PORTLAND - University of Portland sophomore defender Jeff Griffin scored his first career goal as the Pilots and No. 8 Creighton played to a 1-1 draw Friday evening in the first round of the Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field. Washington came back to defeat Cal Poly by a 3-1 margin in the day’s opening match.

An opening-day crowd of 1,363 watched the Pilots and Bluejays play an even match through 110 minutes. Griffin gave Portland the lead after his diving header on a cross from sophomore midfielder Ryan Oakes beat Creighton goalkeeper Matt Allen to the right post.

"I saw an open space and had to lay-out to get my head on it," Griffin said. "When it went in, I just thought ‘oh my God.’ I didn’t even have time to react and celebrate before my teammates mauled me. What an incredible feeling."

The joy was short-lived as Creighton answered immediately with a similar goal at the opposite end. The Bluejays were granted a free kick from just inside the left corner flag. Jarod Tarver lofted a ball over the Pilots defensive wall to Brian Kallman who also went head first into a firm header inside the right post.

Regulation played out without incident and Creighton managed a 5-0 edge in shots throughout the two overtime periods, but Pilot keeper Luis Robles stopped three attempts in the first overtime to diffuse any threats. Robles finished a stellar night between the pipes with six saves.

The Jays out-shot Portland 18-14 on the night, but the story was the goalkeepers as Robles and Allen both made incredible saves throughout.

Robles made six saves on the night, most notably stopping a Michael Kraus attempt after being left one-on-one in the 51st minute. Robles came off of his line to make a sliding kick save which ignited a counter-attack by sophomore midfielder Matthew Dallman. After weaving through the Jays’ midfield, Dallman rifled a 20-yard attempt which Allen lunged to save.

Allen again came up big in the 54th minute as UP freshman striker Alex Elliott had would looked like a sure goal deflected wide by the keeper.

Portland held a majority of the possession throughout regulation, but Creighton put more pressure on the Pilots goal in the extra periods.

"It was a great start for our guys," Director of Soccer Bill Irwin said. "We played very good soccer against a quality opponent. Our depth really showed tonight as we had big contributions from a number of different players. Four freshmen played extended minutes and performed quite well. I was very happy with the performance."

In the early game, Washington overcame an early deficit to score three unanswered goals and cruise to a 3-1 victory over Cal Poly. The Mustangs drew first blood on Nikhil Erlebach’s strike at 1:28, but it was all Huskies thereafter. Mike Chabala converted a penalty kick in the 41st minute to equalize, while Adam West and Spencer Schmidt netted second half goals to cap the scoring.

The Nike Portland Invitational will conclude on Sunday as the team’s swap opponents. Washington and Creighton will open the day at 12:00 p.m. followed by Portland and Cal Poly at 2:30 p.m.