Junior Alison Clarke scored her first goal as a Cowgirl in the 65th minute to bring the University of Wyoming women’s soccer team within 3-2 of Portland on Friday night, but the Pilots (7-1-1) were able to hold on and claim a 4-2 victory over the Cowgirls (3-6-1) in front of 3,072 fans at Merlo Field.

Junior forward Sara Paul scored first for UW to get the Cowgirls on the board in the 31st minute. She was able to get past the Pilot defense as Portland’s junior goalkeeper Nicole Downing came to put pressure on the attack, Paul was then able chip her shot over the head of Downing from the right wing into the left corner of the net. It was Paul’s second goal on the season.

Clarke, a junior midfielder scored her first goal as a Cowgirl while senior midfielder Liz O’Reilly was credited with the assist. Clarke found the ball off a deflection from a free kick and pushed it past Downing into the net.  Along with junior defender Kasey Curtis and junior goalkeeper Alex Boehm, Clarke played all 90 minutes for UW.

The Pilots scored first, 18 minutes into the half when freshman midfielder Madi Hall was assisted by freshman forward Danica Evans and senior forward Amanda Frisbie and headed the ball into the left corner of the net. Three minutes later Frisbie took a shot from the top of the box and recorded the second goal of the night for the Pilots. In the second half, Frisbie scored her second goal of the match off a free kick on the left side 20 yards out, while senior forward Micaela Capelle scored the fourth and final goal for the Pilots in the 67th minute.

Four different Cowgirls recorded shots against the tough Pilot defense.  Clarke, Paul, freshman midfielder Mandy Meyer and sophomore forward Jennifer Paul each added one apiece for Wyoming.

UP owned an 18-4 shot advantage and 5-1 advantage in corner kicks on the night. Boehm faced 7 shots on goal and made 3 saves, while UP keeper Downing earned the win. Paul’s goal in the first half was the only shot for the Cowgirls in the first 45 minutes.

Entering today’s game, Portland had only allowed two or more goals twice all season, in a 3-2 loss to No. 9 Wake Forest on Sept. 8, and a 3-2 victory over Missouri on Sept. 15.

The Cowgirls return to the pitch on Sunday in Fort Collins, Colo., for a matchup with Colorado State. Kickoff is set to begin at 1 p.m.

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