UP bests University of Illinois and The Miami Hurricanes to claim the Nike Invite
By Lisa McMahan
The women's soccer team proved the seventh time is the charm at last weekend's Nike Invitational. The Pilots advanced their record to a perfect 7-0 after six goals, one hat trick and the tournament title.
Sophomore Michelle Enyeart was named offensive player of the tournament after scoring four of the six goals - including three goals in Friday's game against the University of Illinois.
The no. 2 Pilots beat out the no. 11 Fighting Illini 4-1 in front of over 3,500 fans on Friday night. Within minutes of the match, Enyeart scored the first goal, unassisted. Junior Kendra Chandhoke, assisted by sophomore Danielle Foxhoven, finished off a corner kick for the second goal. The Pilots pounded in another point before halftime when Enyeart fought the Fighting Illini keeper to a through ball.
Illinois battled back with a goal after halftime, but Portland retaliated less than a minute later when Enyeart, assisted by sophomore Halley Kreminski, put the ball in the net and a point on the scoreboard, rounding out the score at 4-1.
"It was another good performance against another great crowd here at Merlo Field," said Head Women's Soccer Coach Garrett Smith.
Two days later, smaller crowds and cloudy skies did not stop the Pilots from battling the Miami Hurricanes to a 2-0 Sunday shutout.
"It felt like a lot more than that," said Smith, referring to the final tally.
Finishing the game with an impressive 26 shots on goal, the Pilots were not discouraged by the points on the scoreboard.
"It would have been nice to see us put a few more in the 'goals' column instead of the 'shots' column, but we always talk about being concerned when we stop creating opportunities, and not when we stop scoring goals," said Smith.
Enyeart, assisted by junior Sophie Schmidt, fired off the first shot to evade Miami goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo. In the 86th minute, sophomore Danielle Foxhoven took advantage of a free kick to neatly place the second shot in the right side of the net.
"We'd like to finish the game off earlier, but it was a good result," said Enyeart.
Foxhoven believes the pre-season invitational is a good indication of the season that is yet to come.
"We have a lot of games to go, but I think we're off on a good foot," she said
Their stellar record speaks for itself and may prompt fans to compare this year's group of players with that of the 2005 national championship team, but Smith believes comparisons to teams of past should be avoided.
"Every team is different," he said. None of this year's players were on the championship team, and "it's a completely different year."
The Pilots will travel to Texas this weekend to face off against Texas A&M on Friday and Southern Methodist on Sunday.
The team is "just looking to go one game at a time," said Enyeart.
The strategy is simple. When asked about the team's performance at the Invitational games, Smith said the team accomplished "exactly what [it] set out to do. Win them."
"We obviously don't want to lose a game," said Foxhoven.
