Sept. 2, 2005
SEATTLE - The San Diego State women's soccer team fell, 3-0, to fourth-ranked Portland in Seattle, Wash., on the campus of University of Washington on Friday.
The Aztec (2-1) defense, led by seniors Alexis Solovij and Amanda Swiader, and freshman Millie Allen, held the Pilots (3-0) in check for the majority of the game, limiting the 2002 national champions to only a few good looks at the net.
"I don't ever want to be satisfied with a loss," said second-year head coach Mike Giuliano of his team, which started eight underclassmen, including six freshmen, "but I thought we played very well. I was pleased with our defensive effort. Now we need to play like that for the whole game instead of just 70 minutes."
Portland, which came into the game with convincing victories over No. 17 Stanford (socceramerica.com) (3-0) and Oregon (6-0), got on the scoreboard first at the 32:38 mark when Kari Evans headed in Lindsey Huie's corner kick from 12 yards out.
Christine Sinclair, the 2004 Hermann Trophy Award winner given to the top collegiate player in the nation, gave the Pilots a 2-0 lead in the 66th minute when she broke through the Aztec defense and scored her seventh goal of the season.
Michele Scifo tallied the final goal of the match at the 86:35 mark, converting on a pass from Sinclair and lofting the ball into the upper-right corner of the net from 17 yards away.
SDSU's freshman goalkeeper Christi Yount (2-1) played all 90 minutes and made seven saves.
"Christi played like a senior today," Giuliano said. "She came out of the net and challenged the corner kicks. I was very impressed."
The Aztec offense, led by Mountain West Conference Player of the Week freshman Jen Mello, generated four shots, the most allowed by Portland all season. Mello had two shots, while sophomore Lisa Nielsen and freshman Mariko Strickland each had one shot apiece.
SDSU will stay on the campus of Washington for a game against the host Huskies (0-1-1) at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.