Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Danielle Foxhoven scored in the first half and the Portland defense shut down Loyola Marymount as the Pilots blanked the Lions 1-0 in a West Coast Conference women’s soccer game at Sullivan Field on Friday afternoon. It’s the second straight 1-0 win for the Pilots.
It’s also the third win out of the last four games for the Pilots, who even their record both overall (8-8-1) and in the WCC (3-3-0). LMU drops to 7-9-2 overall and to 1-5-1 in the conference.
The Pilots were relentless in the first half, dominating possession and peppering the LMU goal with six shots during the game’s first 28 minutes. LMU goalkeeper Brittany Jagger was able to stop four of those shots, while the Lions were credited with a team save on an attempt from Micaela Capelle in the 14th minute.
Foxhoven was then able to find the back of the net in the 29th minute. After Portland had won the ball in the air near the half-line, Michelle Cruz fed Foxhoven with a lengthy pass as the senior forward had shaken free of the LMU back line. Foxhoven took a couple of touches before calmly beating Jagger with her team-high seventh goal of the season, giving the Pilots a 1-nil lead they’d hold onto for the rest of the match.
Portland thoroughly controlled possession during the first 45 minutes as the Pilots held the Lions to zero shots, while attempting nine.
And although LMU did take four shots after the break, the Lions never forced Portland goalkeeper Hailee DeYoung into making a save. It’s the third shutout posted by the Pilots this season.
“It was a good performance by us,” said head coach Garrett Smith, “and it’s nice to see us really shut them down. We held them to no shots in the first half, and obviously to have Hailee not make a save all game long is good to see. I feel it was a dominating performance. We could’ve had more, but a 1-0 win in conference on the road is awesome.”
Foxhoven led the UP attack with three shots, while Capelle and Halley Kreminski both had a pair of attempts. Kreminski nearly made it a 2-0 lead during the final minute of the first half, but her shot from the middle of the box was high of the cross bar.
Seven of Portland’s 10 shots were on-goal.
The Pilots next make the short trek to Malibu to face the third-ranked Pepperdine Waves on Sunday. Kick-off between the Pilots and Waves is set for 1 p.m. at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Portland then returns home next Saturday for the season finale against Gonzaga.
