Sept. 14, 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. - The San Diego State women's soccer team suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 6 Portland in front of 2,100 fans at Merlo Field in the final game of the Nike Invitational on Sunday afternoon. The Pilots have recorded five straight shutouts and improve to 6-1-0, while the Aztecs fall to 2-4-1 on the season.
Portland, which was averaging 4.17 goals per game, dominated possession early in the match, finishing the first half with a 7-0 advantage in shot attempts. The Aztecs' defense hung tough, however, holding the Pilots scoreless in the first 33 minutes of action.
The home team finally dented the scoreboard with 11:12 left to play in the first period. Coming off a hat trick two days ago, Elli Reed was credited with the first goal of the day as she found the back of the net on a give-and-go play from Danielle Foxhoven, giving Portland a 1-0 lead heading into intermission.
SDSU came out of the break aggressively, but was unable to take advantage of its only corner kick just three minutes into the second half. Portland then regained control of the game, going up 2-0 in the 55th minute of action. Michelle Enyeart dribbled up the field and as Aztec goalkeeper Aubree Southwick came out to cut her angle off, she passed the ball off to Foxhoven who was left with an empty net from about six yards out.
The Pilots put the game out of reach at the 61:57 mark when Foxhoven tallied her second goal of the game and eighth of the season.
SDSU struggled offensively with just two attempts and zero shots on goal. Freshmen Jaime Nelson and Taylor Canatsey accounted for the Aztecs' pair of shots as both missed wide left from the top of the box late in the second half.
Southwick, meanwhile, finished the afternoon with six stops, moving her into sole possession of fifth place in the Aztec record book with 134 saves in her one-plus year career.
San Diego State will return to The Mesa on Friday, Sept. 19, when it welcomes UC Riverside to the SDSU Sports Deck for a non-conference game. The Aztecs and Highlanders are slated to square off at 4 p.m. PT.