THIS WEEK:
Oct. 14:vs. Santa Clara, 2:15 p.m.

THE OPPONENT
Santa Clara: The Broncos won their fourth straight match Sunday, taking a 3-1 win over Pepperdine. SCU is now 9-3-1 overall and 2-0-0 in WCC play. Since stumbling to a 4-3-1 record in September, the Broncos have won four straight games in October.
Heather Aldama had a goal and an assist in the Pepperdine win, while Rachel Weber and Aly Wagner each added a goal.
Kathleen Celio leads SCU with 20 points (8g-4a), while Veronica Zepeda (5g-7a) and Aldama (4g-9a) each add 17 points. Twelve different players have scored goals for the Broncos. Crystal Gordon has allowed seven goals for a 1.27 goals against average, as the Broncos have outscored opponents 39-19.

WCC TITLE GOES THROUGH THIS MATCHUP
If you’re looking for a rivalry, this is the biggest. Only two teams have won West Coast Conference titles since the league began women’s soccer play in 1992: Portland and Santa Clara.
The Pilots boast a 47-5-1 record in all-time WCC play, while Santa Clara is 46-7-1. Portland owns WCC titles in 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, and 1992, while Santa Clara earned titles in 1999, 1998 and 1993.
Portland is 7-9-1 all-time against the Broncos, but 5-3-1 in West Coast Conference matches. At home, Portland is 4-2-0, and the last time the two teams matched up on Merlo Field, Santa Clara won 1-0 in overtime.

PORTLAND’S RESULTS
Portland 6, Florida International 2: Emily Patterson had a goal and two assists as Portland beat Florida International 6-2 in Miami.
The Pilots improved to 10-2-0 with the win.
Portland led 5-0 after just 29:38 of the match, as Patterson scored only 3:31 into the match off a pass from Vanessa Talbott.
The Pilots then collected goals from Betsy Barr (9:29), Talbott (12:39), and Kylee Barton (13:57) in a span of under five minutes. Lindsay Smart capped the first-half scoring on a header off Patterson's corner kick at 29:38.
Lauren Mussallem completed Portland's scoring at 72:33 off a slick pass from Crissy Marti.
Portland outshot FIU 12-5.

Portland 2, Miami 0: Despite a tremendous defensive effort by the University of Miami women's soccer team, No. 16 Portland managed a 2-0 shutout at Cobb Stadium.
The Hurricanes fall to 6-5, while the Pilots improve to 9-2.
The teams played through 90 minutes of torrential rain. Portland took seven shots the first half but were unable to connect on any goals, UM had no shots on goal the first half.
Portland's Vanessa Talbott scored at 78:45 on a pass from reserve Lauren Mussallem. The Pilots went on to score another goal within a minute at 79:58 to secure the win over UM. Mussallem scored the second goal.
The Pilots had a total of 15 shots, while UM had three.
UM goalkeeper Elizabeth Swinson (Boca Raton, Fla.) made six saves on the night.
Dee Bass (Coral Springs, Fla.) led the UM offense with two shots, while Laura West (Allen, Texas) managed one.

PILOTS MOVE INTO NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
Cheryl Loveless and the Portland defense are among the nation’s best, according to the latest NCAA statistics.
Loveless ranks 12th in goals against average (0.53), and the team’s GAA of 0.495 is 9th. With eight shutouts, the Pilots are tied for eighth.
Despite not having a single player among the nation’s top 20 scorers, the Pilots are tied for 10th in scoring offense at 3.25 goals per game.

NOW THAT’S MORE LIKE IT
Without a game last week, Portland’s poll standing basically suffered little effect.
Portland remained #16 in the American Soccer Writers and Soccer America Polls (and stayed #7 in the West Region). Soccer Buzz actually promoted the Pilots two spots to #12 (up to #5 in the region), and the NSCAA coaches advanced Portland one spot to #17 (but stayed #6 in the region).
Soccer Times dropped Portland two spots to #19 (and down one slot to #8 in the region).

