Complete Release (pdf) I Live Video/Audio I Live Stats: vs. Gonzaga  vs. USF I Tickets I Promotions

PORTLAND PILOTS (2-4-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
vs. GONZAGA BULLDOGS (4-3-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field (4,892)
Live Video/Audio (free):  PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. GON
Overall Series: 22-9-5
Here: 11-4-2
There: 10-5-3
Neutral: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 2, GON 0 - October 26, 2011
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (2-4-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
vs. SAN FRANCISCO DONS (2-2-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
Date: Friday, Sept. 28, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field (4,852)
Live Video/Audio (free): PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. USF
Overall Series:  16-20-3
Here: 10-6-0
There: 6-11-3
Neutral: 0-3-0
Last: @POR 2, USF 1 (2ot) - November 11, 2011
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference this week when they host the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Wednesday night at Merlo Field before welcoming the San Francisco Dons to The Bluff on Friday night; kickoff for both games is set for 7 p.m.
• UP currently has a seven match unbeaten streak (5-0-2) against the Bulldogs, dating back to 2008.
• Three straight matches against San Francisco have gone to double overtime; Portland is 1-1-1 in those games.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dropped a pair of matches at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., despite Steven Evans registering a hat trick against the Seattle Redhawks on Friday.
• The game against the Redhawks featured a wild beginning as each team scored twice during the first 12 minutes; Evans scored his three goals before halftime, and Seattle notched the game-winner in the 84th minute.
• Evans’ hat trick is the first by a UP men’s soccer player since 2003.
• On Sunday, No. 21 Brown blanked the Pilots 3-0.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• UP’s match against Gonzaga is just the third home game for Portland this season.
• Portland’s game against the Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Ind., on Sept. 7 was cancelled due to thunder and lightning storms.
• Steven Evans has been named the WCC’s Player of the Week twice this season, and he was named the league’s player of the month for August.
• Evans was voted to the 2012 Preseason All-WCC Team, and the Pilots were picked to finish third in a preseason poll of the league’s seven head coaches.
• Evans was a 2011 All-WCC First Team selection after leading Portland last season with a conference-best six goals and 17 points.
• The Pilots returned 16 letterwinners and eight starters from a team that just missed the playoffs last fall with an 11-7-2 overall record (6-5-1 WCC).
• Sophomore Derek Boggs garnered WCC All-Freshman Team honors in 2011, while he and senior Ricardo Carrillo also earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Five of UP’s six freshmen are from the Portland metropolitan area.
• Portland has been to two College Cups (1988 & 1995) and has reached the NCAA Postseason 14 times.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
• Steven Evans has been scoring goals at an impressive clip, and last Friday he became the first UP men’s soccer player to register a hat trick in nine years.
• Evans, who scored all three goals during the first half at Seattle, is the first Pilot to notch a hat trick since Alejandro Salazar found the back of the net three times against San Diego on Nov. 2, 2003.
• Evans is also among the national and WCC leaders, currently ranking fourth in the country in goals per game (1.0); he’s also eighth nationally in both total goals (7) and points per game (2.0) and is 17th in total points (14).
• He tops in the conference in points, points per game, goals and goals per game.
 
AMONGST THE LEADERS
• As a team, the Pilots are also putting up some decent offensive stats and they rank at or near the top of the WCC in a handful of categories.
• Portland is tops in the WCC in goals (11) and goals per game (1.57), while ranking second in shots (107) and points (29).
 
3 OUT 5 AIN’T BAD
• So far this season, the West Coast Conference has handed out five individual awards, and Portland junior midfielder Steven Evans has claimed three of them.
• Most recently, Evans was named the WCC’s Player of the Month for August after scoring a league-best four goals during the month, helping the Pilots to a 2-1-0 record.
• Evans was also named the league’s player of the week on Sept. 3 after also garnering Nike Invitational Offensive MVP honors during the previous weekend.
• Previously, Evans scored twice during a 4-0 win at Cal State Fullerton (Aug. 26) to grab the league’s first player of the week award of the season.
 
A RARE RAIN OUT
• The Pilots ran into some inclement weather recently when they travelled to Evansville, Ind., for the Purple Aces Classic.
• On Friday, Sept. 7, thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour bought Portland’s match with Evansville to a halt after 23 minutes of action.
• The game was finally cancelled after a lengthy delay.
• According to NCAA rules, the game does not count, and all of the stats to that point are nullified.
 
THE COUNTRY’S #1 FANS
• The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance nationally in 13 of the past 17 years, including posting the nation’s top attendance in 1996.
• Last season, Portland was 24th in the country with total attendance of 8,894 and a per game average of 1,111.
• The Pilots have posted an all-time record of 128-48-19 (.705) at the friendly confines.
 
PILOTS IN THE MLS
• The Portland Timbers selected defender Ryan Kawulok with the eighth pick of Major League Soccer’s 2012 Supplemental Draft in January.
• Kawulok, who started all 82 games during his four-year UP career and received conference honors all four years, is one of six Portland alums currently on an MLS roster, joining Logan Emory (Toronto FC), Heath Pearce & Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls), Connor Casey (Colorado Rapids) and Collen Warner (Montreal).
 
NATIONAL EXPOSURE
• The Pilots are slated for one national television appearance this season, which will happen when they travel to Santa Clara for a WCC match on Oct. 26.
• Fox Soccer Channel (Ch. 800 on Comcast Digital Cable in the Portland Metro Area) is set to broadcast the 7:00 p.m. match live.
 
GAMECENTRAL IS BACK & BETTER THAN EVER
• UP’s popular GameCentral is back and better than ever, and it’s available for every home game this season.
• GameCentral is a free portal via PortlandPilots.com that offers live video, live audio and live stats all on the same page; you can also access GameCentral directly by visiting PilotsVideo.com.
• The internet broadcast rivals that of any college program in the country and it features a three-camera production, instant replays and on-screen graphics.
• You can also access UP’s GameCentral via your Smartphone.