Complete week one notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's soccer team opens its 2014 season at its home tournament Friday, as it hosts Utah Valley, Boise State and Drake for the PSU Tournament this weekend at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore.
 
Drake and Boise State open the tournament with a neutral-site match at 3 p.m. (PT) Friday, while the Vikings follow with a match against Utah Valley at 6 p.m. (PT). Utah Valley will then play Drake Sunday at 10 a.m. (PT), before the Vikings close out the tournament with a match against Boise State at 1 p.m. (PT).
 
The Vikings enter the 2014 season as the three-time defending Big Sky regular-season champions, and enter the season with a 13-match unbeaten streak, tied for the longest unbeaten streak in Big Sky Conference history. A win or tie against Utah Valley on Friday will give the Vikings the record to themselves.
 
Additionally, the Vikings will look to defend their outright Big Sky regular-season title again in 2014, and also hope to secure the program's first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.
 
PSU Tournament Schedule
Friday, Aug. 22
3 p.m. (PT) – Drake vs. Boise State
6 p.m. (PT) – Portland State vs. Utah Valley
 
Sunday, Aug. 24
10 a.m. (PT) – Drake vs. Utah Valley
1 p.m. (PT) – Portland State vs. Boise State
 
LIVE STATS:
Live stats for all four matches of the PSU Tournament will be available here. Links to live stats can also be found on the Vikings' schedule page here.
 
LIVE VIDEO:
Live video of all four matches at the PSU Tournament will also be available here. The live video stream will be free to all fans, though fans will need to create a log-in and download some plug-ins beforehand. Matt Marquette will call the action for all four matches of the tournament.
 
TICKETS:
Tickets to the tournament are on sale now and will also be available at the gate. Tickets will admit fans to both matches on either day, but there will not be all-tournament passes sold. One-day passes will be $10 for adults and $7 for youth (ages 3-17). Portland State students will also be admitted for no charge. Call 503-725-3307 or email [email protected] for more information, or order tickets online here.
 
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY:
The Utah Valley Wolverines (9-10-1 in 2013) placed third with a 7-4-1 record in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2013 season, the team's first season in the WAC after previously playing in the Great West Conference. The Wolverines return seven starters from that team, as well as 16 letterwinners, but will be missing all four of their 2013 All-WAC first-team selections in goalkeeper Lauren Sack, midfielder Haley Curtis, forward Natalie Baker and defender Lexi Dunn. Sack was named the 2013 WAC Defensive Player of the Year as well, after winning the same award within the Great West Conference in 2011 and 2012. Sack also left the team as the school's all-time leader in saves, save percentage, wins, shutouts, games played in goal and minutes played in goal. The Wolverines will be debuting a new full-time starter in goal for their match against the Vikings, then, and will also be searching for a new leading scorer after losing their top two scorers from last season in Curits and Baker. Curtis led the Wolverines with 21 points in 2013 (seven goals, seven assists), while Baker tied Curtis for the team lead in goals at seven, and finished second to Curtis in terms of points with 18 (seven goals, four assists). Junior forward Kali Stubbs will be the Wolverines' top returning scorer from last season, after finishing 2013 with 13 points on six goals and one assist. Senior Lexi Robison, meanwhile, will help lead the Wolverines' defense this season, as she returns after starting all 20 matches last season and leading the team with 1,747 minutes played. Robison was also a first-team All-Great West Conference selection in 2012, when she finished with four goals and three assists as a midfielder in the team's last season in the Great West Conference.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UTAH VALLEY:
The Wolverines beat the Vikings in their last match against each other, a 4-2 win for the Wolverines in Utah on Aug. 19, 2011. Overall, the teams are tied 2-2-1 in their all-time series against each other, while PSU head coach Laura Schott and Utah Valley head coach Brent Anderson are 1-1-1 against each other in their tenures at their respective schools. The Vikings do hold a 1-0-1 lead in home matches against Utah Valley, but the teams haven't played at PSU since tying 1-1 on Oct. 1, 2010.
 
