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#22 PORTLAND PILOTS (11-4-4, 5-1-2 WCC)
vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (12-6-1, 6-4-1 PAC-12)
Date: Friday, Nov. 9, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field (4,892)
Live Video/Audio (free):  PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. WSU
Overall Series: 18-1-1
Here: 12-0-0
There: 5-1-1
Neutral: 1-0-0
Last:  @POR 1, WSU 0 (Aug. 26, 2011)
 
THIS WEEK
• The 22nd-ranked and No. 4 seed Portland Pilots open the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a First Round game against the Washington State Cougars on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Merlo Field.
• The winner between the Pilots and Cougars moves on to face either Michigan or Central Michigan in the Second Round, with the location most likely State College, Pa.
• Free video of Friday night’s game will be streamed live at PilotsVideo.com.
• The Pilots, who won the National Title in 2002 and 2005, are making their 13th straight appearance in the NCAA Postseason and their 20th appearance overall.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots ran their unbeaten streak to six games by tying No. 18 Santa Clara 2-2 in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday before returning home to defeat the San Francisco Dons 5-0 on Saturday.
• Down 2-1 at the half to the Broncos, Portland’s Amanda Frisbie scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute and goalkeeper Erin Dees made a handful of clutch saves in the second half and both overtimes en route to the draw.
• Against the Dons at Merlo, sophomores Rebekah Kurle and Emily Sippel both scored two goals as the Pilots cruised to the win; freshman Devlyn Jeter also scored for Portland.
 
THE TOURNEY
• Portland received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships and is making its 13th straight post-season appearance; UP has been to the playoffs during 20 of the last 21 years.
• The Pilots won the national championship in 2002 and 2005.
• Portland has advanced to three championship games, eight College Cups (semifinals) and at least the quarterfinals on 15 occasions.
• The UP-WSU winner will face the winner between Michigan and Central Michigan; Penn State is the No. 1 seed in Portland’s bracket, while Stanford, Florida State and BYU also earned No. 1 seeds.
• Four teams from the West Coast Conference reached the tourney as Pepperdine, San Diego and Santa Clara join the Pilots in the field.
 
WCC HONORS... ON THE FIELD
• Portland junior Kendall Johnson was named the WCC’s 2012 Defensive Player of the Year, while Amanda Frisbie joined Johnson on the All-WCC First Team; eight Pilots total garnered all-league honors, which matches BYU for the league high.
• Johnson has two goals and four assists this fall and is the fifth UP player in the program’s history to win the conference’s top defender award.
• Frisbie, a forward, leads the WCC in goals (12) and points (32); she is also the WCC’s Player of the Month for October and she’s been named the league player of the week twice.
• Junior Michelle Cruz and sophomore Rebekah Kurle both landed on the All-WCC Second Team, while senior Taylor Brooke, junior Erin Dees and freshman Noelle La Prevotte received all-conference honorable mention.
• La Prevotte was joined on the WCC’s All-Freshman team by teammate Devlyn Jeter.
 
WCC HONORS... OFF THE FIELD
• Portland junior defenders Sarah Bridges and Kendall Johnson were named to the 2012 WCC Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team, while seven Pilots garnered league all-academic honorable mention accolades.
• The nine Pilots honored are easily the most in the conference.
• Bridges, a recent selection to the CoSIDA/Capital One Women’s Soccer Academic All-District 8 Second Team, is a political Science major with a 3.87 cumulative GPA.
• Johnson boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.82 and is working towards a degree in communication.
• Senior Taylor Brooke, juniors Kaila Cameli, Micaela Capelle, Michelle Cruz, Erin Dees and Ellen Parker and sophomore Emily Sippel each earned all-academic honorable mention.
 
#LETSPACKMERLO
• Portland fans filled Merlo Field to its capacity three times this season with sellout crowds against Oregon (Aug. 24), Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and BYU (Oct. 13).
• The Pilots lead the nation in attendance, averaging 3,379 fans per game (40,546 total, 12 home games).
• The Pilots have now surpassed the 40,000-fan mark five times (2005, 2008-10, 2012), which is the most in the country.
• Portland owns the NCAA record for attendance in a season (47,082), which happened in 2008.
 
THAT’S A LOT OF GOALS
• During Portland’s 5-0 win over Fresno State on Aug. 31, 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.
 
CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
• Amanda Frisbie finished the regular season as the WCC leader in most offensive categories; she leads the league in goals (12), goals per game (0.63), points (32) and points per game (1.68); she’s also tied for third in assists (8).
• Portland ranks first in total (40,546) and per game attendance (3,379) and is second in goals (41), goals per game (2.16), assists (35), assists per game (1.84), fewest goals allowed (18) and goals against average (0.95).
 
SWITCHING ROLES
• 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 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.
 
LONDON CALLING
• The 2012 London Summer Olympics were historic 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.
• UP honored Sinclair and Schmidt during Portland’s game against North Carolina on Aug. 17, while Megan Rapinoe was honored at the game against LMU on Oct. 28.