The Portland Pilots beat the Oregon State Beavers in a physical Friday night game at Merlo Field thanks to a late game penalty shot from redshirt junior Kacie Young.
The women's soccer team went into the game on a five game losing streak, the most recent loss coming to Boise State at home, 0-1. This win snaps the streak and helps improve their record to 3-6.
Unfortunately for the Pilots, they lost senior Hannah Griffiths Boston to an apparent leg injury in the 19th minute. Griffiths Boston is the leading scorer for the Pilots with two goals on the year and is also one of the few upperclassmen on this young Pilots squad. As of right now, the extent of the injury is unknown.
The Pilots faced a defensively stout team in Oregon State. Now sitting at 3-2-3, the Beavers were only allowing an average of .86 goals a game. On top of that, senior keeper Bella Geist, who has played every minute in goal, currently has a .829 save percentage and four shutouts so far this year.
The game was physical from the offset, with the Beavers playing tough defense in the first half and the Pilots looking to force some takeaways early by pressing Oregon State up the field more. Both teams were scoreless in the first half, with the Pilots only getting three shots off and the Beavers getting six.
The Pilots struggled in the first half to find opportunities to score thanks to a tough Beaver defense that pounced on every opening the Pilots had. The Beavers were even more aggressive in the second half, latching on to the Pilots and closing up any space the they had to work with.
Despite the physical play, the refs let the players battle it out for the majority of the game. Both yellow cards came late in the second half and both went against Oregon State. The first was awarded in the 84th minute to senior Emma Jones and the other given to redshirt senior Kathryn Baker.
The Pilots switched gears in the second half, switching it up from their usual possession based style of play to a more assertive offensive style of play. They came out looking to attack and get a goal on the Beavers.
Both teams struggled to find the back of the net for the majority of the game until the late game yellow card awarded to Baker gave the Pilots an opportunity to score. Young took advantage, netting the goal high in the upper right half of the goal.
The Pilots play their next game on the road against Seattle University on Friday, Sep. 22.
