PORTLAND, Ore. - Christine Sinclair and Megan Rapinoe scored second half goals and No. 4 Portland did not surrender a single shot attempt en route to a 2-0 win over No. 19 West Virginia in the final match of the Nike Invitational Sunday afternoon at Merlo Field. Sinclair was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, while Pilot junior midfielder Lisa Sari took Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors. Portland (6-0-0) was the tournament champion with a 2-0 record on the weekend after defeating No. 11 Wisconsin 5-1 on Friday.
West Virginia (3-3-0) played a very defensive-oriented style against the potent Pilots offense, structuring a conservative lineup with five defenders. Sinclair was often surrounded by three or four Mountaineer jerseys throughout the match. The result was complete domination of possession for the Pilots, mostly on the attacking half of midfield. WVU never threatened offensively as UP goalie Cori Alexander recorded the easiest of her 25 career shutouts.
The style worked for the first 45 minutes, as Portland was unable to score in the first half for the first time this season. But the Pilots broke through in the 72nd minute as Rapinoe blasted a low liner from on top of the box off the left post and into the netting. Sinclair was credited with her third assist of the season on the score after corralling the ball in traffic and laying it back to Rapinoe.
The Mountaineers maintained their five-person defensive alignment after the goal, but Sinclair was granted a bit of freedom on a failed clearance by the WVU defense and slotted an attempt into the upper right in the 77th minute. The strike was her 11th of the season, tying her with Notre Dame freshman Kerri Hanks for the national lead. Sinclair’s 25 total points are the highest in the nation.
Portland tallied a 23-0 edge in shot attempts and 4-0 advantage in corners. Lana Bannerman made six saves between the pipes for WVU.
"This was a great performance and I think we showed a lot of maturity out there today," said UP coach Garrett Smith. "We kept our intensity at a high level throughout the game and never forced the issue."
In the day’s first game, Wisconsin withstood a second half Washington rally to come away with a 2-1 victory. The Badgers played a man down for a majority of the second half after Jessica Ring was sent off with a red card, but their two first half goals held up despite a 13-10 edge in shots for the Huskies.
Portland will now travel south for a two-game road trip against Texas and Baylor next weekend. The Pilots and Texas meet at 5 p.m. (Pacific) on Friday, Sept. 16, while UP and Baylor meet at 11 a.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, Sept. 18.
West Virginia (3-3-0) vs. Portland (6-0-0)
Date: Sep 11, 2005 Attendance: 1736
Weather: Clear
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
West Virginia....... 0 0 - 0
Portland............ 0 2 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 71:59 POR RAPINOE, Megan (5) (SINCLAIR, Christine) - 20yds off left post
2. 76:41 POR SINCLAIR, Christine (11) (unassisted) - Failed clearance, 8yds upper right
Shots: West Virginia 0, Portland 23
Saves: West Virginia 6 (BANNERMAN, Lana 6), Portland 0 ()
QUOTES
Sr. F Christine Sinclair
On West Virginia’s defensive tactics
"We expect it now. Every team we face realizes how dangerous we are offensively, so teams are going to try and load up on defense and prevent us from scoring. Last year or the year before we may have gotten frustrated, but everyone did a great job of keeping their composure today."
Fr. F Megan Rapinoe
On Portland’s defense
"Our defense has been dominant all year long. It doesn’t seem like we’ve given up more than five or six shots in a single game yet, that’s pretty unreal. They provide great leadership back there as well."
On scoring the game-winner
"It was just a matter of being patient. Sooner or later when you attempt 23 shots and get that many good attacks, one is going to go in."
West Virginia Head Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown
On her game-plan
"When you play a team like Portland you want to disrupt their style as much as possible. I thought we did a great job of disrupting them, but a team of this caliber will capitalize on mistakes. We made a few and they took advantage of them."
