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PORTLAND PILOTS (5-5-1, 3-1-0 WCC)
vs. SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (6-5-0, 3-1-0 WCC)
Date: Friday, October 12, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field (4,892)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SCU
Overall Series: 13-19-8
Here: 6-7-3
There: 6-11-3
Neutral: 1-1-2
Last: SCU 1, @POR 0 (Nov. 13, 2011)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (5-5-1, 3-1-0 WCC)
vs. SAINT MARY’S GAELS (5-3-3, 1-2-1 WCC)
Date: Sunday, October 14, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 1:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field (4,892)
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 24-7-4
Here: 14-3-0
There: 9-4-4
Neutral: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 4, SMC 0 (Oct. 12, 2011)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots, who enter the weekend tied for first place in the West Coast Conference, welcome the Santa Clara Broncos and Saint Mary’s Gaels to Merlo Field this weekend for a pair of key league matches.
• First the Broncos visit for a 7 p.m. game on Friday night; Santa Clara, like Portland, is 3-1 in the WCC.
• Sunday’s match against the Gaels is set for 1 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots split their two conference games in Southern California last weekend, dropping a 4-3 decision to San Diego before topping LMU 2-1.
• On Friday night in San Diego, Keith Grubisich scored two goals during the loss; it’s the first career multi-goal game for the senior defender.
• Then in Los Angeles on Sunday, freshman Jaime Velasco scored the game-winner in the 80th minute; Colin Anderson previously tied the score with a goal in the 41st minute, and junior goalkeeper Justin Baarts was able to preserve the tie when he saved a PK in the 56th minute.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Keith Grubisich was named the U.S. Bank University of Portland Student-Athlete of the Week following his two-goal, one-assist performance during the weekend.
• Ricardo Carrillo’s goal 37 seconds into the match against Gonzaga on Sept. 26 is tied for the third fastest in program history.
• Portland’s game against the Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Ind., on Sept. 7 was cancelled due to thunder and lightning storms.
• Steven Evans has been named the WCC’s Player of the Week twice this season, and he was named the league’s player of the month for August.
• Evans was voted to the 2012 Preseason All-WCC Team, and the Pilots were picked to finish third in a preseason poll of the league’s seven head coaches.
• The Pilots returned 16 letterwinners and eight starters from a team that just missed the playoffs last fall with an 11-7-2 overall record (6-5-1 WCC).
• Five of UP’s six freshmen are from the Portland metropolitan area.
• Portland has been to two College Cups (1988 & 1995) and has reached the NCAA Postseason 14 times.
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
• Steven Evans has been scoring goals at an impressive clip, and against Seattle on Sept. 21 he became the first UP men’s soccer player to register a hat trick in nine years.
• Evans, who scored all three goals during the first half at Seattle, is the first Pilot to notch a hat trick since Alejandro Salazar found the back of the net three times against San Diego on Nov. 2, 2003.
• Evans is also among the national and WCC leaders, currently ranking fifth in the country in goals per game (0.82), sixth in total goals (9), eighth in points (20.0) and is ninth in points per game (1.82).
• He’s tops in the conference in points, points per game, goals and goals per game.
 
AMONGST THE LEADERS
• As a team, the Pilots are also putting up some decent offensive stats and they rank at or near the top of the WCC in a handful of categories.
• Portland is tops in the WCC in points (61), goals (21), goals per game (1.91) and assists (19), while ranking second in shots (157).
• Senior Ricardo Carrillo is tied for the league lead in assists with four.
 
FORMING A HABIT
• Steven Evans has been named the conference player of the week twice and was named the WCC’s Player of the Month for August after scoring a league-best four goals during the month, helping the Pilots to a 2-1-0 record.
• Evans was also named the league’s player of the week on Sept. 3, and he grabbed the league’s first player of the week award of the season on Aug. 27.
 
A RARE RAIN OUT
• The Pilots ran into some inclement weather recently when they travelled to Evansville, Ind., for the Purple Aces Classic.
• On Friday, Sept. 7, thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour bought Portland’s match with Evansville to a halt after 23 minutes of action.
• The game was finally cancelled after a lengthy delay.
• According to NCAA rules, the game does not count, and all of the stats to that point are nullified.
 
THE COUNTRY’S #1 FANS
• The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance nationally in 13 of the past 17 years, including posting the nation’s top attendance in 1996.
• Last season, Portland was 24th in the country with total attendance of 8,894 and a per game average of 1,111.
• The Pilots have posted an all-time record of 128-48-19 (.705) at the friendly confines.
 
PILOTS IN THE MLS
• The Portland Timbers selected defender Ryan Kawulok with the eighth pick of Major League Soccer’s 2012 Supplemental Draft in January.
• Kawulok, who started all 82 games during his four-year UP career and received conference honors all four years, is one of six Portland alums currently on an MLS roster, joining Logan Emory (Toronto FC), Heath Pearce & Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls), Connor Casey (Colorado Rapids) and Collen Warner (Montreal).
• Robles made his MLS debut recently against Emory and Toronto FC.
 
NATIONAL EXPOSURE
• The Pilots are slated for one national television appearance this season, which will happen when they travel to Santa Clara for a WCC match on Oct. 26.
• Fox Soccer Channel (Ch. 800 on Comcast Digital Cable in the Portland Metro Area) is set to broadcast the 7:00 p.m. match live.
 
GAMECENTRAL IS THE PLACE TO BE
• UP’s popular GameCentral is back and better than ever, and it’s available for every home game this season.
• GameCentral is a free portal via PortlandPilots.com that offers live video, live audio and live stats all on the same page; you can also access GameCentral directly by visiting PilotsVideo.com.
• The internet broadcast rivals that of any college program in the country and it features a three-camera production, instant replays and on-screen graphics.
• You can also access UP’s GameCentral via your Smartphone.