Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Series: POR leads 19-8-2

Last Meeting: @LMU 3, POR 2 (Oct. 10, 2010)

 

Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Series: USD leads 15-14-4

Last Meeting: POR 1, @USD 0 (Oct. 8, 2010)

 

The Portland Pilots (8-3-5, 5-2-2 WCC), who sit in second place in the West Coast Conference with 17 points, close their regular season home schedule with a pair of key WCC matches this weekend at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. First on Friday night, the Pilots host the Loyola Marymount Lions (9-5-2, 5-2-1 WCC) for a 7:00 p.m. match. LMU is in third place in the WCC, just one point behind the Pilots. On Sunday, UP will host the San Diego Toreros (6-7-2, 3-4-1 WCC) at 1:00 p.m. in the final regular season home game.

 

Sunday marks senior day for the Pilots as Vlastimir Davidovic, Austin Guerrero, Alex Kraus, Ryan Luke and Jarad vanSchaik will be honored with a pre-game ceremony. Kick off on Sunday was also moved up from its original time of 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the Toreros’ travel plans.

 

New for 2010-11 is UP’s GameCentral, a free internet portal that combines free video, audio and livestats in one location, making following the Pilots easier and more accessible than ever before. All home, non-televised men’s and women’s soccer games, volleyball matches and men’s and women’s basketball games will be available through the free service, which is also available on your iPhone, iPad, or iTouch. To access GameCentral, simply visit PortlandPilots.com.

 

The Pilots tied the San Francisco Dons 2-2 in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday before dropping a 2-0 decision to the Saint Mary’s Gaels in Moraga on Sunday. After falling behind the Dons 1-0 early, Steven Evans and Jarad vanSchaik both scored to give UP a 2-1 lead. Evans’ goal came in the 20th minute on a wonderful strike from 25 yards out. vanSchaik gave the Pilots the lead on a PK in the 26th minute. The scored remained 2-1 until the Dons equalized on a PK in the 80th minute. On Sunday, SMC scored in the third and 56th minutes en route to the win.

 

LMU lost both their conference matches last week. The Lions lost at San Diego 2-1 on Wednesday before dropping a 2-1 decision at home to Santa Clara Sunday. Junior keeper Jack McCormack has four shutouts this year and a GAA of 1.01. Junior forward Artur Jozkowicz is tied for the league-high with seven goals, while senior forward Rafael Baca is tied for the conference-high with six assists. Paul Krumpe is in his 12th year as head coach of the Lions. LMU advanced to the NCAA playoffs last year after going 10-9-2 and 5-5-2 in the WCC. 20 letterwinners and nine starters returned.

 

The Pilots lead the all-time series with LMU 19-8-2. The Lions defeated the Pilots 3-2 in Los Angeles on Oct. 10. UP trailed 3-0 at the half before battling back with two second-half goals. Jarad vanSchaik and Ryan Kawulok scored for the Pilots.

 

The Toreros split their two WCC games at home last week, beating LMU 2-1 and losing to Santa Clara by the same margin. Sophomore forward Patrick Wallen leads the team and is tied for the league-high with seven goals this fall, while sophomore midfielder Dan Delgado is tied for the conference-high with six assists. Redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Michael D’Arrigo has spent the majority of the time goal, boasting three shutouts and a GAA of 1.30. Head coach Seamus McFadden is in his 32nd year at San Diego. The Toreros went 12-5-2 last season and finished first in the WCC (8-2-2), advancing to the postseason.

 

San Diego owns a slim 15-14-4 advantage in the all-time series with Portland. On Oct. 8, the Pilots dealt the Toreros a 1-0 loss in San Diego. Portland junior Connor Barbaree scored the game’s only goal in the 82nd minute.

 

Senior Ryan Luke and sophomore Joe Sleven were both named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN Men’s Soccer Academic All-District 8 First Team, which was announced on Tuesday. It’s the first regional academic honors for both Luke and Sleven, who are now eligible to earn Academic All-America honors.

Luke is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.50 cumulative grade point average. The native of Inglemoor, Wash., ranks second on the Pilots and in the West Coast Conference with seven goals, while also registering two assists. He was named the WCC’s Player of the Month in September and he was named the league’s player of the week on Oct. 25 after notching the game-winner against Gonzaga. Luke has two game-winners this season, which is tied for the team-high.

Sleven is majoring in business and boasts a GPA of 3.87. The Portland native anchors the midfield for the Pilots, helping the team register four shutouts this fall. He also ranks fourth on the team with 16 shots.

 

This season, the University of Portland is celebrating 20 years of playing on one of the finest pitches in the country. Built on the UP campus in 1990, Merlo Field instantly became one of the nation’s best collegiate soccer facilities. The facility has experienced several upgrades and expansion through the years and it remains one of the nation’s finest soccer environments.

Prior to Portland’s home game against Washington on Sept. 18, the University welcomed back members of the 1990 men’s soccer team for a pre-game ceremony. The night marked the rematch of the first match ever played on Merlo Field, which took place on Sept. 23, 1990, when Washington defeated the Pilots 1-nil on a UP own-goal.

The Pilots have defended their home turf over the years, going 125-43-16 all-time at the friendly confines for a winning percentage of .723. The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance nationally in 13 of the past 15 years, including the nation’s top attendance in 1996.

