SALT LAKE -- Thursday's first-round NCAA matchup showcased two of the nations most talented teams, as No. 5 Portland (15-3-3) defeated No. 14 BYU (13-3-4) 2-1 in a hard-fought battle.

"I'm so proud of the way we played tonight," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "We played against a first-class team, and we played well against them. Our girls never game up, so I'm just very proud."

Portland got on the board in the 29th minute when Stephanie Lopez flicked a pass to Kendra Chandhoke, who kicked the ball backwards into the right side of the net.

The Cougars opened up the second half of play with a lot of momentum as Katie Larkin evened the score 34 seconds into the second half. Katie Smurthwaite passed the ball forward to Larkin, who spun around, split two defenders and netted the goal.

BYU barely missed taking the lead in the 63rd minute when Larkin gathered the ball on the left side of the field. She blew by the last defender and tried to take it at Pilot keeper Cori Alexander, but Alexander read the shot correctly and made the save.

Two minutes later, Portland did take the lead. Chandhoke crossed the ball to Rachael Rapinoe, who scored from eight yards out.

Although the Cougars did not score again, they had several opportunities. Their best look came with just under five minutes left in the game. Right near the goal line both teams swarmed the ball. BYU took several shots at the goal, but the ball was eventually kicked out of bounds.

"Those are tough situations," Larkin said. "You have to put those shots in, but they're the toughest ones to put in. It's obviously disappointing."

Portland outshot BYU 16-12, including and 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

The unsung hero for BYU was junior goalkeeper Erika Woodbury, who came up with huge save after huge save all night long.

"Erika played a great game tonight," Rockwood said. "She made some big-time saves. She showed us just how good she really is."

Although Rockwood was disappointed with the loss, she said the season has been a great steppingstone for next year.

"There's no question we have a lot to look forward to," she said. "At this point all we can do is look at the success we had this season. Now we must turn the page and move forward."

