Oct. 1, 1999

SEATTLE - Washington State wanted nothing more than to prove it belongs with the elite teams in college soccer. For one half the Cougs did just that, but Portland showed why it is a national power, scoring four second-half goals to upend WSU 4-0 at the Husky Nike Invitational.

"We played really well in the first half," said head coach Dan Tobias. "We gave up two goals just two minutes apart. You can't do that against good quality teams."

Barely 10 minutes into the second half, Portland got on the scoreboard when Vanessa Talbott received a through ball from Lisa Casagrande and hit a shot from 10 yards out for a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later Casagrande put another shot in the back of the net.

"We are not sprinting back when people have the ball," Tobias said. "We've got to be a team that when things break down, we have to be able to adjust better. We didn't play a full 90 minutes. We played a good 50 minutes and that is not enough."

WSU's offense was slowed with leading scorer Deka DeWitt (Auburn, Wash.) sidelined with a groin injury. Without DeWitt, the Cougs took only six shots, forcing Portland's goalie to make only one save. Freshman Katrina Stroh (Federal Way, Wash.) started at forward in place of DeWitt, who is doubtful for Sunday's game against UC Irvine.

"The few chances that we had we weren't able to stick," Tobias said. "We were able to get behind them and get the ball to the flanks to get penetration, but we couldn't score. This game was a tale of two halves."

Casagrande scored two goals and added an assist, while Talbott had the game-winner in addition to her assist to lead the Pilots.

The loss drops the Cougs to 5-4-0 on the season, while Portland improves to 5-4-1.

Washington State concludes play at the Husky Nike Invitation Sunday at 11 a.m.as it takes on UC Irvine as WSU plays their final non-conference game.

The Cougars open up Pac-10 play the following weekend as WSU travels back to Seattle to face Washington next Sunday at noon.

NOTES Friday marked the first time that DeWitt has missed a match in her WSU career. She had played in 45 consecutive matches...Portland has defeated WSU in each of the eight meetings between the two schools.

BOX SCORE

Team                            1       2      OT      OT       F
Portland (5-4-1)                0       4       -       -       4
Washington State (5-4-0)        0       0       -       -       0

Scoring summary: First half - no goals. Second half - 1, Portland, Vanessa Talbot, (Lisa Casagrande), 56:58. 2, Portland, Casagrande (Erin Misaki, Talbott), 58:55. 3, Portland, Casagrande (Kylee Barton), 67:42. 4, Portland, Crissy Marti (Emily Patterson), 81:19. Shots - Portland 20 (Casagrande 5, Talbott 5, Betsy Barr 2, Erin Goodling 2, Barton 2, Valerie Fletcher 2, Marti 1), WSU 6 (Natalie Kehl 2, Kristin Mak 1, Christina Pallan 1, Brianne Carmody 1, Ashley Honda 1). Corner kicks - Portland 4, WSU 1. Goalie saves - Portland 1 (Angela Harrison 1), WSU 7 (Lindsey Jorgensen 7). Fouls - Portland 15, WSU 9. Offsides - Portland 3, WSU 1. Cautions/Ejections - none. Attendance - 268.