Area Pair Excels On Ncaa Ride Stiles, Harrison Pilot Portland To Soccer’S Final Four

Goalkeeper Angela Harrison is quick to explain the University of Portland women’s soccer team’s tremendous success starts with togetherness.

Midfielder Kim Stiles says of all the soccer teams she’s played on - from the mini-mods to the Pilots - this one is the most balanced.

And in the middle of this “Kumbaya” circle of love are Harrison and Stiles, two athletes who are drawn together by another common bond. They are both from Spokane.

“We’re really good friends,” Harrison said. “We have to be because everybody makes so much fun of us because we’re from Spokane.”

Added Stiles: “Yeah, we get teased a lot about being from Spokane.”

Stiles, a senior, played high school soccer at Mead. Harrison, a year younger, was at rival Gonzaga Prep. The two have known each other since eighth grade.

When they compete in Greensboro, N.C., Friday before a projected sellout crowd of 10,200, both will be representing Portland in the NCAA women’s soccer championships final four.

It will be the Pilots’ (19-2-2) fourth final four appearance since 1994. They’ve never won, but came close Stiles’ freshman year when Portland lost to Notre Dame 1-0 in overtime. The Fighting Irish eliminated the Pilots 3-2 the following year.

But Notre Dame won’t be back. West Coast Conference runner-up Portland took care of that last Saturday in South Bend, Ind., beating the Irish 2-1 behind Harrison’s goalkeeping.

That set up the semifinal match against No. 1 North Carolina (24-0-0). It will be the Pilots’ second chance this season to upset the nation’s No. 1 team. In October, UNC beat Portland 2-0.

In the opening semifinal game, WCC champion Santa Clara (22-0-1) will play Florida (23-1-0).

North Carolina has won two straight NCAA titles and 15 of 17 overall. Its winning streak has reached 45 and its unbeaten streak (68-0-1) spans three years.

“I’m nervous, but it’s kinda a confident nervous,” said Harrison. “I kinda had this feeling going into the game against Notre Dame.”

Harrison has every reason to feel good about her game. She came to Portland as a backup keeper and now finds herself starting in the final four.

Her first chance came last season when Cheryl Loveless, a highly recruited keeper from Colorado Springs, Colo., suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined her the entire year. Harrison stepped in and responded by shutting out the opponents 11 times for a 0.41 goals against average.

This year, Loveless returned and Harrison was back on the bench.

“I had no complaints,” Harrison said, “because the game is all about making the best of your opportunity and sooner or later I was going to get my opportunity to play.”

It happened in October when Loveless, now a redshirt sophomore, hyperextended her elbow in the North Carolina game. Harrison stepped in, again, and responded as if she never missed a beat. Loveless has recuperated, but the keeper’s job still belongs to Harrison.

“We would talk about it, but with things like that - about playing time - we’re advised to not talk about it amongst the team,” Stiles said.

“You can be a shoulder to lean on and those kinds of things. Ang and I would talk about it a little bit. She had a great attitude. No matter who’s playing, she’s put personal pride aside and has been completely team-oriented.”

Harrison has led Portland to an 8-1-0 record. She has six shutouts and a 0.26 goals-against average on a team that gives up a stingy 8.5 shots per game.

“She’s done very well,” said Portland’s 10th-year coach Clive Charles. “She’s worked very hard to the point where there’s very little different between the two of them.”

Stiles’ path to the first team was less suspenseful than Harrison’s. For starters, high-caliber collegiate soccer runs in the family. Her brother, Chris, helped Santa Clara win the men’s championship in 1989 and finish second in 1991.

This is Stiles’ third year starting on a team that carries six seniors. In four years, the six helped compile a 69-9-6 record and three WCC titles.

“Kim is an incredible player. She does not give up,” Harrison said. “She’ll chase somebody for miles to get the ball.”

Added Charles: “She probably has more energy than anyone on the team. She is our energy.”

And lately, she’s been an offensive spark, an unlikely role for a defensive-minded midfielder who scored six goals over three seasons. In three postseason matches, she struck three times.

Her first goal came in Portland’s 3-0 second-round win over Minnesota. She followed with two goals in a 5-0 third-round win over San Diego State.

But she’s taking her postseason achievements in stride, thinking team first, Stiles second.

“I think it had a lot to do with our team,” she said. “The goals have actually been pretty evenly distributed.”

Indeed. Eleven players have scored at least one goal this season. Only two players, senior Tara Koleski and sophomore Vanessa Talbott, have put up double figures.

It’s just another sign of team unity.

1. NCAA WOMEN’S SOCCER FINAL FOUR Friday, 11 a.m.: Santa Clara vs. Florida. TV: ESPN2. Friday, 1:30 p.m.: Portland vs. North Carolina. TV: ESPN2.

2. NCAA SOCCER Championship: Semifinal winners, Sunday, 10 a.m. TV: ESPN.