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Micaela Capelle & Portland Will Try To Get Back on The Winning Track Against BYU on Saturday

(29) Portland vs (6) BYU – 10:00 PM

A team desperately out of form at the moment, Portland will get no respite on Saturday, as WCC title contenders BYU come to town, hoping to take home a critical three points. The home side have seen it all go terribly wrong over the past few weeks, with the Pilots now winless in four games after racing out to a blinding start. A 3-1 defeat at home to Denver started the skid, which has continued with another defeat against San Diego State and draws with Cal State Northridge and Gonzaga. The downturn in form has seen the Pilots’ RPI plummet, with any and all hopes of gaining a national seed appearing to be fading greatly at the moment. If the Pilots can’t pull out of their tailspin, they could in fact even be sent on the road in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Defense has been the issue plaguing the club as of late, with Portland having kept one clean sheet in their past seven games after netting four in their first five. The offense has been ticking along at a decent pace, but those rearguard worries could be especially pertinent given the opposition.

BYU’s offense hasn’t quite matched their pace at the beginning of the season, but they did begin to show some signs of life on Thursday, netting three second half goals to east past San Francisco. The Cougars continue to be viable threats to earn not just a national seed, but potentially a #1 seed as well. While that probably depends on a strong finish down the stretch, a win at Portland would certainly add much to their cause. The question dogging BYU for much of the season has been whether they can replicate their impressive home form on the road.

The Cougars lost to their biggest test away from Provo thus far, going down to Utah, but they really haven’t had many credible challengers on the road other than the Utes thus far. This, along with matches at San Diego and Pepperdine, should answer much about BYU’s hopes of a deep run in November. With Portland packing a fine offense but shaky defense and their opponents coming in with an often explosive attack of their own, Merlo could be home to a fireworks display du jour in this promising WCC clash.

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