By Joseph Kurtz
On a rain-soaked afternoon last Friday, the third-ranked University of Portland women's soccer team beat Northwest rival University of Washington 1-0 in an overtime thriller.
Neither the rain nor the No. 18 Huskies could stop the Pilots as freshman Halley Kreminski provided the overtime heroics with a blast from the middle of the box to the top right corner of the goal off a great feed from sophomore Sophie Schmidt.
The rain definitely had an effect on the game, as players from both teams were sliding and losing footing frequently. Almost the entire first half was played at midfield other than a few Pilot chances from junior Michelle Enyeart, freshman Danielle Foxhoven, and senior Megan Rapinoe. The best scoring opportunity of the half came from a shot that was 50 yards out by Rapinoe, which seemed to be laser-guided, just missing the goal wide left.
The Huskies had some chances early, but were denied by junior goal keeper Kelsey Davis, who earned her eighth shutout of the season.
The Pilots had many chances in the second half as Rapinoe was making plays all over the field. In the 69th minute Rapinoe weaved through the Husky defense and put a hard shot on goal, but a save by UW goalie Alex Phillips forced the ball wide right. Rapinoe also set up freshman Charney Burk for a good look at the goal, but Burk's shot sailed wide right.
The second half was played almost entirely in the Huskies' zone as the UW players could not get past the great Pilots' defense. Sophomore Megan Sweeney, freshman Michelle Olivier, sophomore Jessica Tsao, and freshman Kassi McCluskie kept the Huskies offense from getting any scoring chances, and rarely even getting past midfield.
The win puts the Pilots winning streak up to nine games, improving their record to 10-1. The next game for the Pilots is Sunday at 1 p.m. where they'll take on Gonzaga University in Spokane, for the first match of West Coast Conference play for the Pilots.
