PORTLAND PILOTS (3-1-0)
Week 3: vs. California
 
California Bears (1-2-0)
Day: Saturday
Date: Sept. 9, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. CAL
Overall Series: 3-5-2
H: 1-1-0  •  A: 2-4-2  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: POR 0, @CAL 0 - 2ot (11/5/2004)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots cap their current five-game homestand with a match against the California Bears Saturday night at Merlo Field.
• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live at TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots won both their games last weekend at the 2017 Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field, defeating No. 25 Seattle 2-1 on Friday night and Cal State Fullerton 5-0 on Monday night.
• The Pilots jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the nationally-ranked Redhawks before holding on for the win; Rey Ortiz converted a PK in the 28th minute, and Eric de Graaf scored a tremendous goal in the 64th minute, which would prove to be the game-winner.
• It's the first career goal for de Graaf, a sophomore defender.
• Against the Titans on Monday, five different Pilots scored en route to the dominant win.
• The goals came from Gio Magana-Rivera, Ortiz, Benji Michel, Luke Hendel and Caua Soares, while Ortiz and Brandon Zambrano each added two assists.
• It's the first career goals for the freshmen Hendel and Soares.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Pilots are receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches' Poll.
• As a team, the Pilots are second in the nation in both total goals scored (15) and assists (14).
• Sophomore Rey Ortiz leads the country with six assists, while fellow sophomore Benji Michel is tied for the top spot nationally with five goals.
• Michel was the initial WCC Player of the Week (Aug. 28) after a four-goal performance during the opening weekend, which included a first-half hat trick vs. Fairfield; Michel also landed on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
• Michel, a sophomore forward, made history on Sunday (Aug. 27) when he registered a hat trick during the first 26 minutes of a 6-0 win over Fairfield; the hat trick was the first at Merlo Field since UP's Alejandro Salazar accomplished the feat in 2003.
• Jason Romero also tallied a hat trick during the win, which featured the most goals scored by the Pilots since a 6-0 win over Marshall in 2006.
• Senior goalkeeper has two shutouts this season, giving him 16 in his career, which ranks sixth all-time at UP.
• 4,385 fans, which included a remarkable 2,113 students, packed Merlo Field when the Pilots hosted UNLV in their home-opener on Friday, Aug. 25; it's the second largest men's soccer crowd in program history.
• 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 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 returned 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 an improbable turn-around in 2016 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 then 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 is the program's first league coach of the year since Clive Charles in 2002.
• 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.
• 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 Cal Bears have made 18 NCAA appearances all-time and have reached the NCAA Quarterfinals three times.
• Goals have been hard to come by this season for Cal, as opponents have out-scored the Bears 4-1 in three games.
• Junior forward Spencer Held claims Cal's lone goal this season, while redshirt-senior Jose Carrera-Garcia is the team's top returning scorer after netting six goals in 2016.
• Sophomore Drake Callender has played every minute in goal, has one shutout, a goals-against average of 1.33, and a .733 save percentage.
• Five-time league coach of the year Kevin Grimes is in his 18th season at Cal, and the Bears hold a 5-3-2 edge in the all-time series with the Pilots.