Friday • Sept. 25 • 4:30 p.m. • Seattle, Wash. (Husky Soccer Stadium - 1,500)
Live Stats: GoHuskies.com
Series: POR leads 7-1-1
Last Meeting: POR 1, CP 0 - Sept. 4, 2005 in Portland, Ore.
Pilots (3-1-1) vs. No. 14 Creighton (1-1-1)
Sunday • Sept. 27 • 10:00 a.m. • Seattle, Wash. (Husky Soccer Stadium - 1,500)
Live Stats: GoHuskies.com
Series: CU leads 2-1-1
Last Meeting: CU 3, POR 0 - Sept. 5, 2008 in Omaha, Neb.
This Week in Pilots Soccer...
The Portland Pilots (3-1-1) head back to Seattle, Wash., this week where they’ll face the Cal Poly Mustangs (2-4-0) and the No. 14 Creighton Bluejays (1-1-1) at the University of Washington’s 2009 Husky Fever Classic. The Pilots and Mustangs are set to go at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Husky Soccer Stadium, while Sunday’s match against the Jays is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
Game Day Coverage
All non-nationally televised home soccer matches will be video streamed live at www.PilotsVideo.com. A season pass is available for $50, while single-game matches are $8. Free audio streams and live stats will continue to be available at www.PortlandPilots.com. Washington will provide livestats for this weekend’s games, which can be found at GoHuskies.com. Links will also be provided on PortlandPilots.com.
Stay Connected…
Fans can now follow the Portland Pilots like never before. Just visit Twitter (@PortlandPilots), facebook (facebook.com/PortlandPilots) and YouTube (youtube.com/UPPurplePride) for access to everything Pilots.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots won their only match last week 2-1 at Washington on Thursday, Sept. 17. Freshman Keith Grubisich scored Portland’s first goal and his first collegiate goal to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute. His shot from 20 yards out was slightly deflected before settling into the top shelf just out of the keeper’s reach.
Sophomore Michael Nielsen then scored what proved to be the game-winner three minutes later. Nielsen headed in his own rebound to give the Pilots a 2-nil lead. Washington made it a 2-1 game in the 51st minute, but the Pilots would hold on for the win.
Previously, the Pilots won the 2009 Smith Barney Classic (Sept. 11-13) played in Burlington, Vt. After opening with a 1-1 tie with host school Vermont on Friday, Portland claimed the tourney title with a 1-0 shutout of New Hampshire on Sunday. UP junior goalkeeper Austin Guerrero was named the tourney’s defensive most valuable player, while senior Collen Warner, freshman Ricardo Carrillo and junior Jarad vanSchaik landed on the all-tournament team.
Scouting Cal Poly
The Mustangs spent part of the season ranked before dropping their first four matches. They have since won two consecutive games against Sacramento State and San Jose State.
The Mustangs have netted nine goals in 2009 and are led by junior forward David Zamora and sophomore midfielder Jacob Hustedt, who have each scored twice. Freshman keeper Brett Finkelstein has spent the majority of the minutes in goal, allowing four goals for a 1.00 goals against average. Junior GK Patrick McLain has also allowed four goals in three appearances.
Head coach Paul Holocher is in his 11th season and he led the Mustangs to the second round of the NCAA tourney last year. 15 letterwinners and seven starters return from a team that was 11-6-6 last season and tied for second in the Big West with a 5-2-4 league mark.
Pilots/Mustangs Series
Portland holds a 7-1-1 advantage in the all-time series with Cal Poly. The Pilots won the most recent meeting 1-0 in 2005 at Merlo Field. The Mustangs only win in the series came at Cal Poly in 1999. The tie occurred in 1995 in Portland.
Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays have scored just one goal in three matches this season. Creighton opened with a 0-0 tie with Loyola of Chicago before defeating Cal Poly 1-0. The Jays lost 1-0 to Missouri State last weekend.
Senior midfielder Seth Sinovic has Creighton’s lone goal this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Brian Holt has made six saves in three games for a GAA of 0.31. He’s also posted a pair of shutouts.
Bob Warming has recorded 377 career wins in 31-plus years as head coach of the Jays. Creighton, which has won three straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and went 16-2-2 last year. 19 letterwinners and nine starters returned.
Pilots/Bluejays Series
Creighton defeated Portland 3-0 last season in Omaha, Neb., and holds a slim 2-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Pilots’ lone win in the series came at Merlo Field in 2002.
Pick Your Poison
So far this season, Portland has spread the wealth on offense with seven different players scoring UP’s seven goals. Senior Collen Warner, junior Ryan Luke, sophomores Ryan Kawulok and Michael Nielsen and freshmen Colin Barich, Ricardo Carrillo and Keith Grubisich have each found the back of the net for the Pilots.
