PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's soccer team pushed No. 9 Michigan State to the brink before falling by a 1-0 margin in front of an opening day crowd of 4,596 rowdy fans Friday night at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. The Spartans capitalized following a Portland penalty in the 75th minute and that was the difference in an evenly played match.

Michigan State earned the penalty after a scrum in the box led to a handball being called on a Pilot defender. Senior Zach Carroll stepped to the spot and his initial attempt was saved by Pilot sophomore goalkeeper Paul Christensen, but Carroll was able to tap in the rebound to the open net. 

Portland pressed and its best chance came when redshirt freshman Jacob Hanlin chested down a pass at the top of the 18-yard box in the 78th minute, but his shot went wide right.

After an early feeling-out period to start the match, the Pilots seized control midway through the first half and created a few quality scoring chances. Junior Eddie Sanchez headed a corner kick that looked like a sure goal in the 32nd minute. The Spartans were spared as Jimmy Fiscus headed it off the goal line.

Portland continued to push and had consecutive endline crosses minutes later that went unobstructed across the goal mouth, but no Pilot was able to get on the end and finish.

Michigan State had an opportunity early in the second half as Ryan Sierakowski tested Pilot goalkeeper Paul Christensen with a firm header, but the Pilot goalie was up to the task and tipped it over the crossbar. 

Christensen came up big once again in the 69th minute, turning away a free header by Jason Stacy from point-blank range. 

The teams finished with 10 shots each on the night, while the Spartans gained a 9-2 edge in corner kicks. The team's combined for a total of 30 fouls and five yellow cards in a physical matchup.

Portland will continue its opening weekend when the Pilots host the Marquette Golden Eagles on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will have a free live video stream courtesy of TheW.tv. Marquette dropped its season opener by a 1-0 margin in overtime at Oregon State on Friday night.