MADISON, Wis. --- Portland's Alejandro Pereira provided the game-winner and the Pilots were solid on defense despite being a man-down for most of the night as they claimed a big 1-0 road win over the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex. It's the second goal this season for Pereira, and the Pilots collect their fourth shutout of the year.
 
Portland (3-2-1) dominated the run of play for most of the night, even though they lost a man when Ben Ortiz was shown a straight red card in the 24th minute. The card was shown after there was a stoppage in play, and following a video review the head referee reached for his pocket.
 
The Pilots were unfazed as they out-shot the Badgers (2-4-0) 8-1 in the first half. Luke Hendel had most of those attempts, finishing with five on the night, and he had a shot saved in the third minute. He then hit a pair of strikes wide moments apart, and he had another hit denied by the UW keeper in the 32nd minute.
 
The game remained scoreless until Pereira found the back of the net with a stellar strike in the 55th minute. The play began after Francesco Tiozzo won possession in the Portland half of the field. The senior center back then made a lengthy run before finding Pereira with a short pass. The sophomore forward did the rest, taking a few touches before going top shelf with a shot from about 20 yards out.
 
The goal would prove to be the game-winner as the Portland defense did well to limit UW's chances, and senior goalkeeper Paul Lagudah needed to make just one save to record his second clean sheet of the season.
 
The Pilots finished with a 12-5 edge in shots, and the visiting side attempted the only two corners of the night.

"I couldn't be more proud of our entire program tonight for overcoming a great deal of adversity and beating a solid Wisconsin team on the road," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said following the match. "To play down for almost 70 minutes really tests your character and commitment to work hard for each other. The guys played with incredible unity and team spirit. The players competed so hard tonight and this was a true team win in every definition of the term. Credit for Alejandro Pereira for stepping up and striking an incredible magical goal. Huge result and I couldn't be more proud of this group."
 
Portland next returns to The Bluff to host CSUN on Friday night, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Merlo Field.