’s soccer history to start a season with five straight shutouts, beating the previous mark of four (1988). Brigham Young’s goal at 40:14 in the sixth game broke a 490:14 scoreless streak for opponents.
The record for consecutive shutouts in a season is seven (1995), and that team recorded 16 shutouts that season. Two other teams (1998, 1993), had runs of six shutouts.
TAKE ANOTHER LOOK
Of course, any time a team fires off 37 shots in a game, and a player scores a goal in the first minute of a contest, the research staff has to get busy.
Portland’s 37 shots against Texas Tech tied for sixth on the Portland all-time list, nine shots off the record 46 taken against Evergreen State in 1986.
Betsy Barr’s goal just 38 seconds into the Texas Tech match was a highlight to be sure, but it was a whopping 26 seconds off the school record 12-second goal shared by Tammy Martindale (vs. Western Washington in 1993) and Justi Baumgardt (vs. San Diego State in 1995).
PILOTS SECOND IN WCC COACHES’ POLL
Portland was picked to finish second but earned one first-place vote in the West Coast Conference coaches’ poll. Santa Clara received the other seven available first-place ballots to earn the top preseason slot. Portland was 12-7-1 in 1999, and missed the NCAA playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Portland has never finished lower than a tie for second since joining the West Coast Conference women’s soccer circuit in 1992.
Here is the result of the three preseason coaches’ poll taken recently (first-place votes in parentheses):
Women's Soccer
1. Santa Clara (7) 49
2. Portland (1) 40
3. Loyola Marymount 39
4. San Diego 29
5. Saint Mary's 23
6. Pepperdine 22
7. Gonzaga 10
San Francisco 10
SEASON OPENERS FALL PORTLAND’S WAY
After topping OSU 4-0, the Pilots have now won their last 11 season openers, with the last loss a 1-0 setback in 1989 to UC-Santa Barbara – the debut of Clive Charles as women’s soccer coach.
PILOTS OWN THE WCC OPENERS ALSO
Portland has a 45-4-1 all-time record in West Coast Conference play, so it
should be obvious that Portland has never lost a WCC opener.
After Portland’s 3-0 win over Gonzaga in 1999, the Pilots have won all eight of their WCC openers, with all eight games coming against Gonzaga.
SUMMER COMINGS AND GOINGS: As is typical for Portland players, the offseason rarely resembles a typical break from soccer. Pilots literally travel the globe for competition with various club, regional and national teams.
Junior midfielder Ana Del Bosque joined the Mexican national team, and started two of Mexico’s three games in the U.S. Gold Cup.
Sophomore Lisa Casagrande spent the spring semester and all summer training with the Australian national team in preparation for the 2000 Olympics, but foot surgery forced her off the active roster. She’ll join the Pilots next week, according to reports.
Betsy Barr, Erin Misaki and Erin Goodling all played in the U.S. Soccer Festival held in Rhode Island. Misaki and Goodling played for the champion West Region team, while Barr played for the Sacramento Storm club team.
Misaki and Goodling also played for the Mission Valley Mirage club team, which won the California State Cup and finished second in the regional tourney. Following the U.S. Soccer Festival, Goodling was named to the U.S. National ‘B’ team.
Pilot newcomers Imani Dorsey and Jennifer Bosa also had busy summers - Dorsey playing for the Region IV ODP team, while Bosa traveled to regionals with her Emerald City FC Azzurri club team.