SCOUTING BOISE STATE:
The Boise State Broncos (13-7-3 in 2013) enter the 2014 season coming off a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) with a 6-3-1 conference record last season. The Broncos led the Mountain West in both goals scored (33) and goals-against average (0.78) last season, and advanced to the MWC Tournament final, where they fell to top-seeded San Diego State, 1-0. The Broncos will need to replace some of their standouts from last season, however, as they lost All-MWC first-team midfielder Katy Oehring, as well as All-MWC second-team goalkeeper Maddy McDevitt. The Broncos return leading scorer Brooke Heidemann, though, as well as senior defender Michaila Bowden. Heidemann earned All-MWC first-team honors last season after leading the Broncos and ranking fourth in the Mountain West with nine goals scored. Bowden, meanwhile, earned All-MWC second-team honors as a member of the Broncos' conference-leading defense last season. Additionally, the Broncos return their second leading scorer from last season in sophomore forward Kayla Tucker, who finished the season with 13 points on five goals and three assists. In addition to the players on the field, though, the Vikings and Broncos' match against each other Sunday will also have added weight after the Vikings won a memorable match in the team's last match against each other in 2012. The Vikings' Daniela Solis scored the game-winning goal with just three seconds remaining in the second overtime period in 2012, leading the Vikings to a 2-1 win over the Broncos, their first-ever win over the Broncos in program history. The Vikings had lost their last six against the Broncos going into the match in 2012, too, and entered the match with a 0-9-1 all-time record against the Broncos. Solis won't be playing in this season's match against the Broncos, of course, but PSU junior midfielder/forward Cori Bianchini, who scored the Vikings' opening goal in their 2012 win over the Broncos, will be playing after earning All-Big Sky first-team honors last season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST BOISE STATE:
The Vikings' dramatic, 2-1 win over Boise State in 2012 snapped a 10-match winless streak for the Vikings to start their series against the Broncos. The Broncos still lead the all-time series between the two teams with a 9-1-1 record, however, and have a 4-1-1 record against the Vikings on the Vikings' home turf. Broncos head coach Jim Thomas will be meeting the Vikings for the first time after he had his debut season as the Broncos' head coach last season.
 
END-OF-SEASON GOAL:
The Portland State women's soccer team has a clear agenda for its 2014 season: get to the NCAA Tournament. A tournament berth would be the Vikings' first-ever in program history, and would likely come via a Big Sky Tournament title, which would end to a series of frustrating results for the Vikings in the conference tournament. The Vikings have never won the Big Sky Tournament despite winning four of the past five Big Sky regular-season titles, as well as six regular-season titles overall. The Vikings made the tournament final for just the second time in program history last season, but fell 3-0 in penalty kicks after finishing tied with Weber State after regulation and two overtime periods. Overall, the Vikings are 2-7-3 in Big Sky Tournament matches.
 
DEFENDING THE TITLE
The Vikings enter the 2014 season as the three-time defending Big Sky champions after winning regular-season titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Vikings won their most recent title in the most convincing fashion, as they went unbeaten in the Big Sky Conference for the first time in program history. The Vikings won the Big Sky regular-season title in 2009 as well, giving them titles in four of the last five seasons. The Vikings should be well positioned to defend their title in 2014, too, as they return 10 starters from last season, as well as 17 letterwinners.
 
VIKINGS TABBED AS NARROW FAVORITES IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL
Big Sky coaches picked the Vikings as slight favorites over Weber State in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' poll, released earlier this month. Both teams received five first-place votes in the poll, but the Vikings finished with one more point at 93 to Weber State's 92. Besides the Vikings and Wildcats, Northern Arizona picked up the remaining first-place vote to finish third in the poll with 86 points, while Northern Colorado (69), Montana (62), Idaho State (52), Sacramento State (51), Southern Utah (32), Idaho (29), Eastern Washington (27) and North Dakota (12) rounded out the poll.
 
STARTING ON A STREAK
The Vikings can break a Big Sky record in their first match of the season in 2014, as they tied a conference record with a 13-match unbeaten streak to end last season. A win or tie in the team's season opener against Utah Valley on Aug. 22 will give the Vikings the record. Additionally, the Vikings enter the 2014 season on a 388:08 shutout streak, and hold an 11-match unbeaten streak in Big Sky regular-season matches.
 
