PSU Magazine Winter 2003

Way to winning opens up for soccer team When Ginny Seibel headed home a corner kick less than three and a half minutes into the 2002 season, it was as if a lightning bolt 0ashed through the Big Sky Conference, bringing with it a steady rumble of thunder that would come to represent Portland State's arrival as a Division I soccer program. To the amazement of PSU's faithful soccer supporters , who had a co llective look of "I can't believe what l just saw" on their faces, the Vikings went on to record a 2-0 shutout that day against a Colorado College team that had crushed them, 6-0, just one year ear– lier. Perhaps even more incredible than the victory itself was the fact that Port– land State controlled the play and gen– erated more shots and corner kicks than its opponent for only the second time in more than two years. It also marked the first of eight shutouts in the season for the Viks, more than they had recorded in the past four years combined. The Vikings, winners of a grand total of one match since the beginning of 2000, went on to win 12 more times, setting the school mark for wins and becoming the nation's most improved Division I team in the process. Of their eight wins against non-conference opponents, five came against teams they had never previously beaten. And in Big Sky play, P U dou– bled its best prior win total, going 4-1-1 to share second place with con– ference power Montana and advance to the Big Sky Championship for the first time since 1997. Much of the credit for the 2002 season goes to coach Tara Bilanski– Erickson. In only her second year as a Division I head coach, she led the women's soccer team out of it 23- match losing streak and into the finals. The conference noticed her hard work 14 PSU MAGAZINE WINTER 2003 and named her Big Sky Coach of the Year, making her only the second PSU head coach in any sport to earn this honor. She joins former golf coach Eric Stinson . The team shows true signs of becoming a contender. This past sea– son, location of matches did not deter– mine results. Despite being a team loaded with freshmen and sopho- After a two-year losing streak, the soccer team turned it around and made it to the playoffs under coach Tara Bilanski-Erickson (below), a Big Sky Coach of the Year. mores, the Vikings became the first PSU soccer squad to post a winning record on the road at the Division I level , going 6-4-2 . At home, they were practically unbeatable, putting together a 7-1-2 record between their two local venues, PGE Park and Tigard Soccer Complex. The Viking squad led the confer– ence in nearly every statistical category, including goals (44), assists (420), fewest goals against (19), and shots (330). Five of the squad earned first team all-conference honors-the most of any school in the Big Sky. Although the team eventually came up short, falling to defending cham– pion Idaho State 1-0 in overtime, it was only fitting that Ginny Seibel, on the receiving end of a corner serve, hammered home the game winner against Montana for the Vikings' last goal of a remarkable year. -Andy McNamara Get all of the latest sports news at www.GoViks.com. Game stories, sta– tistics, schedules, team information, press releases, and much more are available and updated daily. You can also listen to live broadcasts of foot– ball and men's and women's basket– ball games, or archived broadcasts. Buy season and single game tickets online at www.GoViks.com or call 1-888-VIK-TIKS or 503-725-3307 .