BOULDER, Colo.- Jennifer Tuttle’s 88th minute goal gave the defending national champions a 1-0 season-opening win over Colorado on Fri., Aug. 29 at the Pleasant View Soccer Complex.

Tuttle, a freshman from Cupertino, Calif., came on in the second half (73rd minute) to provide the Pilots with a lift off the bench and notch her first collegiate score. Fellow freshman Stephanie Lopez recorded the assist.

The Pilots capitalized on a corner kick taken by sophomore Lindsey Huie. The ball was sent into the penalty box by Huie where it was eventually settled by Lopez. Tuttle received the pass from Lopez and sent a rocket into the left corner past Buffalo freshman keeper Nikki Resnick from the top of the box.

Portland, who started six true freshman, recorded 12 shots (five on goal) while Colorado could manage just five. The Pilots had six corner kicks to the Buffaloes four. Coach Garrett Smith was impressed with his young team’s patience.

“This was a good result for the first game of the season,” said Smith. “It was one of those games where we needed to stay patient, and take advantage of the opportunities when they came. The team stayed focused and it was good to see us score at the end. This was a veteran-type win for a very young team.”

Colorado played a conservative game, trying to prevent the Pilot’s offense from gaining any type of advantage. Portland possessed the ball significantly more than the Buffaloes, but struggled to get into scoring positions.

“Their defense made it difficult on us to create many scoring chances,” noted Smith. “Huie and Angie Woznuk did a great of job controlling the ball, distributing and pressuring the defense, but neither team had many glaring scoring threats.”

The Buffalo defense had several stances in the opening half, led by sophomore defender Ashlie Mihalcin and Resnick. On Portland’s third shot of the game, Huie nailed a shot from the left side of the box that was cleared off the line by Mihalcin in the 22nd minute of the game. In the 25th minute, a potential Portland two-on-one outside the box by Woznuk and Huie was broken up by Colorado’s Alyssa Burgess. A Huie corner kick a minute later was tipped past the opposite post by Resnick.

The Pilot defense kept the clamps down on Colorado’s offense. Portland freshman goalkeeper Cori Alexander had to make only two saves in recording the shutout. Resnick made three saves for Colorado before Tuttle’s game-winner.

Portland now travels to Denver on Sun., Aug. 31 for a contest at Pioneer Field in Denver, Colo. The game is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. (MDT).

The Pilots home opener will be as the host of the Nike Portland Invitational on the weekend of Sept. 13-14. Portland plays CS-Fullerton on Sat., Sept. 13 before concluding the tournament against Connecticut on Sun., Sept. 14. Both start times are set for 2:15 p.m.