PROVO, UT – Christine Sinclair scored two more goals Saturday as #7 Portland cruised into the third round of the NCAA Women’s College Cup with a 3-0 win over Utah. The Pilots (16-4-2) avenged an early-season 2-0 loss to the Utes, but overwhelmed Utah (13-4-3) with the majority of ball possession.

Sinclair has scored four goals in Portland’s first two playoff games, and has 20 in 17 games this season.

“We possessed the ball well and played through their pressure,” noted Portland coach Clive Charles. “We knew Utah would come out with a high amount of pressure, and we had to maintain our composure.”

Lauren Orlandos gave Portland a 1-0 lead at 33:39, heading in a Lindsey Huie corner kick. The goal was the direct result of the Pilots’ continued possession of the ball, which continued throughout the game.

Portland went ahead 2-0 on Sinclair’s first goal of the game, coming with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Emily Patterson’s slot pass through the Utah defense gave Sinclair an easy finish.

Midway through the second half, Patterson’s long through-ball gave Sinclair a one-on-one break, drawing Utah’s goalie off her line. Sinclair neatly tapped the finish into an open net for her 20th goal. Moving into a tie for sixth in all-time scoring at Portland with 96 points. Her 43 career goals are fourth all-time.

Portland outshot the Utes 15-2, and the only threatening scoring chance for Utah was a first-half free kick just outside the Portland penalty area which the Utes sent well high of the goal. Lauren Arase calmly made her only save of the game on a rather routine shot in the second half.

The Pilots advance into the third round against the winner of Sunday’s Richmond-James Madison contest. Portland, the 8th seed of the tournament, expects to host the third-round contest. Information for the third round, including site, date and time, will be announced Sunday evening.

“Whenever we won the ball, we’d make one or two passes but lose it. Eventually, their ball possession just wears you down,” said Utah head coach Rich Manning. “We played a lot of defense and they were able to spread the field. Their ability to keep the ball and dispossess us was the key to the game.”