Complete Release I Keelin Winters Interview
Game Information
The No. 2 Portland Pilots conclude the 2008 regular season at No. 14 San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. The winner will take home the West Coast Conference championship and automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs as both teams enter the contest with perfect 6-0-0 league records.
Game Coverage
Live stats and a free audio broadcast will be available at usdtoreros.com. Visit the women’s soccer schedule page and click ‘Details’ for direct links.
Pilots Briefly
• Portland extended its win streak to 15 with a 4-0 rut of rival Santa Clara on Sunday at home. The three Pilot seniors (Megan and Rachael Rapinoe, and Korie Nicholson) were honored as part of Senior Day. Rachael, although out for the season with a torn ACL, entered the game for the final minute as a tribute with a standing ovation from the sold out crowd.
• Sophie Schmidt scored two goals in the win and now has nine in her last eight matches. Schmidt was named the WCC Player of the Month earlier this week.
• Sophomore D Jessica Tsao celebrated her 20th birthday by assisting on three of the four goals and earned national team of the week honors from Soccer Buzz and Soccer America.
• Megan Rapinoe and Michelle Enyeart also added goals against the Broncos.
• Portland has 13 shutouts and has outscored opponents 54-4 this season.
• Six Pilots have at least 10 points this season, while 13 different players have scored goals.
• Michelle Enyeart, Keelin Winters and Elli Reed were officially named to the USA U-20 National Team last for the upcoming U-20 World Cup and will not be with the Pilots for the playoffs.
• Enyeart (first team) and Tsao (second team) were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 Team.
• Portland ranks in the top 10 nationally in every team statistic: No. 2 in GAA (0.23) and shutout pct. (0.765), No. 3 in win pct. (0.941), No. 5 in scoring (3.18) and save pct. (0.892).
• Junior GK Kelsey Davis ranks No. 2 nationally in GAA (0.248) and has played every minute in goal for the Pilots this season. Her 13 shutouts are tied for third on the UP single-season list.
• Enyeart is two assists shy of joining the 30-goal, 30-assist club.
• Senior Rachael Rapinoe was lost for the season after she tore her ACL against USC on Sept. 1. It is the second consecutive season that Rapinoe has suffered the injury.
• Five starters and 14 letterwinners return from 18-4-0 team in 2007.
Scouting San Diego
The Toreros (14-3-2, 6-0-0 WCC) are enjoying another stellar season after a solid 2007-08 campaign that saw them earn an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs. USD is on a seven-match winning streak including wins in all six conference matches. Most recently, the Toreros defeated Gonzaga 3-2 at home. Senior Jen Mello scored two goals, including the game-winner. Previously, San Diego earned back-to-back 1-0 victories as host to Pepperdine and LMU. Against ranked opponents USD has a 0-2-1 record, posting a 1-0 overtime loss to then-No. 1 USC, a 3-0 loss to then-No. 3 UCLA and a 0-0 tie to then-No. 19 Miami. USD is led by Mello who has 11 goals and two assists for 24 points. Mello was voted to a spot on this week’s Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week and is the reining WCC Player of the Week. Senior Amy Epsten has contributed five goals and three assists. Freshman Elissa Magracia has stepped into the role of playmaker this season, with a team leading five assists as well as two goals. Senior goalie Brittany Cameron spends the majority of the time between the posts for San Diego. Cameron earned eight shutouts this season in nine matches, courtesy of 52 saves and a 0.57 goals-against-average. Head coach Ada Greenwood is in her 6th season leading the Toreros. Last fall USD posted a 15-3-3 overall and 5-1-1 WCC result, earning a second place spot in the conference. 17 letterwinners and eight starters returned this fall. UP leads the all-time series against USD 11-2-2 and 5-1-1 when playing at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif. In their last meeting in 2007, UP outscored USD 4-0 in Portland, Ore.
Winner Take All
The WCC Championship is a winner-take-all affair as both Portland and San Diego enter Saturday’s match with 6-0 league records. Either Portland or Santa Clara has won or at least earned a share every WCC title in women’s soccer history. Pepperdine tied Santa Clara for the league title in 2002. Portland owns nine conference championships, while Santa Clara can claim seven.
Senior Day
Seniors Korie Nicholson and Megan and Rachael Rapinoe were recognized prior to kickoff on Sunday as part of Senior Day. Nicholson and Megan Rapinoe started the match with Megan scoring a first half goal. Rachael Rapinoe suffered her second consecutive season-ending knee injury earlier this year, but subbed in for the final minute of play to a standing ovation from the sold out crowd.
Birthday Bash
Sophomore D Jessica Tsao had quite the 20th birthday on Sunday. Portland’s two-year starting right back assisted on three of the team’s four goals, matching her career assist total entering the match, in a 4-0 win over Santa Clara. Tsao earned national team of the week honors from both Soccer Buzz and Soccer America.
It’s All Academic
Junior MF Michelle Enyeart and sophomore D Jessica Tsao have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 Team. Enyeart was a first team selection and becomes eligible for Academic All-America consideration. Tsao was a second team honoree. Enyeart posts a 3.39 grade-point average as a sociology major in addition to being a member of the USA Under-20 National Team. Tsao posts a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a biology major and two-year starter.
U-20 Duty
Three Pilots were officially named to the USA Under-20 National Team roster that will participate in the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile this November-December. Michelle Enyeart and sophomores Keelin Winters and Elli Reed were the three Pilot representatives, the most of any school in the nation. Portland will finish the regular season with the three, but will not have their services throughout the playoffs.
Wholly Schmidt
Sophomore F Sophie Schmidt continued her torrid scoring streak with two more goals on Sunday against Santa Clara. Schmidt now has nine goals in the last eight games and is second on the team in scoring with 23 points (10g, 3a). A member of the Canadian National Team as a holding midfielder, Schmidt has taken a liking to her role as a striker with the Pilots. Her 0.57 career goals per game average is 11th best in school history. She was also named the WCC Player of the Month for October.
UP No. 5 in Third RPI Release
The NCAA made its third public release of the 2008 Women’s Soccer RPI on Monday, Nov. 3 and Portland dropped to No. 5 in the latest report. The Pilots were No. 1 in the initial report, posted on Oct. 6, and No. 3 on Oct. 20. The complete report can be viewed by visiting ncaasports.com, going to the women’s soccer link and selecting RPI.
Davis Climbing Charts
Junior GK Kelsey Davis has recorded 13 shutouts this season with a 0.23 goals-against average. Her GAA is thus far the best in UP single-season history, while she is tied for third in season shutouts. Erin Fahey holds the record with 16 clean sheets in 1995. Despite this being just her second year in the program, her 22 career shutouts are sixth best in school history.
Pilots Reach Fundraising Mark
The Portland Pilots women’s soccer team exceeded its stated goal of $6,000 in fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House. By taking in over $7,000, the Pilots will now get to sponsor a room at the Emmanuel Hospital RMH. The program has had a long-standing relationship with the Ronald McDonald House. It’s a tradition that is passed down each year from the upperclassmen to the freshmen. By raising enough money, the team will now get to furnish and decorate a Pilot Women’s Soccer themed room.
Offensive Outburst
Portland has outscored opponents by a 54-4 margin and is fifth nationally with an average of 3.18 goals per game this season. For comparison’s sake, Portland’s high-powered 2005 championship team averaged 3.16 goals per game. The school record for goals per game is 4.0 in 1990.
Defense Not Bad Either
With only four goals allowed this year, UP ranks second nationally in goals-against average. The school record for fewest goals allowed in one season is 8 (1997). The 2005 Pilots posted the lowest GAA in school history (0.35). This year’s Pilots are on pace for both marks.
