NCAA Women's Soccer Playoffs: Portland 1 - Colorado 0

Portland (17-3-0) moves on and is expected host third-seeded Tennessee (15-4-2), a 1-0 winner over Clemson.

Photo courtesy: University of Portland Athletics

BOULDER, Colo. - The Portland Pilots women’s soccer team took care of business on the road to open the 2007 NCAA playoffs.

The No. 2 seed Pilots knocked off host Colorado, 1-0, on Sunday at Prentup Field and advanced to a third round match next weekend. Freshman forward Sophie Schmidt provided the game-winner early in the second half.

"That was a great game," Portland head coach Garrett Smith said. "Give Colorado a lot of credit. We tried to limit their opportunities and create our own opportunities. We were fortunate to come away with the win."

Schmidt now has three goals in her first two playoff matches, while sophomore forward Michelle Enyeart notched her 15th assist this year.

"We just have a lot of confidence,"Schmidt said. "We knew that it was just a matter of time before we got an opportunity to put the ball in the net."

Portland again dominated possession and the stat sheet with a 16-2 edge in shots and 7-0 margin in shots on goal. Colorado (10-8-4) made anything but easy in the first half, shutting down the Pilots attack time and again.

Schmidt finally broke through in the 61st minute, taking a cross from Enyeart and beating Colorado goalkeeper Kara Linder to the right side.

Schmidt now has seven goals, while Enyeart moved into sole possession of second place on the UP single-season assists chart. She is one shy of the school record held by Shannon MacMillan.

The Pilots have now won 10 consecutive matches, nine by way of shutout. The shutout streak is at eight games, while Portland has outscored opponents 30-1 during the winning streak.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Davis picked up her eighth shutout on the season. Linder recorded six saves between the pipes for Colorado.

Portland (17-3-0) moves on and is expected host third-seeded Tennessee (15-4-2), a 1-0 winner over Clemson. The match is expected to be played on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at Merlo Field, pending confirmation from the NCAA Soccer Committee.

Tickets will go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. and only be available through Ticketmaster (503-224-4400, www.ticketmaster.com, or at any Ticketmaster outlet). There is a limit of six tickets per transaction.

The game will also be televised live on Comcast SportsNet (Channel 37).

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports