Jarad vanSchaik |
About the Pilots
The Portland Pilots (3-3-2, 0-0-1 WCC) continue West Coast Conference play this weekend with a road trip to Northern California to face the San Francisco Dons (4-3-0, 0-0-0 WCC) and the Saint Mary’s Gaels (4-2-0, 0-0-0 WCC). On Friday, the Dons will host the Pilots in San Francisco at 7:00 p.m. The Pilots and Gaels are set to go at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday in Moraga, Calif.
Free, live video of the UP-USF game will be available at wccsports.com. Livestats for Sunday’s match against the Gaels will be available at smcgaels.com.
Portland opened conference play last Saturday with a 1-1 tie against the 21st-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs at Merlo Field. UP senior Michael Gavin scored the equalizer on a free kick in the 80th minute. Gavin was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week for the effort.
Senior Alex Elliott leads the team and the WCC with 11 points and two game-winners this fall. The Vancouver, B.C., native ranks second in the conference with a team-high four goals and ranks fourth in the league with three assists, also a team-high.
Freshman Ryan Luke has scored two goals during his brief collegiate career, while juniors Bryan Irwin and Leland Wright and sophomore Collen Warner have each notched a goal and an assist. Senior defender Jeff Griffin has dished out two assists. Eight different Pilots have scored a goal this fall.
Between the pipes, Guerrero leads the conference with 32 saves and is tied for the league-high with two shutouts this season.
Director of Soccer and head men’s coach Bill Irwin is in his fifth season at the helm of the soccer program and in his 21st year overall with UP. Portland returned 21 letterwinners and eight starters from a year ago. In the WCC preseason coaches poll, the Pilots were picked to finish in a tie for fourth place with LMU.
Scouting San Francisco
San Francisco, which enters the weekend with a 4-3-0 (0-0-0 WCC) overall record, has posted three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and five straight upper echelon WCC finishes with back-to-back titles (2004-05) and a runner-up showing (2006). After winning four straight, the Dons have lost back-to-back games to No. 5 UCLA (1-0) and No. 28 New Mexico (2-0).
Sophomore forward Conor Chinn leads the way offensively this season for USF with team highs of four goals and nine points. He also has an assist. Senior midfielder Daniel DeGeer has two goals and two assists this fall. Before the season began, the Dons lost 2006 WCC Player of the Year Rob Valentino due to a knee injury. Valentino will not return this season.
Senior Jeremy Coupe and junior Eric Conner have split time in goal this season, combining for 28 saves. Coupe has a goals against average of 1.60, while Conner has posted a GAA of 1.19.
USF alum Erik Visser is in his seventh season as head coach of the Dons. He previously spent 19 years as an assistant on The Hilltop. USF returned 12 letterwinners and seven starters from the team that went 12-7-1 (7-5-0 WCC/2nd) last year and was knocked out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pilots/Dons Series
The Dons own a 16-11-2 advantage in the all-time series against the Pilots. The two schools have split the last four meetings, with three of those games going to overtime. In two meetings last year, each team won on its home pitch.
Scouting Saint Mary’s
The Gaels have won three in a row and enter the weekend with a 4-2-0 overall record. Before facing the Pilots, Saint Mary’s is slated to play its first conference game of the fall against Gonzaga on Friday. The Gaels, which hasn’t played since Sept. 23, most recently defeated Sacramento State 1-0 on the road and San Jose State 2-1 at home.
Offensively, the Gaels are led by senior midfielder David Blanchard, who has team highs of four goals and six points. Sophomore midfielder Bryan VanDoorninck has two goals and an assist, while junior midfielder Justin Kim has handed out a team-high four assists.
Senior goalkeeper Brian Mason has played a majority of the minutes between the pipes this season for the Gaels. Mason has recorded two shutouts, while posting a 0.80 GAA. Sophomore Keenan Flynn has allowed one goal in 90 minutes.
Head coach Adam Cooper is in his second season at the helm of the SMC men’s soccer program. Cooper previously spent five season as an assistant with the Gaels. Saint Mary’s, which was 4-10-6 (2-7-3 WCC/7th) last year, returned 10 letterwinners and six starters.
Pilots/Gaels Series
Portland is 19-4-2 all-time against Saint Mary’s. Last season, the Pilots posted a 2-1 win in Portland before playing to a 1-1 draw in Moraga. The last win for SMC against UP was a 2-1 overtime win in Portland on Nov. 6, 2005.
Well-Deserved Honors
UP senior defender Michael Gavin was named the West Coast Conference men’s soccer co-player of the week after scoring a game-tying goal during last weekend. Trailing 1-nil to the 21st-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second half on Saturday, Gavin recorded his first strike of the season to force overtime.
After two extra periods, the Pilots and Bulldogs settled for a 1-1 draw.
Gavin had two shots on the night, including the equalizer in the 80th minute. On a free kick, the native of Scottsdale, Ariz., beat GU keeper Vito Higgins with a low, bouncing shot from 25 yards out. It’s the third career strike for Gavin, who was named the 2004 WCC Freshman of the Year.
Higgins, who made eight saves during the tie, shared conference co-player of the week honors with Gavin.
iPilots
The Portland Pilots have gone worldwide. Pilot fans can now find interviews with players and coaches, pre and post-game audio, archived game broadcasts and more on iTunes, all for the very reasonable price of free.
iTunes can be downloaded onto any computer for free by visiting itunes.com. Once downloaded, simply select ‘Podcasts’ in the iTunes Store, then search for ‘Portland Pilots’ in the search box in the upper, right-hand corner of the screen.
