No. 15 PORTLAND PILOTS (0-1-0)
Week 1: vs. UNLV / Fairfield
 
UNLV Rebels (0-0-0)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 25, 2017
City: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field
TV: CSN Northwest
Online Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. UNLV
Overall Series: 4-5-0
H: 2-1-0  •  A: 0-3-0  •  N: 2-1-0
Last: UNLV 2, POR 1 (9/9/2005)
 
Fairfield Stags (1-0-0)
Day: Sunday
Date: Aug. 27, 2017
City: Portland, Ore.
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. FFD
Overall Series: 0-0-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: First Meeting
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open year two of the Nick Carlin-Voigt era this weekend when they welcome the UNLV Rebels and Fairfield Stags to Merlo Field for a pair of non-conference matches.
• Friday's season-opener with the Rebels is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest, which is channel 737 for Portland area Comcast subscribers.
• On Sunday the Stags visit for a 5 p.m. contest.
• Streaming for both games is available at TheW.tv.

GET YOUR TICKETS
• Tickets are still available for Friday night's season opener against UNLV, and they are available for purchase at PortlandPilots.com/tickets.
 
FRIDAY NIGHT FESTIVITIES
• Friday night should be an epic night on The Bluff as the University of Portland welcomes all new students to campus for orientation.
• In addition to what should be one of the largest crowds of the year at Merlo Field, the festive night will also include the Ninth Annual Bite on The Bluff, which kicks off at 5:00 p.m. in the Chiles Center Plaza adjacent to the soccer stadium.
• This year's Bite, which is always a fan favorite, will feature local food vendors Voodoo Doughnuts, TNT Kettlecorn, Aybla Grill, KOi Fusion, Thrive, Churros Locos, and Louie's Pizza.
• This year's Bite on The Bluff will also feature a beer garden.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Portland enters the year No. 15 in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Poll.
• The Pilots are the reigning West Coast Conference Champions after claiming the program's sixth league title last season and their first since 2002.
• Portland returned to the playoffs in 2016, their first visit since 2009.
• Portland picked up two first-place votes and was slated to finish second in the WCC this year.
• A league-best three Pilots were voted to the Preseason All-WCC team as Paul Christensen, Benji Michel and Kris Reaves were selected by the conference coaches.
• Portland returns 16 letterwinners and seven starters, and joining Christensen, Michel and Reaves are three other Pilots (Matthew Coffey, Lionel Mills, Gio Magana-Rivera) who earned all-league recognition last season.
• The 2017 recruiting class, which features 14 incoming newcomers, was ranked fifth in the country by College Soccer News and No. 6 by Top Drawer Soccer.
• Second-year head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt led the Pilots to a remarkable turn-around last season as he guided the team to the top of the WCC, a year after a last-place showing.
• Milestones from 2016 include:
   - A seven-game winning streak (Sept. 22 - Oct. 30), which is the program's longest winning streak since 1995.
   - The 5-0-0 start in the WCC matched the legendary 1988 Portland squad for the best start to a conference schedule in program history.
   - 4,362 fans, which was the second largest crowd in Merlo Field history, packed Merlo Field on the final night of the season to watch the Pilots clinch the WCC crown and a postseason berth with a 1-0 win over Saint Mary's.
   - Won first WCC Championship since 2002.
   - Reached NCAA Postseason for first time since 2009.
   - Posted most wins (12) since 2009.
   - 6-1 conference mark is the best since 1989; this came after the program only won one WCC game the previous two seasons combined.
   - Worst to First: Pilots went 1-12-1 in the WCC during the previous two years.
   - 10th in the country in average attendance (2,298).
   - 13th nationally in goals per game (1.89) and 21st in total goals (36).
   - Nearly swept WCC individual honors, as then-senior Eddie Sanchez was named WCC Player of the Year, Benji Michel was the league's freshman of the year, Paul Christensen was selected as goalkeeper of the year, and Nick Carlin-Voigt was tabbed as the co-coach of the year.
   - Carlin-Voigt Nearly is the program's first league coach of the year since Clive Charles in 2002.
   - Sanchez was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region First Team, while Michel and Reaves landed on the NSCAA All-Far West Region Third Team.
• Carlin-Voigt, who came to The Bluff from UCLA during the winter of 2016, was recently named one of the Top 10 American Coaches under 40 by Top Drawer Soccer.
• Joining Carlin-Voigt on the bench are second-year assistant coaches Leonard Griffin, who came with Carlin-Voigt from UCLA, and UP alum Logan Emory, who spent time with Toronto FC of the MLS after graduating from Portland in 2009.
• Goalkeeping coach Emerson De Oliveira and undergraduate assistant coach Steven Evans, a former Pilot standout, return for their second seasons on the staff, and new this year is director of operations Cody Carlson.
• The Pilots claim renowned men's soccer alums Kasey Keller, Steve Cherundolo, Conor Casey, Nate Jaqua, Heath Pearce, and 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Luis Robles.
 • In 1988, legendary coach Clive Charles led Keller and the Pilots to the school's first ever NCAA College Cup; the Pilots returned to the College Cup in 1995.
• The Pilots have made 15 appearances in the NCAA Postseason all-time, which includes two appearances in the College Cup (1988 & 1995).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Rebels, who are the reigning WAC Champions and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Playoffs last year, begin the season as the favorite to win their conference.
• The Rebels return 10 of 11 starters from last year's squad, including MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List selection and preseason All-American Danny Musovski, who produced 12 goals and six assists in 20 games last fall.
• Head coach Rich Ryerson is in his eighth year at the helm of the UNLV program.
• The Pilots will be looking to even the series with the Rebels, who claim a 5-4-0 all-time record with Portland; UNLV won the most recent match-up 2-1 in 2005 at UP.
• Fairfield plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Stags were tabbed for a sixth-place finish in the preseason league poll.
• Senior defender Angus Hastings was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
• Carl Rees enters his 18th season as the head coach of Fairfield, and he's led the Stags to four NCAA Playoffs, with the most recent visit coming in 2011.
• This is the first meeting ever between the Pilots and Stags.
 
