Gonzaga University
Portland
Bulldogs Drop WCC Road Opener To #2 Portland
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 10, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Gonzaga University women's soccer team suffered a 7-0 defeat in its West Coast Conference opener at No. 2 ranked University of Portland Saturday night.
Gonzaga saw its record fall to 6-7 overall and 0-1 in the WCC while playing most of match down a player after starting keeper Amy Danielson was issued a red card while battling for a loose ball early in the match. The Portland (12-1-0, 1-0 WCC) offensive attack led by the WCC's leading goal scorer Danielle Foxhoven, who tallied four goals on the night, used four first half goals and a 24-2 shot advantage to pick up the victory.
Both teams opened the match playing very physical as a pair of collisions inside the Bulldogs territory resulted in a Portland penalty kick and Danielson's red card. After three straight Pilot corner kicks, Foxhoven was able to gather in a loose ball and got one by Danielson in the 22nd minute.
Minutes later a give-and-go resulted in Foxhoven gaining possession inside the GU keeper box. Danielson came out to in attempt to clear but Foxhoven tripped over Danielson and the referee called a foul to set up the penalty kick that Foxhoven kicked in to make it 2-0. The next Portland offensive pressure saw Foxhoven breakthrough while chasing after a loose ball behind the Zags backline. Danielson came out in attempt to clear but again collided with Foxhoven and the referee issued a red card to send Danielson to the bench and force the Bulldogs to finish the match a player down. On the ensuing Portland free kick, senior Jessie Thalman stepped right in and made a nice save at the right post.
The rest of the half saw the Pilots continue to pressure, putting two more goals on the scoreboard to take a 4-0 lead into the break.
The Bulldogs came out in the second half and put together a couple nice runs into Portland territory as Sarah Rhodes and Sheridan Jones each fired shots but the WCC's toughest defense buckled down to turn away the Zags offensive threats. Gonzaga held off a few more UP runs of their own but Foxhoven added her fourth score of the match and the Pilots went on to record two more goals to seal up the 7-0 victory.
Next weekend the Bulldogs head to southern California to continue WCC play and close out their seven match road streak with matches against Loyola Marymount University 12:30 p.m. Friday and Pepperdine University 1 p.m. Sunday.