LOVELESS ON THE MOVE
Senior keeper Cheryl Loveless had a relatively quiet weekend in Florida, making just three saves in 1* games. She had one save against Miami in recording her 30th career shutout, extending her school record to three over Erin Fahey (1991-93, 95), who recorded 27 career shutouts.
Loveless is also second in career goals against average (0.625), and second in career saves (170). On the West Coast Conference lists, Loveless is second in goals against average, and second in shutouts.

BARTON, TALBOTT ALSO CRACK TOP 10
Senior forwards Kylee Barton and Vanessa Talbott broke into Portland’s career top 10 lists last season, with time to make serious runs at top 5 listings.
Talbott is now fifth in career goals with 39, and her goal and assist against Florida International put her alone in sixth for career points (84).
On the West Coast Conference lists, Talbott is 9th in career goals, and 14th in total points.
Barton is tied for seventh in Portland career assists with 23, and needs only eight points to tie for 10th.

TIME TO CHECK THE RECORDS
The Pilots became the first team in Portland women’s soccer history to start a season with five straight shutouts, beating the previous mark of four (1988). Brigham Young’s goal at 40:14 in the sixth game broke a 490:14 scoreless streak for opponents.
The record for consecutive shutouts in a season is seven (1995), and that team recorded 16 shutouts that season. Two other teams (1998, 1993), had runs of six shutouts.

TAKE ANOTHER LOOK
Of course, any time a team fires off 37 shots in a game, and a player scores a goal in the first minute of a contest, the research staff has to get busy.
Portland’s 37 shots against Texas Tech tied for sixth on the Portland all-time list, nine shots off the record 46 taken against Evergreen State in 1986.
Betsy Barr’s goal just 38 seconds into the Texas Tech match was a highlight to be sure, but it was a whopping 26 seconds off the school record 12-second goal shared by Tammy Martindale (vs. Western Washington in 1993) and Justi Baumgardt (vs. San Diego State in 1995).

PILOTS SECOND IN WCC COACHES’ POLL
Portland was picked to finish second but earned one first-place vote in the West Coast Conference coaches’ poll. Santa Clara received the other seven available first-place ballots to earn the top preseason slot. Portland was 12-7-1 in 1999, and missed the NCAA playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Portland has never finished lower than a tie for second since joining the West Coast Conference women’s soccer circuit in 1992.
Here is the result of the three preseason coaches’ poll taken recently (first-place votes in parentheses):
Women's Soccer
1. Santa Clara (7) 49
2. Portland (1) 40
3. Loyola Marymount 39
4. San Diego 29
5. Saint Mary's 23
6. Pepperdine 22
7. Gonzaga 10
San Francisco 10

SEASON OPENERS FALL PORTLAND’S WAY
After topping OSU 4-0, the Pilots have now won their last 11 season openers, with the last loss a 1-0 setback in 1989 to UC-Santa Barbara – the debut of Clive Charles as women’s soccer coach.

PILOTS OWN THE WCC OPENERS ALSO
Portland has a 45-4-1 all-time record in West Coast Conference play, so it
should be obvious that Portland has never lost a WCC opener.
After Portland’s 3-0 win over Gonzaga in 1999, the Pilots have won all eight of their WCC openers, with all eight games coming against Gonzaga.

SUMMER COMINGS AND GOINGS: As is typical for Portland players, the offseason rarely resembles a typical break from soccer. Pilots literally travel the globe for competition with various club, regional and national teams.
Junior midfielder Ana Del Bosque joined the Mexican national team, and started two of Mexico’s three games in the U.S. Gold Cup.
Sophomore Lisa Casagrande spent the spring semester and all summer training with the Australian national team in preparation for the 2000 Olympics, but foot surgery forced her off the active roster. She’ll join the Pilots next week, according to reports.
Betsy Barr, Erin Misaki and Erin Goodling all played in the U.S. Soccer Festival held in Rhode Island. Misaki and Goodling played for the champion West Region team, while Barr played for the Sacramento Storm club team.
Misaki and Goodling also played for the Mission Valley Mirage club team, which won the California State Cup and finished second in the regional tourney. Following the U.S. Soccer Festival, Goodling was named to the U.S. National ‘B’ team.
Pilot newcomers Imani Dorsey and Jennifer Bosa also had busy summers - Dorsey playing for the Region IV ODP team, while Bosa traveled to regionals with her Emerald City FC Azzurri club team.