By Lisa McMahan
It was a whirlwind weekend for the women's soccer team as they finished the pre-season games on Merlo Field. Trouncing both the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Washington State Cougars, the Pilots improved their record to 11-1-0.
With warm-ups completed and the crowd gathered on a chilly Friday evening, the homecoming game against UM began in a unique fashion. When the Pilots' numbers were called, players did not sprint out to the other starters and engage in their usual rituals.
Instead, the women walked out arm-in-arm with 12 people who have fought or are currently fighting cancer. The Pilots thus took part in one of 1,000 Livestrong events around the world in an effort to raise global awareness about cancer.
"It's special and the players understand that," Head Coach Garrett Smith said. He noted that the issue was especially important to UP players and fans because of former Director of Soccer Clive Charles, who died of cancer in 2003.
After the whistle blew, both teams sprang into action but the scoreboard remained empty for a bit longer than Smith would have preferred.
"We came out a little tentative in the beginning instead of getting after them," Smith said.
Officials deemed a goal in the 23rd minute offsides - despite the loud protests of UP fans - but five minutes later sophomore Danielle Foxhoven chalked up the first point for the Pilots, assisted by junior Keelin Winters.
Minutes later, sophomore Charney Burk lined up a shot for junior Kendra Chandhoke, who shot from 20 yards out, lining up the ball to the lower right corner of the net, and slipping it in under Grizzly goalkeeper Grace Harris.
After a series of deflections, the Pilots scored twice more before halftime. First, sophomore Halley Kreminski, assisted by freshman Taylor Brooke, scored off the left post.
A minute later, Foxhoven recorded her second goal of the night, assisted by sophomore Emma Nelson.
"We were knocking the ball around and playing possession really well," Foxhoven said.
She scored again at the beginning of the second half, coming away with her second hat trick of the season after junior Elli Reed set her up with a shot from eight yards out.
Reed followed up with a goal of her own, assisted by junior Sara Jackman. The UP student section slowly counted off the six goals for anyone who was not aware of the Pilot's substantial lead.
They were, however, not done yet. In the 84th minute Jackman headed the ball into the net off of a corner kick, sealing the shutout at 7-0.
Smith chose to switch up the starting players for this game, sitting regular starters Michelle Enyeart, Kendall Johnson, Michelle Olivier, Sophie Schmidt and Jessica Tsao.
"The players on the bench know what the situation is. The players on the field know what the situation is. They just went out and did the job," Smith said. "We always talk about our depth. Obviously the players that were in there took care of business and got us what we wanted: a shut-out win."
Smith's strategy was to conserve energy for Sunday's game versus WSU.
"Washington State has a nice nine-day break coming here. We just want to make sure we can match their intensity and legs," he said.
Two days later, the Pilots did just that, narrowly finishing the game with a 2-1 victory. Though the Cougars out shot UP 12 to 9, in the end what mattered was finishing.
"We usually know that one goal wins a game and thankfully today we found two," Smith said.
Thanks to an assist by Enyeart, Foxhoven scored in the 20th minute. She followed up with a second goal, her fifth of the weekend, unassisted in a second-half penalty kick.
The women knew, however, that it was going to be a hard-fought game, according to Foxhoven.
"It's business as usual," she said. "We knew that we just had to win and that's what we did,"
The Pilots clung to a two-goal lead for much of the game, but were repeatedly challenged by Washington State and let go of their shutout in the 72nd minute with an unassisted shot by WSU's Kiersten Dallstream.
Smith thought both teams put on a great performance, but Friday's game contributed to the outcome.
"If they were ever going to create against us it'd probably be when we fatigue a little bit and it showed," Smith said.
Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Davis faced a flurry of shots in the second half, and acknowledged that Washington State was dangerous in certain moments. But she managed to defend her goal, even in the last minute of play when she was forced into a one-v-one with Washington's Brandi Vega.
"We got the win," Davis said. "It doesn't always look as pretty as we want it to sometimes, but that's what counts."
Smith credits WSU coach Matt Potter's organization and philosophy for his team's success.
"They are a hard-nosed team and definitely gave us a physical game," Smith said.
Despite their previous loss to Texas A&M, Portland has high hopes for its season. The Pilots will begin West Coast Conference play on Saturday at 7 p.m., facing Gonzaga University - a longtime rival with a new coaching staff.
"I like where we're at. I think we're one win away from being exactly where we want to be and I fancy our chances running through the rest of the conference," Smith said. "The goal is to win a conference championship, get the automatic bid, and hopefully have enough wins under our belt that we get a home game for the playoffs.
"It always seems like we're getting a team that's ranked," Smith continued. " And all of a sudden - where are they now? We want tough competition."
