Rachael Rapinoe

Game Information

The University of Portland (17-3-3) continues its run at a second consecutive national championship in quarterfinal action against No. 2 seed UCLA on Friday, Nov. 24 at 6:00 p.m. (PST). The Bruins (20-3-0) will host the Pilots at Drake Stadium in a rematch of the 2005 College Cup Final, a game Portland won 4-0 to cap an unbeaten run to the national title. The winner will move on to the 2006 College Cup in Cary, N.C. to face the winner between North Carolina and Texas A & M on Friday, Dec. 1.

Game Coverage

Live audio will again be available for free at portlandpilots.com, with Adam Linnman calling the play-by-play and UP assistant coach Rob Baarts providing commentary. Live statistics for all tournament games are available at NCAAsports.com.

Tournament Tidbits

* A WCC team has reached the final eight for the 15th consecutive season, easily the longest such streak of any conference in the country

* Portland and Clemson are the only remaining unseeded teams in the draw. Clemson has advanced on penalty kicks in a shootout in all three of its matches so far. The Tigers face Florida State on Friday night.

* All four 2005 College Cup participants are still alive: Portland, UCLA, Florida State, Penn State.

* The 2006 Women’s College Cup will be held in Cary, N.C. at the SAS Soccer Complex with semifinal action on Friday, Dec. 1 and the championship game on Sunday, Dec. 3.

UP Tournament Notes

* 14th NCAA appearance in the last 15 years ... 37-10-3 (.770) all-time postseason record.

* 11th appearance in the quarterfinals.

* First defending champion to be unseeded.

* One of just three schools to have won multiple championships (North Carolina, Notre Dame).

* Eight College Cup runs are the third most in history: North Carolina (22), Santa Clara (10).

* The Pilots defeated UCLA 4-0 in last year’s College Cup Final

* UP is 1-3 all-time against the Bruins, with UCLA posting a 2-1 advantage in postseason meetings.

About Portland

The Pilots enter Friday’s quarterfinal match eyeing their second consecutive trip to the College Cup and 8th appearance in the semifinals overall. Portland defeated BYU (2-1) and Utah (3-0) in the first and second rounds in Salt Lake City, before topping Texas 2-0 last Sunday in Austin, Texas to advance. Portland, the defending national champion and ranked No. 7 or better in all four national polls, is an unseeded at-large in the 2006 NCAA Tournament and would need to win four straight matches away from home to reach its ninth College Cup.

Portland returned 17 players, including eight starters, from a 2005 championship squad that set a school record in wins (23-0-2) and joined North Carolina as the only programs to win a title with an unbeaten record. Portland also won the championship in 2002, making the Pilots, North Carolina and Notre Dame the only three schools with multiple championships.

Junior defender Stephanie Lopez, junior midfielder Angie Woznuk and sophomore midfielder Megan Rapinoe were all preseason All-America selections and all have earned international caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Lopez has missed 10 collegiate matches in 2006 between captaining the U.S. Under-20 National Team at the 2006 FIFA World Youth Championships and appearing in three matches this fall with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Rapinoe was also making a push for a full national team roster spot this fall, appearing in two matches off the bench for the U.S. and getting the call for an Oct. 8 match against Iceland, but a torn ACL against Washington State on Oct. 5 ended her season. She was leading the nation in goals for a majority of the year prior to the injury. Both Woznuk and Lopez have been named semifinalists for the 2006 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy.

Freshmen strikers Michelle Enyeart and Kendra Chandhoke, the highest scoring freshmen teammates in the nation, picked up the scoring slack in the absence of Rapinoe. Enyeart, the WCC and Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year, leads the team with 16 goals and 38 points. A hamstring injury has hampered Enyeart lately, but she was in uniform and available at Texas. She is steadily improving and should be available on Friday. Her status as a starter will be a game-time decision. Chandhoke (10g, 7a) has scored nine goals with three assists in the last 16 games.

Woznuk leads the team with 13 assists, while junior forward Rachael Rapinoe (twin sister of Megan Rapinoe) adds eight goals and seven assists since moving from the back line to a forward position 18 games ago. She has four goals and an assist through the first three playoff games. Senior goalkeeper Cori Alexander, UP’s career shutouts (39) and saves (259) leader, was the 2005 College Cup Defensive MVP and has a 0.59 goals-against average this season.

Head coach Garrett Smith has a career record of 78-10-7 (.858) in his fourth season at the helm. Smith was previously an assistant at UP for 11 years under Clive Charles. He has led the Pilots to the third round of the NCAA’s in each of his first four years. The Pilots are redshirting freshman midfielder Sophie Schmidt (Canadian National Team) and sophomore goalkeeper transfer Kelsey Davis.

About UCLA

The Bruins (20-3-0) are a No. 2 seed after finishing on top of the Pac-10 standings during the regular season. UCLA defeated UNLV 6-1 and Cal State Fullerton 3-1 in first and second round action at Drake Stadium. The Bruins dispatched Florida 3-2 last weekend, also at Drake Stadium. The Bruins are currently enjoying at 26 game unbeaten streak at home.   

UCLA has advanced to three straight College Cups and two straight national finals.

After leading the Bruins in scoring during the regular season, freshman forward Lauren Cheney and junior midfielder Danesha Adams have both scored in all three NCAA Tournament matches. Adams, who ranks second on the team in scoring with 27 points (12g, 3a), leads the Bruins in the postseason with 10 points on five goals. Cheney, the team scoring leader with 37 points (18g, 1a), has three goals and one assist in the playoffs. Junior keeper Valerie Henderson (0.64 GAA) is UCLA’s winningest goalie all-time with 53 career wins.

UCLA is 15-0-0 on its home pitch in 2006. The three Bruin losses this season came at Penn State (3-1), at Santa Clara (3-0) and at Oregon (2-1, 2ot). Santa Clara and Oregon are two of nine common opponents between the Bruins and Pilots this season.  UCLA posted a 7-2 record in those matches, while the Pilots were 8-1, with the only difference being a win over Oregon.

Jillian Ellis, the 2000 NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year, is in her eighth season as the head coach of the UCLA. She has guided the Bruins to four NCAA College Cups (2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005), including three trips to the finals (2000, 2004 and 2005).

Portland-UCLA Series Notes

All-time: UCLA leads 3-1

Postseason: UCLA leads 2-1 - 1997 1st Round (UCLA 1-0); 2000 Semifinals (UCLA 1-0); 2005 Finals (UP 4-0)

At UCLA: First Meeting

At Portland: UCLA leads 1-0

At Neutral: UCLA leads 2-1

Smith vs. UCLA: 1-0

Ellis vs. Portland: 2-1

Last Meeting: Portland 4, UCLA 0 - 2005 College Cup Final (College Station, Texas)