1986: Clive Charles launches his collegiate career as head coach of the Portland men’s team. The Pilots finish 8-8-3 as Scott Benedetti and Wade Webber gather first team all-Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference honors.
1987: Portland finishes third in the WCC and 13-7-1 overall. Among the team’s 13 victories is a 3-1 decision over Notre Dame. Freshman defender Garrett Smith earns the first of three all-league honors with an honorable mention selection. Junior Scott Benedetti scores 17 goals and adds 10 assists while taking first team all-NSCAA Far West Region honors.
1988: Charles and the Pilots shock the college soccer world. Portland, ranked as high as No. 2 nationally, challenges for the NCAA title, winning its first 21 games before falling 1-0 to eventual national champion Indiana at the Final Four. The playoff appearance is the University’s first in soccer. Portland wins the first of three straight WCC championships and four in a six-year span. The Pilots place four players on the all-WCC first team, highlighted by conference player of the year Scott Benedetti, striker Rob Baarts and freshman goalkeeping sensation Kasey Keller. Baarts nets a school-record eight game-winning goals and Charles is honored as the NCSC, WCC and Far West Region Coach of the Year.
1989: Charles, named the University’s director of soccer, takes over as head women’s coach and leads the Pilots to a 10-6-0 season. The men’s team again climbs to No. 2 in the polls and earns the second of six straight NCAA berths, reaching the second round. The team finishes at 18-2-4, the second-best record in school history. Kasey Keller posts a 0.40 goals-against average as the Pilots outscore opponents 56-15.
1990: Harry A. Merlo Field, one of the nation’s best soccer facilities, opens for play. The men win the WCC title for the third year in a row, but lose in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. Kasey Keller is a nominee for Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year and the Hermann Trophy.
1991: The men’s three-year reign on the conference crown comes to an end, but they reach postseason’s second round and finish with a 13-7-0 overall record. Kasey Keller is named the Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year and also is named a first team NSCAA All-American for the second straight year. Joe Leonetti sets a single-season record with 14 assists and concludes his Portland career as the school’s all-time assist leader with 36.
1992: Charles pulls off a rare coaching feat, leading two teams to the NCAA playoffs in the same year. Charles leads his men to a No. 1 national ranking and the women to a No. 3 rating. The men re-claim WCC supremacy by claiming their fourth conference title in five years.
1993: The Pilot women’s and men’s sides simultaneously earn NCAA playoff berths for the second consecutive year. The men finish 9-3-6, losing to St. Louis 0-0 on penalty kicks, in the first round of the playoffs.
1994: The Pilot men’s streak of six consecutive playoff berths is severed, but the team posts the program’s eighth winning season in Charles’ nine years at the helm. He earns high ratings as a television analyst for ESPN during the World Cup. Andrew Gregor becomes the first Pilot to be named the WCC Freshman of the Year.
1995: Charles leads both programs to their respective Final Fours, becoming only the second collegiate soccer coach in history to lead two teams to the NCAA semifinals in the same year (UNC’s Anson Dorrance was the first in 1987). The men’s team fell 1-0 to eventual NCAA Champion Wisconsin in the semifinals at Richmond, Va., collecting 16 wins for the third-best win total in school history. Charles is named assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
1996: The UP men went 8-2-1 over their final 11 games, but didn’t earn an NCAA playoff berth for only the second time in nine years. The Pilots lead the nation in average home attendance (2,554), and lose five matches by five goals, and six of their seven losses were to ranked teams. Clive Charles is named head coach of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team.
1997: The Pilot men lost four of their last six games and missed the NCAA tourney for the second straight year - the first time since 1988 the program didn’t take part in postseason play in back-to-back seasons. Defender Steve Cherundolo is named the WCC Freshman of the Year and junior forward Chris Brown gathers second team All-America honors from Soccer News.
