SALEM, Ore. - Portland men's soccer earned a solid road win on Wednesday, defeating Chemeketa 2-1. The result secured 2nd place in the NWAC South Region and the right to host a regional playoff game on November 4.
After a scoreless first half, PCC broke through for both goals inside of a ten minute window. Ivan Alfaro found the net in the 52nd minute, and Josue Doloros Lopez tacked on the second in the 60th minute.
The host Storm hit back just a minute later by way of Alex Espinoza, but the Panther defense held firm the rest of the way.
The victory makes PCC's region record 6-6-1 (19 points), which puts them clear of Lane CC (15 points) with one game to play. The Panthers will host the Titans on Saturday in a match that will not affect the final standings regardless of the outcome.
Portland's opponent for the regional playoff will be Everett, the 3rd place team from the NWAC North Region. The Trojans are a talented team in a powerful region. Everett has just a single loss for the entire season (11-1-5) and only sunk to 3rd in the region (6-1-5, 23 points) thanks to the five draws. Peninsula won the north region at 8-3-1 (25 points). The Trojans defeated PCC 7-0 very early in the season at the NWAC Friendlies.
"It will be exciting to host a playoff game and it's an important step toward our goal of rebuilding Panther soccer into what PCC deserves," said head coach Roberto Maestretti. "Everett is an excellent team and presents a tough challenge for us."
