Women’s Soccer Falls Late in Battle with Portland State

Friday, September 15

Riverside, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

UC Riverside

0-5-4, 0-0-0

Portland State

2-5-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Portland St.	0	3	3
UC Riverside	0	1	1

Photo by: Leyna Wood

Women’s Soccer Falls Late in Battle with Portland State

9/15/2023 9:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside closed out non-conference play on Friday night at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium with a 3-1 defeat to Portland State.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Cassia Souza came off her line in the 28th minute to stop a sure goal from rolling past her, keeping Friday's contest scoreless a third of the way through. UCR outshot Portland State early on the other end of the pitch, 4-1.
Portland State brought a clearance back into the final third in the 34th minute for a wide shot that missed the net. The Vikings had a look at goal in the 43rd minute but missed just high over the crossbar. PSU generated nine shots in the first half, but UCR's back line made life tough for a Portland State attacking front that mustered only two attempts on net.
Arianna Dominguez took a ball down the near sideline late in the first half and centered it for Aaliyah Tu'ua, who wasn't able to put a shot on frame.
UC Riverside's midfield wove a ball into the attacking third, but the crafty move was intercepted just before the ball made its way in front of goal. Portland State countered minutes later on the other end with the opening strike in the 54th minute.
UCR bounced back less than 10 minutes later with the equalizer in the 62nd minute - Daphane Mendez played a ball through the midfield to Charisma Benitez, who fended off three defenders for the strike. Portland State had a pair of opportunities to retake the lead shortly after, including a shot off the post in the 65th.
UC Riverside won its first corner in the 72nd minute, leading to a near goal on the far post before a second Highlander corner was cleared away. PSU found the net twice in two minutes to seal the 3-1 win.

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS

Mendez has now assisted on three of UCR's six goals on the year and has a goal involvement in three of UCR's last four matches after a goal against San Francisco and an assist on Juliet Savage's opener at Nevada.
Cassia Souza made eight saves in the effort, now making 20 in her last two outings.

UP NEXT

With non-conference action wrapped up, UC Riverside turns its attention to Big West play on Sunday when Cal State Fullerton visits the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and tickets are available at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.