PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland freshman Caua Soares scored his first career game-winner, sophomore Rey Ortiz collected his 12th assist, and senior goalkeeper Paul Christensen was solid between the pipes as the Pilots held off the Santa Clara Broncos 1-0 in a West Coast Conference men's soccer game played on Friday night at Merlo Field. It's the fifth shutout on the year for Christensen and the Pilots, who did well to deny the Broncos during the game's final minutes.
"Very pleased with the result tonight and the team's mentality to secure the 1-0 result," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "The group continues to unlock different ways to be successful, which is critical this time of year. Our first half was flat for our standard so I was happy with how we responded after halftime. Our goal was a fantastic combination play and represents how we aim to play. Our depth and team first mentality was on display tonight, which makes you pleased as coach."
Soares' goal came 29 seconds into the second half and it was set up by Ortiz, who had possession right of the 18-yard box. The midfielder then found the feet of Soares with a pass, and the freshman did the rest, hitting a low, hard shot inside the left post from just outside the top of the box.
It's the second goal this season for Soares, and Ortiz moves closer to the program's all-time single season assists record.
In the 55th minute, Ortiz nearly made it a two-goal lead when he hammered a shot from about 12 yards out towards the target. Santa Clara keeper Dakota Havlick was there with the save. Moments later Soares took another rip on goal, but this time his effort was driven wide of the post.
From there the Broncos frantically searched for the equalizer, but the Pilots forced the visitors into taking long-range shots for most of the night. In the 70th minute, the Broncos chipped a nice ball into the box, which caused Christensen to come charging off his line. The keeper got there just in time to deny a shot off the foot of Carlos Delgadillo.
And then in the 80th minute, Christensen came through again on a shot from close range by Delgadillo, preserving the 1-0 lead.
Time would soon run out on the Broncos (2-12-0, 2-2-0 WCC), as the Pilots improve to 8-5-1 overall and keep their record unblemished in conference at 3-0-1. Portland's victory, coupled with Pacific's win over San Diego Friday night in Stockton, Calif., means the Pilots sit alone on top of the WCC table with three games remaining.
"We dug in late in the game and accomplished exactly what was needed to move forward with three points," added Carlin-Voigt. "Santa Clara is well coached and much better than their record indicated so we knew it was going to be a tight game like all WCC contests. You could tell they were fresh and rested after a bye week. They are a talented team in the attack who came into tonight leading the league in conference goals so to hold them scoreless and without a lot of dangerous shots was a credit to our collective defensive mentality and preparation. We will now quickly recover and prepare for a talented USF team."
Christensen recorded six saves on the night, while Havlick finished with one.
Ortiz is now just two assists shy of tying the program record of 14, which was set by Joe Leonetti during the 1991 season.
The Pilots next host the San Francisco Dons on Sunday, with kickoff slated for 3 p.m. at Merlo Field.