1998: The Pilot men finish the season with a pair of wins and a 10-5-3 record, but miss out on a third straight NCAA playoff berth. Chris Brown and Steve Cherundolo repeat as first team all-WCC players. Early in the season, head coach Clive Charles earns his 300th career win, making just the 11th coach in NCAA history to amass that many wins.
1999: The Pilot men, led by All-American freshman forward Conor Casey, ended a three-year playoff drought. No. 16 Portland hosted No. 10 Washington, but lost 3-2. Casey led the nation in scoring, and Portland (12-5-2), was among the nation’s leaders in attendance at 1,712. Six Pilots were named to the all-WCC team, headed by co-Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Conor Casey. Brian Winters and Casey were first team picks.
2000: After leading the U.S. to the country’s first-ever appearance in the Olympics medal round, Charles returns to direct the Pilots to a No. 3 ranking, but Portland misses the playoffs with a 10-7-2 record after losing six of the final eight games. Nate Jaqua is named WCC Freshman of the Year, and Conor Casey repeats on the all-WCC first team.
2001: Portland won four of its final five regular season games to get back into the NCAA Playoffs, then upsets Gonzaga and Washington by 1-0 scores, before dropping a third round contest at Stanford, 3-1. The Pilots finish the season 13-6-1 overall, 4-1-1 in WCC games. Nate Jaqua and Kelly Gray are named All-Americans, and Gray is the fifth pick in the MLS SuperDraft, going to the Chicago Fire.
2002: The Pilots claim the first WCC title since 1992 finishing 13-6-1 overall, and 5-1-0 in the WCC. Portland went on to beat NCAA first round opponent Oregon State 2-0 before falling to Stanford for the second year in a row, 10-9 in a shootout. Nate Jaqua is named an All-America for the second consecutive year and is drafted third overall in the MLS Superdraft by the Chicago Fire. Curtis Spiteri is also named an All-America, while Alejandro Salazar earns WCC Freshman of the Year honors and Clive Charles is the WCC Coach of the Year.
2003: The Pilots survive a rigorous non-conference road schedule and earn a berth in the NCAA Playoffs for the third-straight season, finishing with a 10-9-1 overall mark. Portland wins a come-from-behind 3-2 decision over Oregon State in the NCAA first round before falling 1-0 to Washington in the second round. Sophomore Alejandro Salazar is named the WCC Player of the Year and is joined by seven other Pilots on the all-WCC team.
2004: Portland posts a 12-8-2 overall record and advances to the second round of the NCAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Eight Pilots garner all-league recognition as defender Michael Gavin is named the WCC Freshman of the Year. Sophomore goalie Luis Robles earns first team all-conference honors, while Alejandro Salazar and Heath Pearce take second team honors. Salazar and Pearce turn professional following the season, heading to Australia and Denmark, respectively.
2005: The Pilots, who finished 6-11-2 overall and 3-8-1 in the WCC, won two of their final four games of the season, while losing the other two matches in double overtime. The Pilots ended the season with a 1-0 upset of No. 11 Santa Clara. Six Pilots earned All-WCC postseason honors, led by junior keeper Luis Robles, who was named first team all-conference for the second straight year. Senior Miguel Guante landed on the second team, while sophomore Jeff Griffin and freshman Drew Chrostek earned honorable mention honors. Chrostek and Alex Elliott were named to the all-freshman team.
2006: Entering the final weekend of the season, the Pilots were fresh off two consecutive wins against ranked opponents and were still entertaining thoughts of the postseason. UP would settle for an 8-8-3 overall record. Four-year starting goalkeeper Luis Robles, who was named the 2006 WCC Defensive Player of the Year, was one of five Pilots to receive WCC postseason recognition. He was joined on the All-WCC First Team by junior Chris Sanders, while sophomore Alex Elliott earned second team honors. Junior Matthew Dallman was an honorable mention pick, as was freshman Collen Warner. Warner and Logan Emory both landed on the all-freshman team. After the season, Robles went to Germany to play professionally, while Dallman headed to Denmark.
