Soccer pushes unbeaten streak to five, defeats Portland State in double-overtime

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GREELEY, Colo. – The Northern Colorado women's soccer team stretched its unbeaten streak to five games Friday night, after defeating the Portland State Vikings 3-2 in a thrilling double-overtime match.

Northern Colorado has seen its fair share of close matches throughout the season, with a different player coming through each time. This time, freshman Brittany Dunn was the hero, scoring the game-winner on a shot that deflected off the post and into the net.

With the win, the Bears improve their overall record to 9-3-2, 2-0-1 in the Big Sky. The win also moved the team into a tie with Northern Arizona atop the conference standings. Over their last ten matches, the Bears have lost just once, playing to a 7-1-2 mark over that stretch.

Northern Colorado got the scoring going early when Danielle Birdsall scored her seventh goal of the season just six minutes into the match. The goal came off a breakaway, where Birdsall beat Portland State's goalkeeper, Savannah Abercrombie, to the lower-right corner of the net. The score also put Birdsall, a sophomore, in a tie with Ariel Cook for the team lead in goals.

The first half ended with the Bears up 1-0, but the Vikings came out and scored the equalizer just six minutes into the second half. The goal came from Kala Renard on a breakaway that beat Bears' goalkeeper Kirstin Salminen.

Northern Colorado answered quickly however, when Olivia Deadmond scored her first goal of the season in the 54th minute on a long shot that deflected off Abercrombie and into the net. Katey Borman was credited with the assist.

The Bears held onto their slim lead until the 81st minute, where Portland State's Eryn Brown tied things up again with a breakaway goal. Kimsey Hannah was credited with the assist.

The score remained tied for the rest of regulation and through the first overtime period. In the second overtime though, Dunn found herself with some space inside the box, where she let go a shot that ricocheted off the right-post and past Abercrombie for the game-winner. The goal was Dunn's second of her career.

"I am really proud of the way our girls fought back tonight," said Northern Colorado head coach Tim Barrera. "It says a lot about our team that we were able to regroup and find a game-winner after Portland State got the equalizer.

"I thought we got some good pressure in the overtimes and we were rewarded with a great goal from Brittany [Dunn]. Portland State is a good team and we're happy with the win, now it's time to get ready for Sacramento State."

Northern Colorado looks to continue its unbeaten streak when it plays host to Sacramento State on Sunday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.