SANTA CLARA, Calif.- In a match-up of perennial West Coast conference powers, Santa Clara pulled out a 1-0 victory over visiting Portland at Buck Shaw Stadium Sunday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Tiffany Roberts came off the bench to net the second half game-winner, pulling Santa Clara (11-4-2, 4-1-0 WCC) into a tie atop the WCC standings with the Pilots. Portland (15-3-0, 4-1-0) snapped a seven-game winning streak with the loss.
Roberts netted the game-winner in the 64th minute on a 25-yard bullet. She gathered a loose ball just outside the top of the arc and rifled a shot to the right post as Pilot sophomore keeper Cori Alexander was able to get her fingertips on the attempt, but not prevent it from sneaking inside the post.
The Broncos dictated the pace of play a majority of the match, racking up an 11-1 shot advantage and putting six shots on goal. The Pilots responded in the final 15 minutes, spending a majority of the time on the attacking end of the field, but the SCU defense answered every threat.
The Broncos nearly scored again seven minutes after their first strike as Marian Dalmy’s shot from nearly the same spot was denied by the crossbar.
Alexander was solid in goal for the Pilots, recording five saves and consistently coming off her line to pick off crosses. Freshman defender Rachel Rapinoe came off the Pilot bench and played well as a center back in the second half. Rapinoe took the place of fellow freshman Emily Michaelson who was forced to leave the game after a hard collision with 12:09 remaining in the first half.
Santa Clara controlled the first half with a 5-1 edge in shot attempts. Alexander made impressive saves on shots by Megan Kakadelas and Tina Estrada in the first 15 minutes of play. Alexander recorded two more saves in the final 10 minutes of the half to bring UP into the locker room with a 0-0 tie.
The Pilots did not record their first shot attempt until Christine Sinclair led freshman Natalie Budge into the box with under two minutes left in the first half. Budge’s attempt was struck well but directly at SCU keeper Julie Ryder, for her only save of the day.
The match will be nationally televised, tape-delayed broadcast to be aired on College Sports Television on Thursday, Oct. 28 at 5 and 8:30 p.m. Pacific.
The Pilots have just two regular season matches left on the schedule, including their final home game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 30 against San Francisco. Game-time is 7 p.m. at Merlo Field. Portland concludes the season at Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m.
