SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Sophie Schmidt tallied two goals in less than one minute to help the No. 3 Portland Pilots defeat the San Francisco Dons 2-0 in West Coast Conference play at Negoesco Stadium on Friday evening. Schmidt opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before finishing a second goal 51 seconds later.
Portland improves to a 14-1-0 record and 3-0 in WCC games, and extends their win streak to 13 games. Meanwhile the Dons (5-10-2), who are still looking for their first WCC win, fall to 0-3 in conference play.
The Pilots dominated from the opening whistle but wouldn’t get on the scoreboard until the 25th minute after a great individual effort from Schmidt, who capitalized on a breakaway to find the back of the net in the left hand corner. The Pilots’ second goal was initiated by a Megan Rapinoe throw-in that Schmidt settled before sending the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs. Rapinoe earned the assist.
Schmidt, the sophomore forward and a Canadian National Team Player, has scored five goals in the four conference games so far. This is the second game this season that she has scored multiple times. Schmidt also scored two goals during a 4-0 win at Gonzaga on Oct. 12.
UP was without U-20 National Team players Michelle Enyeart and Keelin Winters, but still managed to rally up a strong attack with seven different Pilots testing Dons’ goalkeeper Kelly Phole with shots on net. Charney Burk finished with a match high six shots, three of which were on goal.
Portland outshot USF by a 22-3 margin and had a 4-1 lead in corner kicks. Junior netminder Kelsey Davis made one save, while San Francisco’s Phole denied nine shots for the Dons.
The Pilots return to the field on Sunday, Oct. 26 at St. Mary’s. The Pilots and the Gaels kick-off at 1:00 p.m. in Moraga, Calif.
