Collen Warner scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute

Freshman Collen Warner scores in the 82nd minute as Portland tops San Francisco 2-1

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Freshman forward Collen Warner drilled the game-winner in the 82nd minute to give the Portland Pilots a 2-1 victory over the No. 16 San Francisco Dons in a West Coast Conference men’s soccer game Friday night at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. The strike came on a nifty give-and-go play between Warner and junior defender Jeff Griffin, who picked up the assist.

The win improves Portland’s record to 7-7-2 overall and 4-6-0 in the conference. The Dons fall to 10-5-1 and 5-4-0 in the WCC.

Tied at 1-1, Griffin had possession as he entered the final third of the field. He passed to Warner, who gave it back to Griffin to the left of the goal, inside the 18-yard box. Griffin dished it back to Warner who one-touched a frozen rope inside in the right post for the score. It’s Warner’s third goal this season.

“That was a great goal,” head coach Bill Irwin said. “It was well-worked. We had to match San Francisco tonight and we did. The guys played well and things just went our way.”

Down 1-0 in the second half, the Pilots notched the equalizer in the 57th minute on a free kick from junior midfielder Matthew Dallman. From just outside the right corner of the box, Dallman ripped a low line drive that somehow made it untouched through a plethora of defenders, past USF goalkeeper Geremy Uhl and into the left corner of the net. It’s the second goal this season for Dallman.

UP senior keeper Luis Robles denied a San Francisco attempt to take the lead in the 70th minute. Aaron Chandler had possession and was unmarked in the center of the box. He tried to blast one low inside the left post, but Robles made an acrobatic save to keep the game at 1-1.

San Francisco took a 1-nil advantage in the 19th minute. Chandler had possession to the right of the goal near the endline. Chandler’s cross found the feet of Conor Chin in the middle of the box. Chin took a touch, turned to the left and ripped a shot inside the far post.

The Pilots nearly equalized just before the halftime buzzer. Dallman sent in a corner kick from the left corner with about 10 seconds left on the clock. The serve was perfectly placed to junior forward Christopher Sanders right in front of the goal. Uhl just got a hand on the header from Sanders. A San Francisco defender then cleared the ball out of bounds as the horn sounded.

The game was evenly played as San Francisco held a slim 17-16 advantage in shots. The Dons also had one more corner kick (5-4) than the Pilots.

Robles went the distance in the net for Portland and made three saves. He now has 329 for his career, 9 shy of setting a new all-time UP saves record.

The Pilots next host the Washington Huskies for a non-conference match at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, the final home game this season. Portland will honor Robles, the lone senior on the UP roster, with a pre-game ceremony at Merlo Field. The game is part of a soccer doubleheader, as the Pilot women will host the Pepperdine Waves at 2:30 p.m.