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The Vikings dominated the Big Sky Conference defensively last season, as they gave up only three goals to Big Sky opponents, two of which came on penalty kicks. Consequently, the Vikings led the Big Sky with a 0.32 goals-against average in conference matches, more than half a point lower than the next-best team, Northern Colorado at 0.84. The Vikings also led the Big Sky with 12 shutouts overall last season, four more than any other team. The Vikings should be loaded again defensively this season, too, as they return last season's starting goalkeeper in Caitlin Plese, as well as all three of four starters on the back line, and defensive midfielder Abbey Bergquist. Plese returns to the defense as the Big Sky Co-Goalkeeper of the Year last season, while Bergquist and senior defender Kayla Henningsen return as last season's Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and Defensive MVP, respectively. Center backs Kelsey Henningsen and Torie Morris also return after earning All-Big Sky second-team and All-Big Sky honorable-mention honors, respectively, last season.
 
FINDING A LEADING SCORER
Despite returning 10 starters from last season's championship team, the Vikings lost their leading scorer from last season inEryn Brown. Brown led the Vikings in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) last season, and was part of 13 of the team's 31 goals scored. The team returns their next eight leaders in points from last season, however, which should ease the search for a new leading scorer. Junior midfielder/forward Cori Bianchini returns as the second-leading scorer from last season, as she ranked second on the team in goals (5), assists (4) and points (14). Senior midfielder Ariana Cooley also returns for the Vikings after ranking third on the team in goals (4) and points (10), while senior defender Kayla Henningsen and junior midfielder/forward Lynsey Gaines return after ranking third on the team with three assists each.
 
HENNINGSON TWINS' SWAN SONG:
Senior defenders and twin sisters Kayla and Kelsey Henningsen enter their fourth and final year within the Portland State women's soccer program this season. The Henningsen twins, prized recruits when they came into the program, have seen unprecedented success since joining the Vikings, as neither has been on a team that didn't win at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title, while both have also earned numerous individual honors during their PSU careers. Kayla was named the Big Sky Defensive MVP last season, while both Kayla and Kelsey were named All-Big Sky honorees (Kayla: 1st team; Kelsey: 2nd team). Additionally, both Kayla and Kelsey earned CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII second-team honors last season.
 
NON-CONFERENCE TESTS
The Vikings have set up a tough non-conference schedule for themselves in 2014. Of the Vikings' eight non-conference opponents, four of them finished in the top half of their respective conferences, including 2013 NCAA National Tournament participants Texas Tech of the Big 12 and California of the Pac-12. The Vikings will also face several individual stars during the non-conference schedule, as four of their opponents have members playing some level of international youth soccer.
           
Opposing players with national team camp or playing experience:

• Madalyn Schiffel, junior goalkeeper for San Francisco – U.S. U-20 Women's National Team
• Leticia Torres, sophomore defender for San Francisco – Chile U-20 Women's National Team
• Jaelene Hinkle, senior defender for Texas Tech – U.S. U-23 Women's National Team
• Janine Beckie, junior forward for Texas Tech – U.S. U-20 Women's National Team
• Bri Pugh, senior defender for Oregon – U.S. U-23 Women's National Team
• Marlo Sweatman, sophomore midfielder for Oregon – Jamaica U-20 Women's National Team             

NEWCOMERS
The Vikings added 10 incoming freshmen during the 2014 signing period, giving the team extra depth going into the season. Of the 10 incoming freshmen, the Vikings signed two goalkeepers, one defender, five midfielders and two forwards. The 10 freshmen also come from six different states between Oregon (3), California (2), Washington (2), Colorado (1), Arizona (1) and Illinois (1).
 
THORNS FC GOALKEEPER CRIS LEWIS RETURNS TO ALMA MATER AS VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT:
Cris Lewis, the all-time leader at Portland State in shutouts, saves and goalkeeper wins, will return this season as a volunteer assistant coach. Lewis, the 2009 Big Sky Defensive MVP, will work closely with this year's crop of goalkeepers, which includes 2013 Big Sky Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Caitlin Plese. Plese ranks just six shutouts behind Lewis on the all-time list at PSU, and could pass Lewis as Lewis coaches her this season. Since leaving PSU, Lewis has played off and on with Portland Thorns FC as an amateur. Lewis started the Thorns' match against the Chicago Red Stars on June 1, 2013.
 
2013 SEASON REVIEW
The 2013 season was easily one of the best in program history, as the Vikings completed their first unbeaten run through the Big Sky Conference at 8-0-1, and advanced to the Big Sky Tournament final for just the second time in program history. The Vikings also set program records for shutouts (12) and goals-against average (0.76) during the season, and only gave up three goals to Big Sky opponents during the season, two of which were penalty kicks.

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