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#17 PORTLAND PILOTS (6-3-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
at GONZAGA BULLDOGS (6-6-0, 0-1-0 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Kick-off: 3:00 p.m.
Stadium: Gonzaga Soccer Field (2,400)
Live Video ($)/Stats (free): GoZags.com
 
POR vs. GU
Overall Series: 20-0-0
Here: 10-0-0
There: 10-0-0
Neutral: 0-0-0
Last: @POR 3, GON 0 - Nov. 5, 2011
 
#17 PORTLAND PILOTS (6-3-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
vs. #5 BYU COUGARS (11-1-1, 0-0-1 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Stadium: Merlo Field (4,892)
Live Video/Audio (free): PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. BYU
Overall Series: 4-2-0
Here: 1-0-0
There: 0-2-0
Neutral: 3-0-0
Last: @BYU 2, POR 1 (ot) - Oct. 6, 2011
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference this week with a pair of games.
• Portland, which is No. 17 in this week’s RPI rankings, first travels to Spokane, Wash., for a match on Thursday against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 3 p.m.
• The Pilots then head back to The Bluff for a game against the No. 5 Brigham Young Cougars on Saturday night at Merlo Field at 7 p.m.
• Saturday marks Portland’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness match, and fans are encouraged to join the Pilots in wearing pink to the game.
 
LAST WEEK
• In their only game last week, the Pilots battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the score, but San Diego State’s Sarah Halverson netted the game-winner in the 75th minute as the No. 7 Aztecs defeated Portland 3-2 on Sunday at Merlo Field.
• Amanda Frisbie scored UP’s first goal on a PK in the 26th minute, and Taylor Brooke notched the equalizer with her first goal of the season in the 28th minute.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Pilots checked in at No. 17 in the NCAA’s most recent RPI rankings; the WCC has four teams in the RPI top 25, as Portland is joined by No. 5 BYU, No. 10 Santa Clara and No. 21 Pepperdine.
• Amanda Frisbie leads the team and ranks second in the conference with seven goals; Frisbie is tops in the WCC in points per game (1.64).
• Frisbie has been named the WCC Player of the Week twice this season; her first honor came after she scored four goals during a 5-0 win over Fresno State on Aug. 31; she earned her second honor on Sept. 17.
• Ellen Parker was also named the league player of the week after notching the game-winner against North Carolina during the season opener.
• Portland, which is averaging home crowds of 3,390 fans per game, has had two sellouts this season at Merlo Field, which has a capacity of 4,892.
• Portland has led the nation in attendance for the seven straight years.
• UP has advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs for 12 straight years.
• Portland won the NCAA National Championship in 2002 and in 2005.
• Head coach Garrett Smith has been named the WCC Coach of the Year five times.
 
“THINK PINK”
• The Pilots and Providence Cancer Center have joined together to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Saturday night.
• Fans are encouraged to join the Pilots and Cougars in wearing pink to the game.
• Providence Cancer Center will have an information booth located near the main entrance to Merlo Field on Saturday night, and Dr. Ali Colin, a Providence oncologist, will speak to the crowd about breast cancer during halftime.
• Providence staff members will also perform a Pink Glove dance at the half, and a limited number of pink drawstring bags and pink gloves will be distributed to fans as they enter Merlo Field.
• October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual international health campaign used to increase awareness of the disease and to help raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
 
HAPPY 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
• In 2002, under the guidance of legendary coach Clive Charles, the University of Portland won its first NCAA Women’s Soccer National Championship.
• The Pilots, featuring then-sophomore Christine Sinclair, capped a cinderella season by defeating conference foe Santa Clara 2-1 in the national title game in double overtime.
• UP celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its first national title with a ceremony during halftime of last Sunday’s game against San Diego State at Merlo Field.
• 16 members of that team attended the celebration, which also included a banquet on Saturday night.
 
WELCOME BACK!
• Former standout forward and recent UP graduate Danielle Foxhoven has returned to The Bluff as an assistant coach.
• Prior to retuning to Portland, Foxhoven spent six months playing professionally in Russia following her graduation last December.
• Foxhoven, who is currently a finalist for the 2011 NCAA Women of the Year, concluded her career (2008-11) with 57 goals, which trails only Christine Sinclair, Tiffeny Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan on the program’s all-time charts.
• The native of Littleton, Colo., also ranks fourth in points (139), sixth in goals per game (0.66), tied for seventh in game-winners (15) and ranks eighth in points per game (1.60).
 
WE’VE GOT SPIRIT
• The University of Portland women’s soccer team was named a recipient of a 2012 Spirit of Portland award, joining 18 other individuals and organizations that “have helped make Portland a better place.”
• Spirit of Portland awards have been given annually by the City of Portland since 1985 to recognize those who have made a positive difference in the community.
• Portland City Commissioners Nick Fish, who nominated the team, and Amanda Fritz presented the Spirit of Portland award to the team during a pre-game ceremony before last Sunday’s game against San Diego State.
• The UP women’s soccer team has a long history of community service, including working with Harper’s Playground and the Ronald McDonald House.
 
THAT’S A LOT OF GOALS
• During Portland’s 5-0 win over Fresno State on Aug. 31, junior forward Amanda Frisbie became the 16th player in program history to score four goals in one game.
• The last to accomplish the feat was Danielle Foxhoven against USF on Oct. 25, 2009.
• The five-goal margin of victory was the largest for the Pilots since a 9-0 win over UT-San Antonio in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs, a game in which Frisbie recorded her first career hat trick as a freshman.
 
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
• Amanda Frisbie leads the team and ranks second in the conference with seven goals; she’s first in the WCC in points per game (1.64) and ranks third in total points (16).
• Ellen Parker is tops in the league in assists per game (0.67) while she, Frisbie and Michelle Cruz are tied fourth in the WCC in assists (4); Kaila Cameli is third with six goals.
• As a team, the Pilots rank first in per game attendance (3,390) and goals per game (2.00) and are second in fewest goals allowed (11) and goals against average (0.96).
 
LONDON CALLING
• The 2012 London Summer Olympics were a historic event for the University of
Portland as alums Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt each left London with some new hardware.
• Rapinoe and the US took gold, while Schmidt, Sinclair and Team Canada claimed the bronze for Canada’s first Olympic medal in women’s soccer.
• When all was said and done, the University of Portland (3) claimed more medals than Greece (2), and UP would have finished ahead of 31 countries in the final medal tally.
 
THE BLOGGERS
• The women’s soccer blog is back by popular demand, and this year it’s Kendall Johnson who has taking on blogging duties for the Pilots; be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/KendallBlog to follow Kendall and the Pilots all season long!
• UP features two bloggers this season, as espnW has tapped Micaela Capelle for a season-long blog as well; just visit espnW.com to check out Micaela’s thoughts.