Box Score Portland, Ore. – Goals in the second and 75th minute of play helped propel the Portland Pilots to a 2-0 victory over the Pacific women's soccer team. The loss brings the Tigers to 1-11-1 on the year, 1-4 in WCC play and lifts the Pilots to 7-4-3, 2-2-1 in conference action.
In a rainy evening, the Pilots got on the board early in the second minute off a perfect shot from Larkin Russell that went over the diving Melissa Ma. In the 39th minute Loren Landrus fired off a shot from the top of the box but was guzzled up by goalie Rachel Lusby, keeping it 1-0. Ma had a busy first half as she logged three saves as the Pilots took twelve total shots in the first 45 minutes of play.
The Tigers made a strong push to knot the score in the second half. In the 63rd minute Kendall Bietsch received pass at the top of the box and riffled off a shot that just barely sailed over the crossbar. Looking for an insurance goal the Pilots' Allison Wetherington sent a bullet towards the net in the 68th minute that Ma made a well-timed dive on to save.
Portland would add another in the 75
th minute, giving the home team a comfortable 2-0 lead. The Tigers would press once more looking to get on the board in the closing minutes as
Samia Adam got around the defender and fired a shot past the Portland 'keeper, but it just went wide.
Ma got her second-consecutive start between the posts for the first time since the 2014 season. The junior finished the night with nine saves on 26 total shots faced. Portland, who is tied for third in the WCC with 23 total goals on the year, was held to just two scores despite taking 27 shots.
On Sunday the Tigers continue North to take on Gonzaga at 1 PM. A live stream of this game will be available courtesy of theW.tv.