 

Portland senior forward Ryan Luke became the third Pilot to be recognized as the WCC Player of the Week after picking up the game-winner during UP’s 2-1 win over Gonzaga on Oct. 23. Portland senior midfielder Jarad vanSchaik (Sept. 27) and junior defender Ryan Kawulok (Sept. 13) have also been recognized this year. Luke, the WCC’s Co-Player of the Month for September, scored the game-winner against the Zags in the 88th minute as Portland battled back from a 1-0 halftime deficit.

vanSchaik was named the WCC’s Co-Player of the Week after helping lead the Pilots to a win and a draw at the Husky Fever Classic (Sept. 24-26). During the 2-1 overtime win against UC Davis on Sept. 24, vanSchaik scored the game-winner in the 92nd minute. Then on Sept. 26, he assisted on Luke’s goal in the 70th minute as the Pilots earned a 1-1 draw with Seattle. vanSchaik was also voted the Husky Fever Classic’s Offensive MVP.

Previously Kawulok earned the league’s weekly distinction after he scored the game-winning goal during UP’s dramatic 2-1 win at No. 22 New Mexico on Sept. 12. With the score tied 1-1 with less than two minutes to play against the Lobos, Kawulok put away the game-winner on a rebound, sending Portland to the win. Kawulok was also named the New Mexico Invitational’s Defensive MVP after helping the Pilots to a win and a draw in Albuquerque.

 

The Pilots seem to be saving their scoring for after the half-time buzzer as 17 of the team’s 25 goals this season have come during the second half, while two scores have come during overtime. During a 3-3 draw against Denver on Sept. 10, all three UP goals came during the game’s second 45 minutes.

 

Senior forward Ryan Luke was named the WCC’s Co-Player of the Month after netting a league-high five goals during September. Luke led the conference with 11 points as the Pilots went 4-1-3 and reached a season-high national ranking of 15th during the month. The native of Bothell, Wash., also tallied an assist and a game-winner. His first two goals came during a 2-1 win over No. 30 Evansville at Merlo Field on Sept. 5. Luke also scored goals against Washington on Sept. 18, at Seattle on Sept. 26 and at Gonzaga on Sept. 29. He assisted on Jarad vanSchaik’s game-winner in the 92nd minute of a 2-1 overtime win over UC Davis on Sept. 24.

 

Senior All-Conference goalkeeper and four-year starter Austin Guerrero has four shutouts this season, with three coming against WCC foes. With his 1-0 blanking of Saint Mary’s on Oct. 15, Guerrero passed former UP great Kasey Keller for the second most career shutouts during WCC games with 14. That’s just two shy of breaking the all-time mark held by San Francisco’s Geremy Uhl, who shutout 15 WCC foes from 2003-06. Coincidentally, UP was the only WCC school Uhl never recorded a shutout against.

Guerrero currently ranks third in UP program history in saves (331), is fourth in overall shutouts (20) and is seventh in goals-against average (1.17). The native of Chula Vista, Calif., has earned all-league honors all three years on The Bluff. His six shutouts during the 2007 WCC schedule are tied for the most during a single conference season in league history.

 

Senior and 2009 All-WCC First Team selection Jarad vanSchaik is proving to be invaluable for the Pilots this season, both offensively and defensively. After starting a couple of games at left back, vanSchaik returned to his usual spot in the midfield to score four goals and a game-winner during the last four games. vanSchaik, who also has three assists, leads the WCC with 17 points and he’s tied for the league-high with seven goals.

vanSchaik, who was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team, was named the WCC Player of the Week (Sept. 27) and he was named the Husky Fever Classic’s Offensive MVP. As a junior, he led the Pilots and finished second in the WCC with eight assists, was fourth in the league in points (20) and tied for seventh in goals (6).

 

Portland freshman midfielder Steven Evans is making an obvious impact on the pitch for the Pilots this season. The Portland native out of Central Catholic High School leads the team with four assists, while also scoring three goals. Evans, who assisted on both of Portland’s goals during a 2-1 win at No. 24 New Mexico on Sept. 12, was named to the UNM Invitational’s All-Tournament Team following UP’s 1-0-1 performance in Albuquerque.

Evans came to The Bluff already accustomed to winning, picking up two titles during the summer of 2010. First, Evans and his Eastside Club team (Liverpool) became the first club team from Oregon since 1993 (FC Portland) to win a national title. Evans then returned to help the Portland Timbers U-23’s cap a perfect season (20-0-0) by winning the USL’s Premier Development League championship.

 

Senior forward Ryan Luke is making the most of his final season on The Bluff, scoring six goals and two game-winners. On Sunday, Sept. 5, the reigning WCC’s Co-Player of the Month for September and one-time conference player of the week scored both UP goals as the Pilots defeated No. 30 Evansville 2-1 to win the 2010 Nike Invitational at Merlo Field. Luke scored with a header in the first half, while his second-half goal was on a terrific finish. He scored his second game-winner last Saturday against Gonzaga.

Both Luke, who earned all-league honorable mention as a junior, and Jarad vanSchaik have scored a team-high six goals, which rank second in the WCC.

 

The Pilots entered the season ranked in all four major national polls and are currently receiving votes in the NSCAA and the College Soccer News polls. UP was No. 19 in the NSCAA’s preseason poll, which was the highest of all four preseason rankings. Earlier this year, the Pilots reached 15th in the NSCAA poll for their highest ranking to date. Portland is currently No. 10 in the NSCAA Far West Rankings.

 

In a wide-open West Coast Conference, the Portland Pilots were picked to finish second, narrowly missing the top spot in the 2010 WCC Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll. Seniors Austin Guerrero and Jarad vanSchaik and junior Ryan Kawulok were voted to the WCC’s Preseason All-Conference Team, giving the Pilots a league-high three selections.