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Women's Soccer

Three Second-Half Goals Propel No. 4 Pilots to 4-2 Win over Penn State

Box Score



PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No. 4 Portland Pilots scored three second half goals in a span of 13 minutes to pull away from the Penn State Nittany Lions and claim the Nike Portland Invitational title Sunday afternoon. A crowd of 3,138 turned out for the tournament finale at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. Pilot senior Sophie Schmidt was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player and joined a pair of exclusive scoring clubs with a second half assist, while redshirt freshman Cloee Colohan earned Most Outstanding Defensive Player honors for the Pilots.

After falling behind 2-1 on a Penn State penalty kick in the 48th minute, Portland responded with an offensive fury over the next 20 minutes to score three unanswered goals. Freshman Michelle Cruz evened the score with her first career goal in the 53rd minute. Sophomore Taylor Brooke sent a cross that Schmidt blasted at PSU goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett who knocked the ball away, but Cruz headed the rebound to the upper left.

With the assist, Schmidt became 10th player in Portland history with 100 points, and also became just the seventh Pilot to join the 30/30 club for goals and assists. Schmidt now has 35 goals and 30 assists, joining the likes of Christine Sinclair, Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan, Justi Baumgardt, Lindsey Huie and Michelle Enyeart in the exclusive 30/30 club.

The Pilots continued the offensive assault and regained the lead in the 55th minute when freshman striker Micaela Capelle corralled a loose ball in the offensive third and beat two Penn State defenders into the penalty area. Capelle had only Tribbett to beat and she deftly finished the right side for her team-leading sixth goal of the year.

Portland then capped the scoring in the 66th minute off of a corner kick. Cruz sent a perfect service into the six-yard box and senior captain Keelin Winters placed a hard header past Tribbett for her second goal of the 2010 season.

The Pilots (8-0-0) outshot the Nittany Lions 22-6 for the match and had a 10-4 edge in corner kicks. The four goals are a season high for Portland, while the eight wins to open the 2010 season are the third most in program history.

Penn State (1-5-1) lost their fifth straight game, despite taking two leads in the early going. Maya Hayes split two Pilot defenders and finished from 12 yards to give PSU a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute. The Pilots quickly answered when awarded a penalty kick after Schmidt was knocked down in the box with 37 seconds remaining in the first period. Danielle Foxhoven drilled the PK into the left side netting to tie the score. Foxhoven is 6-for-6 in PK’s throughout her career.

The Nittany Lions took the lead again in the 48th minute after being awarded a penalty kick that Christine Nairn finished for her second goal of the year, but it was all Portland the rest of the way.

Portland junior goalkeeper Hailee DeYoung made her first start of the 2010 season and recorded one save to earn the win. Tribbett stopped four shots in goal for the Nittany Lions. Other Pilots getting their first starts of the season were senior defender Kristen Kelly and freshman midfielder Sarah Bridges.

Portland will return to Merlo Field for another tough home test when the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies visit on Friday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. The game will aired live on 800 AM (KPDQ) with a free live video broadcast at portlandpilots.com. The Aggies dealt Portland their lone regular season loss last season, a 3-1 defeat on the road.

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