MALIBU, Calif.- The Portland women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to 11 with an important, 2-1 road win over Pepperdine at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Jennifer Tuttle had a goal and an assist, while Lindsey Huie continued her scoring tear with the other goal. Portland (15-2-0, 4-0 WCC) remains perfect in conference play, while Pepperdine (12-4-0, 2-2 WCC), who fell 5-0 to Santa Clara last Sunday, suffer their first consecutive losses of the season.
Pilot defender Kristen Moore set up Tuttle’s strike in the 13th minute on a patented wide service to the middle. Moore has five assists in the last five matches, and is among the WCC leaders with six on the season. Tuttle rocketed the pass, top-shelf past Wave goalkeeper Anna Picarelli for her sixth goal of the season.
Huie’s 25-yard rocket in the 53rd minute forced Picarelli to her left, and she got a hand on the shot, but the velocity sent the ball into the right side for the 2-0 lead. Tuttle registered her third assist of the season on the score.
Pepperdine cut the lead in half when dangerous forward Lacey Ubaldi put in a header in the 64th minute. Daniella Bosio’s initial shot bounced off the crossbar, and Ubaldi was there for the open-net finish. It was the eighth goal of the season for Ubaldi and Bosio’s first assist.
The score came after the Waves had a goal negated earlier in the second half by an offsides call. Pepperdine had possession of the ball with additional scoring chances near the Portland goal in the final five minutes but were unable to connect for the match-tying goal.
Freshman forward Angie Woznuk was a force up front rattling of four of Portland’s nine total shots and putting two on goal. Huie was the only other Pilot with multiple attempts as she rang off three. Five of Portland’s nine shots were on frame. Jessica Heller, Elsa Hume and Jennifer Bosa came on as valuable second half substitutes to keep the Pilots fresh and ensure the win.
Huie now has nine goals to go with 13 assists for a total of 31 points. The sophomore was selected to last week’s Soccer America Team of the Week after putting up four goals and two assists in a couple of convincing home wins over Saint Mary’s and San Francisco.
Pepperdine put three-out-of-seven shots on goal, as seven different Waves each attempted a shot. Picarelli made three saves, while Pilot keeper Cori Alexander stopped two shots. The Waves had a 6-3 corner advantage but failed to convert any.
“It was a hard-fought win on the road, which is what we expected when we left Portland,” said Pilot head coach Garrett Smith. “They put us under some heavy pressure in the second half, but after we made some substitutions, the match evened out and we came out on top.”
NEXT UP: Portland heads to Los Angeles, Calif. to take on Loyola Marymount in a WCC match on Sun., Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. The Pilots then prepare for a rematch of last season’s College Cup Final, as Portland meets Santa Clara at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sun., Nov. 2.
