CORVALLIS, Ore. --- Despite dominating the second half and receiving goal number seven on the season from Hannah Griffiths Boston, the Portland Pilots came up just short as the Oregon State Beavers held on for a 2-1 win on Friday night at Paul Lorenz Field. Griffiths Boston entered the night No. 19 in the country in goals scored.
And she got number seven when it was needed as the Pilots (4-2-1) found themselves down two goals early in the second half. In the 50th minute, Jess Kennedy found Griffiths Boston inside the 18 with a nice pass before the junior forward took a touch to avoid the Oregon State keeper. Griffiths Boston then slotted one in to cut the deficit in half.
From there, Portland took over possession and continued to pressure the final third for most of the second half. Larkin Russell sent a shot across the goal mouth in the 63rd minute, and Ellie Boon hit a shot that was just high a minute later.
Griffiths Boston then nearly leveled the score in the 68th minute with her second goal, but her left footed shot in the direction of the upper 90 was high of the cross bar. And in the 76th minute, Kennedy's shot from point blank range took a slight deflection before ending up in the arms of Bella Geist.
Portland continued to attack the OSU half during the final 10 minutes, but the Beavers would hold on for the win.
The first half nearly ended scoreless, but Oregon State (4-2-2) able to find the back of the net in the 44th minute. After a loose ball ended up at the feet of Natalie Higgins, the junior forward hit a low shot through traffic that snuck by Portland keeper Hanna de Haan, giving the home side a 1-0 lead.
The lead quickly grew to 2-0 after the break as Toni Malone buried a shot from a tough angle in the 48th minute. Malone gained possession outside the box, dribbled towards the endline, and finished top shelf to make it a two-goal advantage for OSU.
The Pilots responded quickly with Griffiths Boston's goal only minutes later.
The Pilots next return to the Willamette Valley to face the Oregon Ducks on Monday night. Kickoff at Pape Field in Eugene is set for 6 p.m.
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