Soccer splits with Idaho State and Weber State

Soccer improved to 2-1 in the Big Sky this weekend. On Thursday, Portland State traveled to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on the Idaho State Bengals. Despite having many chances to score with their 15 shots on goal, the Vikings surrendered to the Bengals, 2-1. Then on Saturday, all it took was one goal from forward Katie Miyake in 1-0 victory over Weber State.

In the first game of the road trip, the Vikings battled preseason favorite Idaho State. In the first half, Idaho State was first to get on the board. The Bengals’ Heather Hunt scored 27 minutes into the half, with assists from Stacey Peterson and Sarah Hobdey. The Vikings were unable to get on the board in the first half, in spite of their seven shots.

In the second half, the Bengals scored again at the 55:07 mark. Peterson took a Hunt pass and capitalized on it, scoring her ninth goal of the season. Then, about one minute later, Portland State showed they still had some fight left by scoring their first goal of the match. Annie Peccia took an assist from Carly Sawhill and scored at 56:22.

At this point, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Bengals. Idaho State didn’t allow any more scoring, but Portland State’s defense was able to hold them from scoring again.

“On Thursday we didn’t take advantage of the chances we had on offense and the other team did,” forward Melanie Langley said.

Portland State won on the corner kicks category, 7-2, and took 15 shots to Idaho State’s eight.

On Saturday, the Vikings were in Ogden, Utah, to take on Weber State. In the first half, both teams went back and forth, showing mostly defense. At the end of the first half, there was no score from either team.

About eight minutes into the second half, Portland State sent in the only goal of the game. Katie Miyake scored her seventh goal of the season, with an assist from another standout teammate, Amy Orr. Portland State went up 1-0 and never looked back, letting their defense do the rest of the work for the victory. Joell Giger recorded nine saves in the match for her fourth solo shutout of the season.

“On Saturday we became one step closer to the ‘ship’ (championship). Everyone came to play and we didn’t on Thursday. We learned that you need to play every game like it’s your last,” midfielder Annie Peccia said.

Miyake took a team-high three shots, all on goal. Miyake also racked up her 20th point of the season, which leads the team through 15 games.

Next weekend, the Vikings finish up on the road Friday at Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash. Portland State faces Montana on Sunday at 11 a.m. at PGE Park.