Bears Come From Behind To Beat Portland State - University of Northern Colorado Athletics

Thursday, October 22

Greeley, Colo.

12 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

6-5-4, 3-0-2

Portland State

3-11-0, 1-4-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Portland St.	1	0	1
Northern Colo.	1	1	2

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Kassidy Schwartz, UNC Athletics

10/22/2026 2:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Donate To Soccer Box Score (PDF)

By: Aiden Tank, Director of Strategic Communications

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado came from behind to beat Portland State 2-1 Thursday at Jackson Stadium, moving to 6-5-4 overall and 3-0-2 in Big Sky play.

It is the first time since 2021 the Bears have gone five conference matches without a loss, and their first win over the Vikings since that same season.

Portland State, which had scored seven of its eight goals in the first half coming in, struck early. Alexi Cataldi finished a run in the 12th minute to put the Vikings up 1-0 and quiet the home crowd. Northern Colorado had been warned that was coming.

"Portland State's a really good first half team. We tried to emphasize that, and I think that showed true," head coach Tim Barrera said.

Ava Marshall answered from distance, and it flipped the game. The Bears controlled the last 15 minutes of the half and went in level.

"Non-conference set us up perfectly for conference," Marshall said. "We played some pretty hard teams, and it showed us that we're very capable to battle. It just gave us some confidence to come into conference and be the better team at the end of the day."

Dougherty Delivers
Northern Colorado found the winner after the break. Nora Dougherty scored it, the first goal of her career, and the assist came from the back line, with center backs Mia Norman and Paige Hill combining to set her up.

"I thought we got a great performance out of our center backs, Mia and Paige. They both had assists on the game-winning goal, and defended well," Barrera said. "Mia was super dangerous on corners. I think they cleaned up a lot of stuff in the back."

A potential Portland State penalty was wiped off the board after a foul in the box was challenged, which kept the Bears in front.

Holding On
The Vikings pressed late and hit the post from distance, but Northern Colorado managed the final minutes. Barrera said that composure comes from the roster's experience.

"We have an older group. We have quite a few seniors that have been in a lot of battles, both good and tough ones," Barrera said. "I think that really helps us when we're at the end of the match and we've got a bunch of juniors and seniors out there who have been through it."

He also used much of his bench, which he called a strength.

"Used a ton of players today, which is always a really good thing for us. I think we have really good depth, and some players really stepped up."

What's Left
The Bears stay home to host Montana on Sunday, then close the regular season against Northern Arizona after two more on the road. Barrera said the approach doesn't change, even as the table tightens.

"You can go from thinking about being in first place to thinking about not making the tournament in an instant," he said. "Our mindset with the players has always been game by game. Not thinking about making the conference tournament, winning the league, none of that. They know that things can change."

Marshall said the home stretch matters.

"Home games are our favorite. Obviously, we don't want to lose at home, and we want to just keep that going," she said.

Northern Colorado hosts Montana on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 12 p.m. MT.

FOLLOW THE BEARS:
For complete coverage of UNC Athletics, check out the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the women's soccer team on X, Instagram and Facebook.