Warner opened the 2009 scoring on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute against St. Louis on Sept. 6. Kawulok and Luke followed with a pair of goals during UP’s 3-1 win. At the Smith Barney Classic (Sept. 11-13) in Burlington, Vt., it was Carrillo and Barich who both scored their first collegiate goals as the Pilots claimed the tourney title. On Sept. 11, Carrillo scored the equalizer in the 64th minute of a 1-1 draw with Vermont. Then on Sept. 13, Barich got into the act with the game-winner of a 1-0 win over New Hampshire.
Grubisich and Nielsen connected during Portland’s 2-1 win at Washington on Sept. 17. Grubisich’s first career goal came in the 20th minute, while Nielsen headed in the game-winner three minutes later.
In addition, Portland has five assists this season, led by Warner with two. Luke, Nielsen and Carrillo each have one assist.
The Not-So-Newcomers
So far this season, Portland’s nine freshmen have looked like veterans as the Pilots have won three and tied one of their first five games. Freshman forward Ricardo Carrillo has been right at home up front for the Pilots with a goal and an assist this season. His goal came with the Pilots trailing 1-0 in game against Vermont in Burlington, Vt., on Sept. 11. UP would tie the Catamounts 1-1 on its way to the tourney title.
That same weekend, Colin Barich nailed the game-winner during Portland’s 1-nil win over New Hampshire. Keith Grubisich found the back of the net for the first time last Thursday as UP picked up a big 2-1 road win at Washington.
Freshman Ben Hemphill has already made four starts for the Pilots, while appearing in all five matches. Marc Tonkel has made three starts and three appearances.
The Show Stopper
All-conference goalkeeper junior Austin Guerrero has been stellar between the pipes this season. He already has one shutout, has lowered his GAA to 1.15 and is tied for second in the West Coast Conference with 20 saves. He was named the defensive MVP of the Smith Barney Classic (Sept. 11-13) to help the Pilots win the tourney title. Guerrero currently ranks No. 6 all-time in UP program history with 196 career saves, while his 12 career shutouts are tied for sixth all-time.
Guerrero, who posted three shutouts and led the league in saves for the second consecutive season with 91 stops last year, was named All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2008. The Chula Vista, Calif., native was also voted to the WCC’s 2009 Preseason All-Conference Team.
During his freshman campaign in 2007, Guerrero led the league with eight shutouts, while posting a goals-against average of 0.98. He was named to the 2007 All-WCC First Team, the WCC All-Freshman Team, Soccer America’s All-Freshman team and Top Drawer Soccer’s All-Rookie Team. Guerrero went through one stretch of 435 consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal during his freshman season.
Man in the Middle
Senior Collen Warner owned the midfield last season for the Pilots and he’s doing the same this fall. Warner led the league with eight assists in 2008 and is Portland’s top returning scorer after notching five goals during his junior campaign. The native of Denver, Colo., landed on the All-WCC First Team for the third consecutive season in 2008 and he was voted to the league’s preseason all-conference team this year.
Warner leads the Pilots in points this season with four, courtesy a goal and two assists. He now has 12 career goals and 15 assists. Warner also spends time up top for Portland.
Merlo Magic
Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex has proven to be tough on opposing teams as Portland has compiled an all-time record of 116-40-13 (.725) at the friendly confines.
Since its opening in 1990, the UP men have consistently brought in some of the biggest men’s soccer crowds in the country to Merlo Field. The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance in 12 of the past 14 years, including the nation’s top attendance in 1996 when they averaged 2,554 fans per game. In 2006, 26,919 fans turned out to 11 men’s soccer home games to set a new all-time attendance high.
Portland went 6-3-1 at Merlo in 2008.
WCC Coaches Preseason Poll / All-Conference Teams
Portland midfielder Collen Warner and goalkeeper Austin Guerrero were voted to the WCC’s Preseason All-Conference team, while the San Francisco Dons garnered the maximum six first-place votes to earn the top spot in the 2009 West Coast Conference preseason coaches poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Pilots were picked to finish sixth.
Red, White and... Purple
This year has been busy for UP alums as several former Pilots have represented their country on the U.S. National Team. Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Heath Pearce and Luis Robles all made appearances this year, with Robles earning his first cap during the Gold Cup. Casey, Pearce and Robles were all on the roster when the U.S. made its historic run to the Confederations Cup final in South Africa in June. Cherundolo returned from a leg injury to play for the national team in the Gold Cup and a World Cup qualifier against Mexico.
