Friday • Oct. 10, 2008 • 4:00 p.m.
Los Angeles, Calif. (Sullivan Field - 2,000)
Live Audio/Stats: lmulions.com
Series: POR leads 17-5-2
Last Meetings: 2007: POR 5, LMU 2 (Portland);
POR 3, LMU 0 (Los Angeles)
Pilots (4-4-2, 1-2-0 WCC) at San Diego (1-5-3, 1-0-0 WCC)
Sunday • Oct. 12, 2008 • 1:00 p.m.
San Diego, Calif. (Torero Stadium - 7,000)
Live Stats: usdtoreros.com
Series: USD leads 13-12-3
Last Meetings: 2007: USD 2, POR 1 (Portland);
POR 1, USD 0 2ot (San Diego)
This Week in Pilots Soccer...
The Portland Pilots (4-4-2, 1-2-0 WCC) face their first two West Coast Conference road games of the season this weekend during a trip to Southern California. On Friday, the Pilots visit the Loyola Marymount Lions (2-3-4, 0-1-0 WCC) in Los Angeles, Calif., for a 4:00 p.m. match. Portland then heads down I-5 on Sunday for a match against the San Diego Toreros (1-5-3, 1-0-0 WCC) at 1:00 p.m. The game against USD was moved up one hour from its original starting time to accommodate UP’s travel plans.
Game Day Coverage
All men’s soccer home soccer matches are video streamed live at www.pilotsvideo.com. A season pass is available for $50, while single-game matches are $8. As usual, free audio streams and live stats are available at www.portlandpilots.com.
Looking Back
The Pilots split their two WCC games at home last weekend. On Friday, the Pilots scored twice before the break and two more times after en route to a convincing 4-1 win over the Santa Clara Broncos at Merlo Field. UP senior forward Bryan Irwin scored twice on the night, including the game-winner in the 44th minute. Senior defender Brayton Knapp and sophomore forward/midfielder Frankie Lopez also scored for the Pilots.
On Sunday, the Pilots dropped a hard-fought, 1-0 match to the San Francisco Dons. USF scored in the 70th minute before holding on for the win.
Scouting LMU
The Lions lost a nail-biter this past weekend against the Saint Mary’s Gaels in their first conference match. LMU now owns a 2-3-4 (0-1-0 WCC) overall record. Previously, LMU defeated its last preseason opponent Cal State Bakersfield 2-1 in overtime.
Freshman Artur Jozkowicz leads the Lions with a team-high two goals. Senior Brad Stisser organizes the team from the midfield and leads in assists with two. Redshirt junior keeper Patrick Sampson has spent a majority of time between the posts this fall and has a goals-against average of 0.78.
Head coach Paul Krumpe is in his eleventh season at the helm of LMU. The Lions went 3-16-1 overall and 1-11-0 in the conference last fall and return 18 letterwinners and six starters.
Pilots/Lions Series
The Pilots have the upper hand with a 17-5-2 advantage in the all-time series with LMU. Last season, the Pilots won 5-2 in Portland before winning the second meeting 3-0 in Los Angeles. UP is 9-3-0 against LMU all-time in Los Angeles.
Scouting San Diego
The Toreros are coming off a win last weekend, a 1-0 victory against the Saint Mary’s Gaels, in their first match of conference play. The result was the Toreros’ first win of the season and improves their record to 1-5-3 overall and 1-0-0 in the WCC.
Junior Andrew Feld leads USD in points with two of the team’s seven goals. Feld also has one assist. Junior JT Howlan has added two goals this year, while senior goalkeeper Kelin Briones has a GAA of 0.97. USD has a Portland connection in JD Penilton, who attended Jesuit High School.
Seamus McFadden is in his 28th season as head coach at San Diego. Last season, the Toreros were 11-8-1 overall and finished second in the WCC with an 8-3-1 mark.
Pilots/Toreros Series
The Toreros and Pilots split their two matches last season, giving San Diego a slim 13-12-3 edge in the all-time series. In 2007, the Pilots lost to USD 1-2 at home and won 1-0 on the road. UP is 4-7-2 all-time against USD in San Diego.
