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PORTLAND PILOTS (5-2-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
at UC IRVINE ANTEATERS (8-2-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2016
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Kick-off: 2:00 p.m.
Pitch: Anteater Stadium (2,500)
Live Video: N/A
Live Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
 
POR vs. UCI
Overall Series: 5-1-0
Here: 3-0-0
There: 0-1-0
Neutral: 2-0-0
Last: @POR 3, UCI 1 (Sept. 11, 2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots travel to Southern California this weekend for their lone game, which is against the UC Irvine Anteaters on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
• The match with UC Irvine, which will take place at Anteater Stadium, is Portland's final con-conference game of the year as the Pilots open play in the WCC the following weekend.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots split their pair of games last week on the road against their two in-state rivals, succumbing 2-1 at Oregon State on Friday before defeating Oregon 1-0 on Monday.
• Portland fell behind 2-0 to the Beavers before Hannah Griffiths Boston pulled one back with a goal in the 50th minute; the goal is the junior forward's seventh of the year, which ranks 18th in the nation.
• The Pilots would dominate possession throughout the second half and repeatedly create quality chances, but OSU would escape with the win in Corvallis.
• Portland then shutout the Ducks on Monday night in Eugene, with the help of a stingy backline and a game-winner from Alyssa Edenstrom in the 61st minute.
• After neither team could find the back of the net, Allison Wetherington sent a perfect ball into the area on a free kick from right of the 18; the 6-foot Edenstrom did the rest, elevating and finishing with a header, which would prove to be the only goal of the night.
• Keeper Rachel Lusby earned her second blank sheet of the year.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Junior Hannah Griffiths Boston, who entered the year with two career goals, is currently second in the WCC and ranks 18th in the country in goals (7); she also ranks second in the WCC in both points (15) and game-winners (2).
• With three goals against Portland State (Aug. 26), Griffiths Boston became the first Pilot to notch a hat trick since Amanda Frisbie scored four goals against Fresno State in 2012.
• The Pilots have registered two 6-0 wins this season, with both coming against opponents from the Big Sky (vs. PSU on Aug. 26 & vs. SUU on Sept. 9); Portland hasn't scored that many goals in a game twice in the same season since 2009.
• Those six goals against Portland State on Aug. 26 were the most goals scored by the Pilots in a game since tallying seven goals during a win over Saint Mary's in 2011.
• With home wins over Southern Utah and St. John's, the Pilots claimed the team title at the 2016 Nike Invitational (Sept. 2-4); senior Allison Wetherington was named the invite's offensive MVP, while Devlyn Jeter was voted the defensive MVP.
• Wetherington was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week (Sept. 4) after notching a goal and an assist vs. St. John's on Sept. 4; her goal, which was the game-winner, was a corner kick that she bent directly in.
• Senior goalkeeper Hanna de Haan ranks ninth all-time at Portland with a career save percentage of .807; she's also currently 10th all-time in overall career saves with 109.
• Despite adding seven newcomers to the roster, the Pilots feature a veteran squad returning 14 letterwinners and eight starters.
• Leading the list of returners is senior and 2015 All-WCC Second Team selection Allison Wetherington, who was voted to the Preseason All-WCC Team for the second straight year.
• Fellow senior Ellie Boon was also selected to the all-league second team last year, and both Boon and Wetherington were part of a recruiting class that was ranked fifth in the nation back in 2013.
• Five of Portland's seven newcomers hail from the Portland metropolitan area.
• Lucy Davidson (Scappoose, Ore.), Rachel Khaw (Hillsboro, Ore.), Brianna Miyama (Hillsboro, Ore.), Natalie Muth (Scappoose, Ore.) and Rylee Seekins (Vancouver, Wash.) all call the Portland/Vancouver area home, while Larkin Russell (Spokane, Wash.) and Kimberly Hazlett (Bellingham, Wash.) hail from Washington.
• Muth already has two goals and two assists this season, Hazlett has tallied one goal and an assist and Russell has scored a goal.
• The Pilots are looking to return to the playoffs in 2016 after advancing to the post-season during 21 of the past 24 seasons.
• Portland won the NCAA National Championship in 2002 and in 2005, and the 2005 team will be inducted into the UP Athletics Hall of Fame in October.
• Head coach Garrett Smith, a Portland men's soccer alum who has been named WCC Coach of the Year six times, has posted a career overall record of 213-60-20 (.759) in 13-plus years, while guiding the Pilots to a remarkable 73-18-8 (.778) mark in the WCC.
• Also on the Portland bench is former Pilot midfielder Lisa Chambers, who's in her 10th year as an assistant coach; goalkeeping coach and UP alum Angela Harrison is in her second season on the women's soccer staff.
• The Pilots have led the nation in attendance during 10 of the last 11 years.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Anteaters are coming off just their second loss of the year, which was a 1-0 setback at Utah last weekend.
• UC Irvine has out-scored its opponents 22-7, has posted five shutouts and is led by junior forward Kiana Palacios, who ranks second in the country with 23 points (9g, 5a).
• Freshman Maddie Newsom has spent most of the minutes in goal, claiming a goals against average of 0.68.
• Scott Juniper is in his ninth year as head coach at UC Irvine, and the Anteaters have been to the NCAA Postseason twice since 2010.