Complete Release (pdf)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (6-4-3, 0-1-1 WCC)
at SAN DIEGO TOREROS (7-7-0, 3-0-0 WCC)
Date: Friday, Oct. 19, 2012
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Kick-off: 8:00 p.m.
Pitch: Torero Stadium (6,000)
Live TV: ESPNU
Online: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: USDToreros.com
 
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 14-3-2
Here: 6-2-1
There: 7-1-1
Neutral: 1-0-0
Last:  USD 2, @POR 1 (Oct. 14, 2011)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (6-4-3, 0-1-1 WCC)
at SAINT MARY’S GAELS (6-7-2, 1-2-0 WCC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012
Location: Moraga, Calif.
Kick-off: 1:00 p.m.
Pitch: Saint Mary’s Stadium (5,500)
Video ($)/Stats: SMCGaels.com
Audio: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 22-5-1
Here: 10-2-0
There: 10-3-1
Neutral: 2-0-0
Last: @POR 7, SMC 4 (Oct. 16, 2011)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots will be featured on national television this week as their West Coast Conference game against the San Diego Toreros in San Diego, Calif., on Friday night will be broadcast live on ESPNU; kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Torero Stadium, and fans can also watch the game at WatchESPN.com.
• Portland will follow Friday’s match with another WCC game on Sunday against the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 1 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Stadium in Moraga, Calif.
 
LAST WEEK
• Portland opened play in the WCC last week by tying Gonzaga 1-1 in Spokane, Wash., on Thursday before dropping a 2-1 decision to BYU at Merlo Field on Saturday night.
• Against the Bulldogs, freshman Noelle La Prevotte nearly won the game when she rattled the crossbar in the 110th minute; Kaila Cameli had previously given the Pilots a lead with her seventh goal of the year in the 70th minute, and GU’s Lauren Luke tallied the equalizer in the 82nd.
• In front of a capacity crowd on Saturday night, the Pilots fell behind 2-0 before Kendall Johnson scored perhaps the goal of the year in the 81st minute.
• Johnson took a pass from Haylee DeGrood and absolutely blasted a shot into the right corner of the net from 22 yards out.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Pilots are No. 30 in the NCAA’s most recent RPI rankings; the WCC has four teams in the RPI top 30, as Portland is joined by No. 4 BYU, No. 9 Santa Clara and No. 13 Pepperdine.
• Amanda Frisbie and Kaila Cameli are tied for the team high with seven goals, which ranks third in the WCC; Frisbie is tops in the WCC in points per game (1.46).
• 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 leads the nation in attendance and is averaging home crowds of 3,567 fans per game; UP has had three 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.
 
PACK THE HOUSE
• Portland fans filled Merlo Field to its capacity again last Saturday night, giving the Pilots three sellout home games this season.
• In addition to that sold-out BYU game, Portland has also had capacity crowds for Oregon (Aug. 24) and Notre Dame (Sept. 7).
• The Pilots lead the nation in attendance, averaging 3,567 fans per game (32,100 total, 9 home games), and Portland has already surpassed last season’s total of 31,103 fans (10 games).
• UP has now topped the 30,000-fan plateau for eight straight years.
• Portland owns the NCAA record for attendance in a season (47,082), which happened in 2008.
• The Pilots have topped the 40,000-fan mark three times (2008-10) and have reached that figure four times overall, which is the most in the country.
 
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 the game against San Diego State at Merlo Field on Oct. 7; 16 members from that 2002 squad attended the celebration.
 
WELCOME BACK!
• Former standout forward 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 was 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 the SDSU game.
• 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 and Kaila Cameli have both scored a team-best seven goals, which is good for third in the WCC; Frisbie is also first in the WCC in points per game (1.46), ranks third in total points (19) and is fourth in assists (5).
• As a team, the Pilots rank first in per game attendance (3,567), are second in fewest goals allowed (24), and are third in goals (24), goals per game (1.85), points (67) and shutouts.
 
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.