Soccer splits on west coast trip

Sunday Afternoon the Hurricanes (4-3-0) faced No. 1 Portland (7-0-0) at the Portland Nike Invitational, losing 2-0 to the soccer powerhouse.

Miami was able to stay close until the final minutes when Portland tacked on an insurance goal in the 85th minute. The player of the game was undoubtedly sophomore goalie Vikki Alonzo who single handedly kept UM in the game with her 12 saves.

Portland started attacking early, shooting on goal within the first 3 minutes, with Alonzo recording two saves in the first five minutes.

Junior Brittney Steinbruch countered with a shot on goal in the 4th minute that was saved by Portland goalie, Kelsey Davis. She finished the game with two shots for the game.

Portland scored the first goal in the 10th minute as Michelle Enyeart shot a goal from inside the box, form a Sophie Schmidt assist.

Portland continued the onslaught, with a total of 25 shots compared to Miami’s 5. Enyeart and Danielle Foxhoven led Portland with five shots and one goal each.

In the 18th minute Miami had a header inside the box which sophomore Danielle Bidegain missed high over the goal. She would have a second chance in the 10th with another header inside the box, this time heading the ball wide left.

They were able to hold off Portland until the 85th minute when Foxhoven scored off a free kick deflected off the wall that went into the right side of the goal to make the score 2-0.

Regardless of the loss, playing a team like Portland has immense educational value for Miami to judge exactly how much progress they still need to make.

The Canes were coming off an uplifting victory against No. 22 Washington early in the weekends. The Canes were able to upset the Huskies 1-0 with a goal by sophomore Ashlee Burt.

Burt scored off a rebound of Steinbruch’s shot from outside the box which she drove into the bottom right hand corner. Steinbruch led the team with three shots.

The game was also Alonzo’s 13th career shot out, tied for second place for most by a UM goalie only one back of 2007 graduate Lauren McAdam.

The Canes next face Ole Miss on Sept. 18 at Cobb Field Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

Junior Brittney Macdonald was named the defensive MVP of the tournament.

Debora Rubi may be contacted at drubi@themiamihurricane.com