Utah Tech bent but did not break in coming away with a hard-fought 1-1 road draw at No. 18 Portland on Sunday night at Merlo Field. 

The Trailblazers (2-3-0/0-0-0 WAC) quickly drew first blood just 4:03 into the match when Gavin Coe fired in a perfectly placed cross to Austin Wallace, who finished with a brilliant header into the top center of the frame from 3-yards out to put Utah Tech up 1-0.

Portland (2-2-1), which owned a 12-4 edge in shot during the opening 45 minutes, netted the equalizer midway through the 16^th-minute when Nick Fernandez converted a penalty kick chance. 

The two sides battled back and forth throughout the next 50 minutes before Utah Tech was whistled for a hard foul, which resulted in a red card ejection.

Forced to play a man down for the final 33:54 of play, the Trailblazer defense withstood a 10-shot Pilot barrage over that stretch, six of which were turned away by junior goalkeeper Stockton Short, while another two others were blocked by the defensive backfield.

Utah Tech managed to get off one more dangerous chance midway through the 83^rd-minute when Wallace found himself open for a blast in the middle of the Portland 18-yard box. However Pilot netminder Kash Oladapo denied the chance with a sprawling one-handed deflection that sent the ball high over the cross bar. 

Short finished with a career-high nine saves, all of which came after halftime. The Trailblazers wound up being outshot by a 27-7 count on the night, including a 10-5 count on frame. Wallace led the Blazers with three shots – all on frame.

After opening the season with five-straight road games, Utah Tech finally opens the home portion of its 2024 schedule this Friday night when the Trailblazers welcome in Lindenwood for a non-conference match. First touch at Greater Zion Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MT).