FOR STARTERS
• The Pilots are 24-10-6 all-time in season openers.
• The majority of UP's season openers have come at home, with the Pilots posting a 19-8-5 record when opening the season in Portland.
 
PILOTS IN THE PROS
• Portland has a long tradition of sending players to the pros, a tradition that started with legendary goalkeeper Kasey Keller in the early 1990's.
• The Pilots currently have two Pilots playing in the MLS, which includes Luis Robles with the New York Red Bulls and Collen Warner with the Minnesota United.
• Robles has carved out an impressive career with the Red Bulls and he was named the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
• On March 11, 2017, Robles set an MLS record for consecutive league starts with 142. • He has started every league game with the club since his first appearance on September 29, 2012, and he became the first player in club history to record 50 clean sheets on April 15, 2017 after a 2-0 victory against D.C. United.
• Warner was on Portland's 2009 playoff team before being drafted by Real Salt Lake in the first round (15th pick) of the 2010 MLS Superdraft.
 
THE BIG 4-0
• 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the modern era for UP's varsity men's soccer program.
• Reunion events are planned throughout this weekend with more than 70 former men's soccer alums returning to The Bluff.
• The original 1977-78 varsity squad will be represented by 26 former players – including every one of the starters – as well as five assistant coaches and head coach Dennis O'Meara.
• The 1977 Pilots went on a 16-game (15-0-1) unbeaten streak, swept through the OISA regular season schedule with a perfect record and won the Cosmopolitan Invitational.
• The streak ended in November when UW defeated the Pilots 1-0 in overtime to determine which team received the third and final Western regional NCAA playoff berth. 
• Despite that, the young Pilots managed a 21-6-1 overall record in their initial campaign.
• UP's soccer history extends far before the 1977 season, however, as school archives indicate championship teams as far back as 1912.
• Portland was one of four founding members of the Oregon Intercollegiate Soccer Association in 1964 and fielded powerhouse teams, primarily with foreign students attending the University.