Complete Release (PDF)

Last Week
     Portland extended the nation’s longest home winning streak to 34 games with a pair of shutout victories over Loyola Marymount (2-0) and Pepperdine (1-0). Substitutes Michelle Cruz and Halley Kreminski provided the goals on Friday versus LMU, while Danielle Foxhoven knocked in the second half game-winner against Pepperdine on Sunday. 

Scouting San Diego
        The Toreros (9-5-2, 2-1-0) once again appear to be an NCAA tournament-caliber team and enter the weekend ranked No. 4 in the West Region according the NSCAA. San Diego dropped its WCC opener at Santa Clara (1-0), but bounced back to record road wins over San Francisco (4-1) and Saint Mary’s (2-1) last weekend. Stephanie Ochs paces the Toreros with seven goals and four assists, while Jackie Zinke adds a team-high five assists. Courtney Parsons has been the primary goalkeeper for USD and posts a 0.75 goals-against average and five shutouts. Head coach Ada Greenwood enters his eighth season and has guided the Toreros to five NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the last three years. Portland owns a 13-2-2 overall record in the series, including a 2-0 win at Merlo Field last year.

Scouting Santa Clara
    The Broncos (10-3-2, 3-0-0) are ranked No. 11 nationally and are tied atop the WCC standings with the Pilots. Santa Clara has posted three straight shutouts in WCC action, including 2-0 wins over Saint Mary’s and San Francisco last weekend. Anessa Patton leads the Broncos with five goals and an assist, while Bianca Henninger posts a 0.58 goals-against average and seven shutouts. Head coach Jerry Smith enters his 24th year at SCU and has led the Broncos to nine WCC titles, 20 NCAA appearances and the 2001 NCAA championship. SCU owns a 14-13-2 edge on the Pilots in the all-time series, but UP won last year on the road by a 1-0 margin.

Portland No. 3 in Latest NCAA RPI Release
    Portland is rated No. 3 nationally in the Oct. 18 NCAA RPI announcement. The Pilots trail only Stanford and North Carolina in the standings. The WCC has five of its eight teams currently ranked in the Top 75. Portland is joined by Santa Clara (22), San Diego (45), LMU (53) and Pepperdine (71).

Schmidt Called in to Canadian National Team
    Senior MF Sophie Schmidt has been called up to the Canadian National Team in preparation for World Cup Qualifying matches this fall. Schmidt has missed the last three games and will not be available for this weekend’s games. She will stay with Canada through CONCACAF Qualifications (Oct. 28-Nov. 8). The Abbotsford, B.C. native has previously competed with Canada at the 2007 World Cup and 2008 Olympics.

WCC Dominance
    Portland has won three consecutive WCC championships with perfect 7-0-0 records and the Pilots are off to another great start in 2010. The Pilots extended their league winning streak to 24 games and unbeaten streak to 27 games with the wins over LMU and Pepperdine last weekend. Portland’s last tie came against LMU on Nov. 4, 2006 and its previous loss came at Santa Clara on Oct. 19, 2006. Portland has outscored opponents 79-4 during its winning streak and have recorded 20 shutouts over the last 24 games. The Pilots have won a league-best 11 conference championships, including five in the last six years.

Home Sweet Home
     Portland owns the nation’s longest home winning streak at 34 games and counting. The team is off to an 10-0 start at home this year with the regular season home finale scheduled for Oct. 31 versus San Francisco. The last loss in Portland for the Pilots was a 1-0 defeat against UCLA in 2008. The home field advantage at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex over the years has been quite apparent. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this season, Portland posts a 198-20-7 (.896) home record at Merlo Field.

Tsao Named One of 10 Finalists for Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
     Senior D Jessica Tsao has been named one of 10 women’s soccer finalists for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, presented to one individual per sport who excels both on and off the field. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. Tsao looks to follow in the footsteps of former University of Portland teammate Stephanie Cox (nee Lopez), who was the inaugural winner of the award in 2007. Kelsey Davis was one of 10 finalists for the Pilots last season. Fan balloting counts for 1/3 of the total with the remaining 2/3 determined by NCAA Division I coaches and national media members. Visit www.seniorclassaward.com for more information.

Rankings Update
    Portland remained at No. 2 in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com College Rankings this week. The Pilots also held steady at No. 3 according to Soccer Times, Soccer America and TopDrawerSoccer.com

Starting Lineups
    With a talented seven-player freshman class and a rash of early season injuries, the Pilots have used 11 different starting lineups through the first 16 games. A total of 18 different players have started at least one game already this year. Only four Pilots have started all 14 matches: seniors Keelin Winters, Elli Reed and Jessica Tsao, as well as redshirt freshman Cloee Colohan. Six different freshmen have also earned starts this season.

Schmidt Reaches Career Scoring Milestones
    Senior MF Sophie Schmidt tallied an assist on Sept. 12 versus Penn State to become the seventh player in school history with at least 30 goals and 30 assists. She joins Christine Sinclair, Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan, Justi Baumgardt, Lindsey Huie and Michelle Enyeart as members of the 30/30 club. The assist also marked the 100th point of Schmidt’s career. The Abbotsford, B.C. native is currently eighth in UP history with 106 points (38g, 30a).

Foxhoven Climbing Career Scoring Charts
    Junior striker Danielle Foxhoven has already racked up 112 career points (45g, 22a) and is sixth on UP’s career scoring list. She trails Justi Baumgardt (1993, 95-97) by 12 points for fifth place. Foxhoven is sixth in total goals and is one shy of cracking UP’s all-time top five.

Attendance Records
     The Pilots are off to a fast start with home attendance in 2010, averaging 3,684 fans through the first ten games. Portland’s current average attendance is over 1,000 fans per game more than the next highest program thus far this season (Texas A&M - 2,524). Portland has led the nation in average attendance five years in a row after averaging 3,472 fans per game in 2009.

Portland established a new single-season total attendance record for women’s soccer (47,082) in 2008 and led the nation in average attendance the previous three seasons as well: 3,403 in 2005, 3,408 in 2006 and 3,771 in 2007. The average attendance in 2007 established a new school record and is the second most in NCAA women’s soccer history for a single season. Only North Carolina’s 2001 average of 3,983 was higher. Portland was the first program to ever eclipse 40,000 fans in a season during its run to the 2005 championship.

Senior Class Posts Nation’s Best Win Percentage
     Portland’s 2010 senior class has posted a remarkable 74-9-0 (.892) record over the last three years and has the highest winning percentage of any program in the nation. Here are the top five senior classes, according to collegesoccer360.com:
1.  Portland (.892, 74-9-0)
2.  Stanford (.888, 75-6-8)
3.  North Carolina (.878, 80-9-5)
4.  Notre Dame (.863, 80-11-4)
5.  UCLA (.843, 72-11-6)