Soccer Box Score (Final)
The Automated ScoreBook For Soccer
Brigham Young Univ. vs #7 Portland (Nov 09, 2006 at Salt Lake City, UT)
Brigham Young Univ. (13-3-4, 4-1-2) vs. 
Portland (15-3-3, 4-1-2)
Date: Nov 09, 2006 Attendance: 941
Weather: 38 degrees mostly clear
Goals by period  	1 	2 	Total 
Brigham Young Univ. 	0 	1 	1 
Portland 	1 	1 	2 
Brigham Young Univ.
Pos 	## 	Player 	Sh 	SOG 	 G 	 A 
GK  	28 	WOODBURY, Erika  	0 	0 	0 	0 
D  	3  	CUTHBERT, Haylee  	0 	0 	0 	0 
D  	4  	COOK, Karen  	0 	0 	0 	0 
F  	7  	SWENSON, Carolyn  	2 	1 	0 	0 
D  	10 	HARMON, Jessica  	0 	0 	0 	0 
D  	11 	WILLIS, Andrea  	0 	0 	0 	0 
M  	12 	NATE, Natalie  	1 	0 	0 	0 
F  	16 	AQUINO, Jessica  	0 	0 	0 	0 
F  	18 	LARKIN, Katie  	7 	3 	1 	0 
D  	21 	PHILLIPS, Jenavieve  	0 	0 	0 	0 
F  	22 	FELLOWS, Katie  	2 	1 	0 	0 
  	  	--- Substitutes --- 
 	2  	ANDERSON, Amberlea  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	13 	DEARBORN, Heidi  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	15 	BOWMAN, Brooke  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	19 	KAKADELAS, Kelsea  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	20 	TILLOTSON, Bobbi  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	23 	VANDER VEUR, Alyssa  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	25 	THOMAS, Claire  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	26 	SMURTHWAITE, Katie  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	 	Totals......... 	12 	5 	1 	0 
## 	Goalie 	Minutes 	 GA 	Saves 
28 	WOODBURY, Erika  	 90:00 	2 	6 
Portland
Pos 	## 	Player 	Sh 	SOG 	 G 	 A 
GK  	00 	ALEXANDER, Cori  	0 	0 	0 	0 
M  	2  	SARI, Lisa  	0 	0 	0 	0 
D  	4  	EVANS, Kari  	0 	0 	0 	0 
M  	6  	WOZNUK, Angie  	1 	0 	0 	0 
D  	9  	LOPEZ, Stephanie  	2 	2 	0 	1 
F  	10 	RAPINOE, Rachael  	6 	2 	1 	0 
F  	12 	ENYEART, Michelle  	1 	0 	0 	0 
F  	15 	BUDGE, Natalie  	2 	1 	0 	0 
F  	17 	CHANDHOKE, Kendra  	4 	3 	1 	1 
M  	20 	SWEENEY, Megan  	0 	0 	0 	0 
D  	21 	MICHAELSON, Emily  	0 	0 	0 	0 
  	  	--- Substitutes --- 
 	8  	BROWN, Katie  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	11 	HUME, Elsa  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	14 	CRONKRITE, Kelli  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	18 	SCIFO, Michele  	0 	0 	0 	0 
 	 	Totals......... 	16 	8 	2 	2 
## 	Goalie 	Minutes 	 GA 	Saves 
00 	ALEXANDER, Cori  	 90:00 	1 	4 
Shots by period  	1 	2 	Total 
Brigham Young Univ. 	4 	8 	12 
Portland 	9 	7 	16 
Corner kicks  	1 	2 	Total 
Brigham Young Univ. 	1 	1 	2 
Portland 	4 	0 	4 
Saves by period  	1 	2 	Total 
Brigham Young Univ. 	2 	4 	6 
Portland 	1 	3 	4 
Fouls  	1 	2 	Total 
Brigham Young Univ. 	3 	6 	9 
Portland 	5 	6 	11 
SCORING SUMMARY
Goal 	Time 	Team 	Goal Scorer 	Assists 	
Description 
1. 	29:10 	POR  	CHANDHOKE, Kendra (10) 	LOPEZ, Stephanie 	
pass by lopez kicked packwards into righ 
2. 	45:34 	BY  	LARKIN, Katie (7) 	
(unassisted) 
3. 	64:48 	POR  	RAPINOE, Rachael (5) 	CHANDHOKE, Kendra 	
cross to rapinoe shot from center 8yds out

PROVO -- The BYU women's soccer team is headed to its ninth NCAA tournament in the past 10 years, ESPNEWS announced Monday afternoon. BYU will play defending National Champions Portland in Salt Lake City Thursday at 7 p.m. Utah battles Idaho State in the 4:30 p.m. game.

In an unusual fashion, two ranked teams will be facing each other in the force round. According to the Soccer America Top-25 Poll, Portland is ranked No. 6 in the nation, while the Cougars are currently No. 14.

"We're definitely excited for this weekend," head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "You play all year to get to this point of the season, so we're excited. We get to the play the defending national champs, which is great. We play well and get up for talented teams. I think we have a lot to look forward to."

The NCAA tournament is comprised of 64 teams, with 30 teams earning automatic bids after winning their conference tournaments and 34 teams receiving at-large invitations. The games this weekend will be played at 16 different sites across the nation.

The top-16 teams in the nation are seeded, consisting of four sets of teams ranked one through four. Utah (15-4-1) received the ranked position in its division of the bracket, hosting Idaho State (10-8-1). All games will be played at Ute Field on the University of Utah campus.

Having already played three teams making NCAA appearances, including two other teams in the bracket, BYU is prepared for this weekend. The Cougars defeated Idaho State and Colorado, while losing to Utah earlier this season.

Tickets:

$15 for adults

$5 for children

Children under 2 years will be admitted for free.

Tickets can be purchased at Utahtickets.com