For the second time this year the Pilots dominated to win by a final score of 6-0. They were offensively overpowering from start to finish and kept the ball away from the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
With the win the Pilots move to 3-1-2 on the season, while Southern Utah falls to 0-4-2.
The Pilots came out strong, scoring three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game and closed out the first half 3-0.
The Pilots added three more goals in the second half including two by junior forward Maddie Dieker that came in rapid succession.
The strong offensive play was accompanied by equally strong defense from the Pilots, who allowed just two shots on goal, neither of which found the net.
“We value possession because if we have the ball, then the other team can’t score,” head coach Garrett Smith said. “We want to limit the other team to not have any shots.”
Freshman forward Kimberly Hazlett secured a ball that bounced off of the post in the fourth minute and put it in the back of the net for her first collegiate goal. From that point on the Pilots were in full control of the game.
After Hazlett’s goal, it took the Pilots just 23 minutes for Jess Kennedy to score Portland’s second goal of the game, and just another three minutes after that for Hannah Griffiths Boston to net their third.
“It was my personal goal at the start of the season to score a goal every game,” Griffiths Boston said. “Going into the game with that mentality, you’re going to score more than without that mentality.”
Having the scoring mentality has worked well for Griffiths Boston so far this year. Tonight’s goal was her sixth on the year in just six games.
Junior forward Maddie Dieker got the scoring going in the second half, scoring two goals in just 21 seconds.
“It was a rush. It was awesome,” Dieker said. “I just wanted to celebrate with the team after.”
The final goal for the Pilots was scored by sophomore forward Lauren Marin in the 86th minute. Four minutes later the whistle blew and the Pilots walked away with the victory
Next, Portland will face off against St. John’s in the second round of the Nike Portland Invitational on Merlo Field, Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2:30 p.m.
