PORTLAND PILOTS (3-10-1, 0-4-0 WCC)
WEEK 9:  at Loyola Marymount
 
Loyola Marymount Lions (6-4-3, 1-2-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 14, 2017
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Los Angeles, Calif.
Pitch: Sullivan Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: LMULions.com
 
POR vs. LMU
Overall Series: 21-2-1
H: 11-1-0  •  A: 10-1-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: LMU 3, @POR 0 (10/2/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots embark on a road trip south this weekend to play the Loyola Marymount Lions in a West Coast Conference match on Saturday night at Sullivan Field in LA.
• Kickoff for the Pilots and Lions is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed live at TheW.tv.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots return home next weekend to begin a string of three straight homes games, beginning with a visit from Gonzaga on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Merlo Field.
• San Diego (Oct. 26) and BYU (Oct. 28) come to The Bluff the following weekend, which concludes Portland's home schedule.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dropped a pair of home matches to Santa Clara and San Francisco.
• On Friday night against the Broncos, Portland hit the frame three times during the 4-1 loss, including twice by Taryn Ries about 30 seconds apart.
• Kimberly Hazlett scored her first goal of the season in the second half.
• On Sunday against the Dons, Larkin Russell gave the Pilots a 1-0 first-half lead when she buried a shot from the top of the box.
• But the Dons equalized in the 83rd minute before stunning the Pilots with a tremendous goal on a free kick from 20 yards out in the second overtime.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Two of Portland's three wins this season have come on a game-winner in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
• Kaycie Young scored the game-winner in the 90th minute against Oregon State (Sept. 15), and Hannah Griffiths Boston found the back of the net in the 84th minute of a 2-1 win over Portland State (Aug. 18); both game-winners came on a PK.
• Senior Hannah Griffiths Boston, Portland's leading scorer a year ago with eight goals, is tied for the team-high with sophomore Larkin Russell with two goals this season; the Portland native ranked fourth in the WCC in goals last fall.
• The Pilots entered the season with 14 returning letterwinners and seven starters, but the Pilots feature a young squad as they've regularly had multiple freshmen in the starting XI; three freshman and a sophomore make up Portland's starting backline.
• Portland returned the majority of its offense from a year ago as seven of the Pilots' eight leading goal scorers from last season are back.
• Sophomore midfielder/forward Kimberly Hazlett was voted to the Preseason All-WCC Team; a year ago Hazlett, who had two goals and an assist in her first year on The Bluff, landed on the league's all-freshman team.
• Portland's roster includes a heralded freshman class, which was ranked 28th in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
• The freshman class features a handful of local players including Olivia Dendinger (Hillsboro), Taryn Ries (Ridgefield, Wash.) and Ellie Walker (Vancouver); Ries was the No. 62 ranked recruit in the country, while fellow freshman Kendra Steele (Bellingham, Wash.) was No. 102.
• Head coach Garrett Smith, who has been named WCC Coach of the Year six times, is in his 15th year at the helm of the Pilots; he spent the previous 11 years as an assistant coach with Portland.
• Smith, a Portland men's soccer alum, has posted a career overall record of 220-75-23, while guiding the Pilots to a 76-27-9 mark in the WCC; he led the Pilots to a national title in 2005.
• Redshirt-senior Ariel Viera returned to the pitch this after missing all of last year with an injury; Viera was part of Portland's fifth-ranked recruiting class in 2013, and she landed on the WCC All-Freshman team her first season on The Bluff.
• Viera, who calls Scappoose home, finished with 116 career goals during her four years at Scappoose High School, which is tied for the second most all-time in Oregon girls prep soccer history and is behind only fellow Pilot Tiffeny Milbrett's 131 goals at Hillsboro.
• Former Pilot midfielder Lisa Chambers is in her 11th year as an assistant coach, while UP men's soccer alum Miguel Guante (2002-05) is in his first season as an assistant coach for the women's program.
• Guante played both in the midfield and at right back for the Pilots, earning All-WCC Second Team honors all four years; he helped lead the Pilots to the Second Round of the NCAA Playoffs three times.
• Portland won the NCAA National Championship in 2002 and in 2005, and the 2002 squad will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
• The Pilots have advanced to the post-season during 21 of the past 25 seasons.
• The Pilots have led the nation in attendance during 10 of the last 12 years.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Loyola Marymount Lions are coming off a 1-0 home loss to No. 17 Pepperdine last Sunday, with the game's only goal coming in the 74th minute.
• LMU has out-scored its opponents this season by a slight 16-15 margin, and the team has posted five shutouts.
• 2016 All-WCC First Team selection Sarina Bolden, a junior, leads the squad with four goals and a pair of assists, while junior keeper Charlee Pruitt, a 2016 All-WCC Second Team pick, has played the majority of minutes in goal, posting a GAA of 1.11, a .817 save percentage and four clean sheets.
• Sixth-year head coach Michelle Myers led the Lions to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2015.
• The Lions have won two straight over Portland after previously going 0-21-1 against the Pilots.