Portland State soccer has a permanent black cat in its path. The Vikings walk under ladders on a consistent basis.
PSU is still searching for its first win this season. The Vikings searched at Boise State, but lost 2-1. They searched at Western Oregon but got edged 1-0. Even Air Force got the best of Portland State, 6-1.
The Vikings are 0-8-1 this season. They were 0-18-0 last season. Over their last 39 games, Portland State is 1-37-1. You can count the program’s wins over the past four years on one hand.
To add to their woes, Portland State will try to end their losing streak Sunday at Oregon’s Papé Field, if the Vikings can’t beat Central Washington tonight. The Ducks are 4-1 at Papé Field, and the “1” came at the hands of Portland Wednesday in a 3-0 blowout.
That loss, Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said, will get the Ducks even more fired up for the Vikings.
“Hopefully, we’ve taken away the lesson (from Portland) that we can’t just show up,” Steffen said. “Portland State has had some bad luck in the past, but we can’t just show up.”
For Oregon, Portland State represents one final test before the start of Pacific-10 Conference play next week. The Ducks have Cardinal, Bears and Bruins on the mind, not Pilots.
Still, Oregon players say they will not overlook Portland State.
“We’ll definitely be fired up in order to get that winning streak going again,” senior forward Crystal David said.
David referred to the four-game winning streak Oregon carried into its matchup with Portland. That streak was the longest in school history, and the Ducks are still off to the best start in their six-season existence, despite Wednesday’s setback.
The teams have a mixed history, which should add to the intrigue of Sunday’s match. In 1996, Oregon’s first full season, Portland State handed the Ducks a 1-0 loss. Oregon returned the favor in 1997, beating Portland State by the same score. In 1998, the teams played to a 1-1 tie, after two sudden-death overtime periods could not determine a winner.
The Ducks will most likely turn to playmakers Chalise Baysa and Nicole Garbin early in Sunday’s game. Baysa became Oregon’s all-time leading scorer last week against Eastern Washington, and Garbin is on her way toward Oregon’s best freshman campaign since Baysa was a new recruit four years ago. Garbin leads the team in goals, with five. Baysa had nine goals her freshman year.
Oregon and Portland State will square off at 1 p.m. Sunday.