Looking Ahead
Following their trip to SoCal, the Pilots return to Merlo Field for a pair of home games. On Friday, Oct. 17, Portland hosts Seattle for a non-conference tilt at 4:30 p.m. The Pilots-Redhawks game is part of a double-header at Merlo as the UP women are set to host LMU at 7:00 p.m. Another double-header is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 19, with the men slated to host Saint Mary’s at 2:30 p.m. That game is preceded by a women’s game against Pepperdine at 12:00 p.m.
Offensive Surge
So far this season, Portland sophomore forward/midfielder Frankie Lopez has been on an absolute tear offensively. Lopez leads the team and the conference with seven goals, 15 points and two game-winners. He is also one of six Pilots to hand out at least one assist this fall, while his 11 shots on-goal are tied for the team-high. Nationally, Lopez ranks 25th in goals per game (0.70)
After scoring four of UP’s six goals to help the Pilots claim the 2008 Nike Invitational (Aug. 29-31), Lopez was tabbed the West Coast Conference Player of the Week and was named to the national team of the week by Soccer America, College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer. He was also named the tourney’s offensive MVP, helping Portland win the Nike Invitational for the first time since 2004.
Among the Conference Leaders
Statistically, Portland as a team is already on top or near the top of the West Coast Conference in several categories. The Pilots lead the league in goals (18), points (48) and corner kicks (57), while ranking second in assists (12) and shots (131). UP is also tied for second with two shutouts.
Individually, sophomore Frankie Lopez leads the WCC with seven goals and 15 points and ranks second with two game-winners. Junior Collen Warner is tied for the league-high with four assists, while senior Bryan Irwin is tied for second with four goals and nine points. Sophomore goalkeeper Austin Guerrero leads the WCC with 41 saves.
A Recurring Theme
The Pilots are making a habit of earning national recognition this fall. Junior Collen Warner was the second UP player to earn national honors after landing on College Soccer News’ Team of the Week following his MVP performance at the Husky Fever Classic. Warner was named the tournament’s offensive MVP after tallying a goal and an assist as the Pilots went 1-0-1. During the 1-1 draw with No. 24 New Mexico, Warner assisted on freshman Ryan Kawulok’s equalizer in the 84th minute. Warner then added an insurance goal to help give the Pilots a 2-0 win over Cal State Fullerton.
Earlier this season, sophomore Frankie Lopez was named to the national team of the week by Soccer America, College Soccer News and Top Drawer soccer. Lopez earned the recognition after totaling four goals and an assist to help the Pilots win the Nike Invitational at Merlo Field. Lopez was also named the tournament’s offensive MVP.
A Recurring Theme - Part II
The Pilots have already nabbed two Player of the Week honors handed out by the West Coast Conference this fall. Senior Leland Wright was the league’s player of the week after scoring Portland’s game-winner during a 3-1 win over Washington on Friday, Sept. 12. Wright broke a 1-1 tied with his first strike of the season in the 53rd minute.
Sophomore Frankie Lopez earned the WCC’s initial player of the week honor after scoring four of UP’s first six goals of the season. Lopez scored twice during a 2-2 draw with tenth-ranked Virginia Tech (Aug. 29) before adding a pair of goals and an assist during Portland’s 4-0 shutout of Fairleigh Dickinson (Aug. 31).
1988-2008: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of UP’s First Visit to the College Cup
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Portland’s first visit to the College Cup in 1988. In Clive Charles’ third year at Portland, the Pilots ran the table during the regular season and won their first two playoff games to advance to the College Cup in Bloomington, Ind. In the semifinal match, the host school Indiana defeated the Pilots 1-0.
UP ended the year with a 21-1-0 overall record. Current Portland coaches Garrett Smith and Rob Baarts both played on that ‘88 team, while current Director of Soccer Bill Irwin was an assistant coach.
Since 1988, the Pilots have made 13 playoff appearances, including a return to the College Cup in 1995. Meanwhile, the women’s team has become one of the most successful programs in the country, winning national titles in 2002 and 2005.
