The Sacramento State women’s soccer team beat Portland State today 2-1 to advance to the championship game of the Big Sky Conference tournament for the second straight year.

“Nobody’s celebrating yet,” said Hornets coach Randy Dedini. “We still have half of the job to do.”

The Hornets faced Portland State exactly one week ago on Nov. 2, when they beat the Vikings 1-0 to clinch the regular season conference title. In today’s game, the teams were playing for their seasons in the single-elimination, four-team conference tournament.

The Hornets got on the board in the 20th minute when junior Missy Matzen knocked in a header off of a corner kick by sophomore Danielle Holloway. It is Matzen’s second score of the year and first-ever in the conference tournament.

The Vikings had several great chances to score late in the second half when sophomore Hornet goalkeeper Mandy Trojan was drawn out of the goal while trying to block a shot. Senior Katie Burton stepped in to block two Viking shots on the goal, giving the Hornets two teams saves.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Dedini said of Burton’s saves. “She’s been huge for us all year long.”

The score remained 1-0 at the end of the first half. Portland State held a slim 5-4 lead in shots over the Hornets, and Vikings coach Tim Bennett said that he believed his team would come back to win in the second half.

The Vikings came out more aggressively in the second period and the match turned very physical. After only 11 first-half fouls where whistled, the teams combined for 19 after halftime.

“It was pretty physical,” Burton said. “They were out to get (senior) Katie (McCoy).”

McCoy agreed that the Vikings seemed to target her specifically, but said that it happens to her regularly in conference play.

“I felt like I was on the ground a lot,” McCoy said. “You get used to it.”

Although the teams combined for 20 second-half shots, the score did not change again until the 81st minute, when Sac State added a crucial insurance goal. Portland State’s sophomore goalkeeper, Cris Lewis, dove to try and scoop up the ball as it approached the goalie box, but was beat to it by Hornet freshman Leah Lorat. With Lewis on the ground, the goal was left wide-open. Lorat skirted past two defenders to score an unassisted goal in her first-ever tournament game.

“Someone always steps up in the tournament and has a great game,” McCoy said.

With the Hornets up two goals with less than ten minutes left in regulation, Burton said that the team “let down a little bit.”

Portland State took advantage by scoring a goal with less than 90 seconds remaining in the game. Sophomore Kat Robertson netted the score in the 89th minute off of an assist from freshman Frankie Ross.

Dedini said that he felt “a little bit uneasy,” after the Vikings pulled within one goal of tying the match.

“It was an excellent play by them to keep it close and make the last two minutes interesting,” Dedini said.

The Vikings emptied their goalie box in the final minute in a desperate attempt to even the score, but the Hornets held on for the win.

“I think we outplayed (the Hornets),” Bennett said. “But they converted their chances; We didn’t.”

“I felt like the whole game was not our best,” Dedini said. “Sometimes championship teams, even when they don’t play well, find a way to win.”

The Vikings see their season end with back-to-back losses to Sac State and finish with a 7-10-2 record. Bennett said the season was not a successful one because he expected to win the conference tournament this year.

“We just beat ourselves sometimes,” Bennett said. “It’s just a sign of our youth.”

The Hornets improve to 11-3-5 and achieve their first tournament win in school history. Although they beat Montana in last year’s tournament via penalty kicks, the game is recorded as a tie because it was scoreless after regulation and two overtime periods. They will face the Bears of Northern Colorado in the championship match on Sunday.

The Bears are 8-8-3 after beating Weber State 3-1 in the other semi-final game, which was held earlier today at Hornet Field. They advance to the championship game in what is only their second year in the Big Sky Conference.

Kick-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Hornet Field. The winner will earn a spot in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships, which begin Nov. 16.

Fernando Gallo can be reached at [email protected]