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Merlo Field - 3,906	1	2	T
(17) Virginia Tech	1	0	1
(2) Portland	4	0	4
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Portland, Ore. – The Hokies’ historical season came to an end after falling to the Portland Pilots, 4-1, in the Sweet 16. This is the furthest the Hokies have gone in the Tournament as they earned their first two Tournament wins before crossing the country for the third-round match. Tech would be unable to join the three other ACC teams (Boston College, Florida State, Wake Forest) in the Elite 8, all three advancing earlier in the day, and became one of two conference teams to be outed this round with two more still to play. The Hokies fought for the full 90 minutes but just could not recover the first half deficit. Avoiding the shutout, Julian Johnson would net one for the Hokies early in the match but the powerful Pilot offense would prevail.

The tone of the game was set early as back-and-forth scoring would break the even possession and middle-of-the-field play that dominated the opening minutes. Neither team would waste much time before getting on the board as Portland (21-1-0) was the first to score when Danielle Foxhoven netted a goal in the third minute of the match. She slipped past the Hokie (16-8-0) defense in the middle of the field, bringing the ball to the left side, and crossed it towards the right side of the net. Tech’s keeper Kristin Carden attempted to stop the ball with her foot but the ball would soar past her reach and into the right side of the goal.

Tech would answer back a minute later as Robin Chidester would serve the ball in to Johnson in the box to help the Hokies tie things up. Chidester was stuck in the right corner with the ball and was able to get an angle on the defender and cross the ball into the middle. Johnson knocked the ball down, turned and shot, sneaking the ball under Portland’s diving keeper, Kelsey Davis, and into the left side of the net.

The Pilots would break the tie in the ninth minute when Kendra Chandhoke added a score after two Hokie saves. The initial Pilot shot was saved by Carden but the loose ball remained in play in front of the net. A header was taken by Foxhoven before the deflected save could touch the ground but defender Kelly Lynch denied the attempt from just in front of the goal line. Chandhoke would try for a third shot and just barely got the ball over the goal line as Lynch, still assisting Carden, trapped the ball between her foot and the goal post just after it crossed the plain. Foxhoven would earn an assist on the play as she took the header before the goal.

Portland would tack on their final first half goal when Foxhoven netted her second of the match, slipping through the Hokie defense to a one-on-one with Carden. Foxhoven fired a shot that looked wide, from the right side of the field. The ball just caught the inside of the left post and ricocheted into the goal to put the Pilots up, 4-1.

The Hokies would continue to battle through the half and came close to scoring twice, just before the half ended. A hard shot from Marika Gray was denied by a diving Davis and Kylie Stankovics would launch a ball from beyond the 18-yard box moments later, missing wide right.

The Pilots out-shot the Hokies in the half with nearly all of their attempts coming on target as they took seven shots and six of them were on goal, compared to Tech’s five shots and just two on goal.

Portland would open the second half taking four shots before the Hokies took one, though Tech came close when Johnson pressured Davis as she went for a ball and blocked the keeper’s kick but there were no other Tech players in range to take advantage of the opportunity.

The second period would see a lot of attacking from the Pilots but the Hokies had their chances as well, forcing back-and-forth play for most of the half. Neither team was able to add on to their first-half numbers, though neither team had many opportunities as Portland out-shot Tech 2-0 in goal in the half. The Pilots would also take the overall shot advantage in the half, 6-4.

Carden finished the match having made three saves, facing 13 shots while Davis made just one save on the night, facing nine shots.

For updates on Virginia Tech women's soccer, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_WSoccer).