Friday • Nov. 7, 2008 • 7:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Merlo Field - 4,892)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: POR leads 17-6-2
Last Meeting: LMU 1, POR 0 - Oct. 10, 2008 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Pilots (6-9-2, 3-6-0) vs San Diego (6-7-3, 6-2-0)
Sunday • Nov. 9, 2008 • 1:00 p.m.
Portland, Ore. (Merlo Field - 4,892)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: USD leads 14-12-3
Last Meeting: USD 3, POR 2 - Oct. 12, 2008 (San Diego, Calif.)
This Week in Pilots Soccer...
The Portland Pilots (6-9-2, 3-6-0 West Coast Conference) play their final two home games of the regular season this weekend at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. On Friday, The Pilots welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions (5-6-5, 3-4-1 WCC) to town for a match at 7:00 p.m. Then on Sunday, the first-place San Diego Toreros (6-7-3, 6-2-0) visit for a 1:00 p.m. game. The San Diego game was moved up from its original starting time of 2:30 p.m. to accommodate USD’s travel plans.
Prior to the game against the Toreros, Portland will honor its five graduating seniors. Patrick Jurney, Brayton Knapp, Leland Wright, Steven Hosseinmardi and Bryan Irwin will all be making their final regular season appearance at Merlo Field.
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 dropped two WCC matches on the road last weekend. On Friday, San Francisco scored three times in the second half en route to a 3-0 win at Negoesco Stadium.
On Sunday, the Pilots battled back to tie Santa Clara in the closing minutes of regulation, but the Broncos prevailed 3-2 in overtime at Buck Shaw Stadium. Trailing 2-1 in the 89th minute, UP junior Collen Warner buried the equalizer on a feed from sophomore Frankie Lopez. After nine minutes of scoreless soccer in the first extra period, SCU’s Eric Masch tallied the game-winner.
Previously, Lopez had given Portland the 1-0 lead with his 10th strike of the season in the 53rd minute. The Broncos responded with two goals to claim a 2-1 advantage.
Scouting LMU
The Lions snapped a three-game losing streak and a four-game win-less string with a 1-0 win at home against Saint Mary’s last weekend. Sophomore Rafael Baca scored the game’s lone goal in the 49th minute.
Baca leads the Lions with four goals this fall, while senior Brad Stisser has added two goals and three assists. Redshirt-junior keeper Patrick Sampson has spent a majority of time between the posts this fall and has a goals-against average of 0.86. He’s also posted four shutouts.
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
LMU won the first meeting with Portland this season 1-0 at Sullivan Field on Oct. 10. The Pilots still have the upper hand with a 17-6-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Pilots won both meetings last season and are 8-2-0 against LMU all-time in Portland.
Scouting San Diego
First-place San Diego has split its last four games after winning four straight. Most recently, the Toreros dropped a 2-0 decision against Saint Mary’s in San Diego. The Toreros are set to play at Gonzaga on Friday before traveling to Portland.
Junior Andrew Feld leads USD with team highs of 13 points and five goals. He’s also added three assists, which match a team-high with junior JT Howlan. Senior goalkeeper Kelin Briones has a GAA of 0.91 and claims four shutouts this fall.
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 defeated the Pilots 3-2 on Oct. 12 in San Diego. The Toreros and Pilots split their two matches last season, giving San Diego a slim 14-12-3 edge in the all-time series. The Pilots are 8-4-0 all-time against USD in Portland.
Looking Ahead
The Pilots are scheduled to conclude the regular season on the road with a match at Saint Mary’s on Nov. 14. Portland and SMC are set to play at 2:00 p.m. in Moraga, Calif.
I Hate Good-byes
Sunday marks the final regular season appearance at Merlo Field for Portland’s five graduating seniors. Patrick Jurney, Brayton Knapp, Leland Wright, Steven Hosseinmardi and Bryan Irwin will be honored with a pre-game ceremony prior to Portland’s 1:00 p.m. match with San Diego.
A defender from Albuquerque, N.M., Jurney has started all 17 matches this season and has appeared in 50 career games. He has one goal this fall and three total during his career.
Knapp can play in the midfield or along the backline. A native of Sultan, Wash., Knapp has a goal and an assist this fall. He has four career goals and four career assists in 72 total games.
Wright, a midfielder who can also play up front, played at UP for three years after transferring from the University of San Diego. The native of Eugene, Ore., has two goals and three assists this fall. In 45 career games, he has three goals and six assists.
Hosseinmardi, a forward from Tucson, Ariz., has appeared in 14 matches this fall and has handed out one assist. He has two career strikes and three career assists in 62 games.
The son of the Director of Soccer Bill Irwin, Bryan has played forward the past two seasons after beginning his career on The Bluff as a defender. A three-year starter, Irwin has ten career strikes and seven assists in 65 games.
Just Keeps Going, and Going, and Going...
Portland sophomore forward/midfielder Frankie Lopez started out the season on fire and has not let up since. Lopez, a native of McMinnville, Ore., has led the conference in goals and points for most of the season. Entering this weekend, he leads the Pilots and ranks second in the conference with 10 goals, while his 23 points lead the team and are tied for the league-high. His two game-winners also lead the team and rank second in the WCC.
After scoring four of UP’s six goals to help the Pilots claim the 2008 Nike Invitational (Aug. 29-31), Lopez was tabbed the WCC 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.
Controlling the Midfield
Junior Collen Warner has owned the midfield this season for the Pilots. During Portland’s 3-0 win over Saint Mary’s on Oct. 19, Warner scored the game-winner and handed out an assist. His six assists are tied for the conference-high and lead the Pilots. The native of Denver, Colo., has also found the back of the net three times this fall.
Warner’s game-winner against the Gaels came in the 14th minute, when he buried a left-footed shot into the right side of the net from 20 yards out. He then showed off some nifty footwork to set up sophomore Frankie Lopez for a strike in the 69th minute. Warner, who had possession just outside the 18-yard box, scooped a pass with his right foot over an SMC defender right to Lopez, who finished with a one-timer to give UP a 3-nil advantage.
Warner, who was named to the All-WCC First Team and to Top Drawer Soccer’s All-Season Third Team as a sophomore last year, now has nine career goals and 11 assists.
Among the Conference Leaders
Statistically, Portland as a team is on top or near the top of the West Coast Conference in several categories. The Pilots lead the league in goals (27) and points (73), while ranking second in assists (19).
Individually, sophomore Frankie Lopez is tied for the league-high with 23 points. He ranks second with 10 goals and two game-winners. Junior Collen Warner’s six assists match a conference-high, while sophomore goalkeeper Austin Guerrero leads the WCC with 75 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 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.
