Complete Release (pdf)

PORTLAND PILOTS (5-7-1, 3-3-0 WCC)
at SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (8-5-0, 5-1-0 WCC)
Date: Friday, October 26, 2012
Location: Santa Clara, Calif.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Buck Shaw Stadium (6,800)
Live TV: Fox Soccer Channel
Live Stats: SantaClaraBroncos.com
 
POR vs. SCU
Overall Series: 13-20-8
Here: 6-8-3
There: 6-11-3
Neutral: 1-1-2
Last: SCU 3, @POR 2 (ot) - Oct. 12, 2012
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (5-7-1, 3-3-0 WCC)
at SAINT MARY’S GAELS (7-3-3, 3-2-1 WCC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012
Location: Moraga, Calif.
Kick-off: 2:00 p.m.
Pitch: Saint Mary’s Stadium (5,500)
Live Video ($): SMCGaels.com
Live Stats: SMCGaels.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 24-8-4
Here: 14-4-0
There: 9-4-4
Neutral: 1-0-0
Last: SMC 1, @POR 0 (ot) - Oct. 14, 2012
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots will play on national television this week as Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast Portland’s West Coast Conference game against the Santa Clara Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday night.
• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Buck Shaw Stadium.
• Portland will then make the short trek to Moraga, Calif., for a WCC match on Sunday against the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 2 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Stadium.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots had last weekend off and previously dropped back-to-back games in overtime to Santa Clara (Oct. 12) and Saint Mary’s (Oct. 14) at Merlo Field.
• Against the Broncos, Steven Evans scored twice and Portland battled back from a two-goal deficit, but Santa Clara notched the game-winner in the 95th minute for a 3-2 win.
• Evans scored the equalizer on a free kick from 19 yards out with just 21 seconds remaining in regulation.
• Then against the Gaels, Gerardo Mendoza was able to chip in the game-winner in the 98th minute to give Saint Mary’s a 1-0 win over the Pilots.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Steven Evans has been named the WCC’s Player of the Week twice this season, and he was named the league’s player of the month for August.
• Keith Grubisich was named the U.S. Bank UP Student-Athlete of the Week following his two-goal, one-assist performance during the weekend of Oct. 5-7.
• Ricardo Carrillo’s goal 37 seconds into the match against Gonzaga on Sept. 26 is tied for the third fastest in program history.
• Portland’s game against the Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Ind., on Sept. 7 was cancelled due to thunder, lightning and heavy rains.
• Evans was voted to the 2012 Preseason All-WCC Team, and the Pilots were picked to finish third in a preseason poll of the league’s seven head coaches.
• The Pilots returned 16 letterwinners and eight starters from a team that just missed the playoffs last fall with an 11-7-2 overall record (6-5-1 WCC).
• Five of UP’s six freshmen are from the Portland metropolitan area.
• Portland has been to two College Cups (1988 & 1995) and has reached the NCAA Postseason 14 times.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
• Steven Evans has been scoring goals at an impressive clip, and against Seattle on Sept. 21 he became the first UP men’s soccer player to register a hat trick in nine years.
• Evans, who scored all three goals during the first half at Seattle, is the first Pilot to notch a hat trick since Alejandro Salazar found the back of the net three times against San Diego on Nov. 2, 2003.
• Evans is also among the national and WCC leaders, currently ranking sixth in the country in goals per game (0.85), eighth in total goals (11), 12th in points per game (1.85) and is 14th in points (24.0).
• He’s tied for the conference lead in goals and goals per game and is second in points and points per game.
 
AMONGST THE LEADERS
• As a team, the Pilots are also putting up some decent offensive stats and they rank at or near the top of the WCC in a handful of categories.
• Portland is tops in the WCC in points (67), goals (23), goals per game (1.77) and assists (21), while ranking second in shots (186).
• Senior Ricardo Carrillo is tied for the league lead in assists with four.
 
IT’S AN HONOR
• Steven Evans has been named the conference player of the week twice and was named the WCC’s Player of the Month for August after scoring a league-best four goals during the month, helping the Pilots to a 2-1-0 record.
• Evans was also named the league’s player of the week on Sept. 3, and he grabbed the league’s first player of the week award of the season on Aug. 27.
 
A RARE RAIN OUT
• The Pilots ran into some inclement weather recently when they travelled to Evansville, Ind., for the Purple Aces Classic.
• On Friday, Sept. 7, thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour bought Portland’s match with Evansville to a halt after 23 minutes of action.
• The game was finally cancelled after a lengthy delay.
• According to NCAA rules, the game does not count, and all of the stats to that point are nullified.
 
THE COUNTRY’S #1 FANS
• The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance nationally in 13 of the past 17 years, including posting the nation’s top attendance in 1996.
• Last season, Portland was 24th in the country with total attendance of 8,894 and a per game average of 1,111.
• The Pilots have posted an all-time record of 128-48-19 (.705) at the friendly confines.
 
PILOTS IN THE MLS
• The Portland Timbers selected defender Ryan Kawulok with the eighth pick of Major League Soccer’s 2012 Supplemental Draft in January.
• Kawulok, who started all 82 games during his four-year UP career and received conference honors all four years, is one of six Portland alums currently on an MLS roster, joining Logan Emory (Toronto FC), Heath Pearce & Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls), Connor Casey (Colorado Rapids) and Collen Warner (Montreal).
• Robles made his MLS debut recently against Emory and Toronto FC.