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2013 NIKE INVITATIONAL
#15 PORTLAND (2-0-1) • CENTRAL MICHIGAN (0-2-1)
#7 WAKE FOREST (3-0-0) • WASHINGTON (1-3-0)
Date: Friday, Sept. 6, 2013
Location: Portland, Ore.
Stadium: Merlo Field (4,982)
Teams: UW vs. Wake Forest
Kick-off: 4:30 p.m.
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
Teams: Portland vs. C. Michigan
Kick-off: 7:00 p.m.
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Overall Series:  0-0-0
                               
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013
Location: Portland, Ore.
Stadium: Merlo Field (4,982)
Teams: UW vs. C. Michigan
Kick-off: 12:00 p.m.
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
Teams: Portland vs. Wake Forest
Kick-off: 2:30 p.m.
Live Video: PilotsVideo.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Overall Series:  2-0-0
Last: POR 2, @WF 1 (Sept. 9, 2001)
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Nike Portland Invitational has been held regularly on the UP campus since 1992.
• Friday will mark the first meeting ever between the Pilots and Central Michigan, while UP and Wake Forest will play on Sunday for the first time since 2001.
• The Pilots are coming off a 1-1 draw at No. 2 Stanford last Saturday night.
• Portland is ranked 10th in the most recent Soccer America poll, 12th in the Top Drawer Soccer Rankings, falls in at No. 13 in the Soccer Times poll and is ranked 16th by the NSCAA.
• Two of Portland's three games this season have gone to overtime; the Pilots defeated the Oregon Ducks 2-1 in OT in Eugene on Aug. 25, and UP tied No. 2 Stanford 1-1 at Stanford on Aug. 31.
• The Pilots received one first-place vote and were picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference.
• Seniors Amanda Frisbie and Michelle Cruz were both selected to the WCC's preseason all-conference team.
• Frisbie was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list; Frisbie, who made the switch to defense this season, led the conference last year with 12 goals and was tied for the league-high with nine assists.
• Portland returned 15 letterwinners and nine starters from last year's team.
• Also back are seniors Ellen Parker and Micaela Capelle, who both missed the majority of last season with injuries; Capelle led the league with five goals during conference play in 2011 and she had a team-best seven assists.
• Portland's freshman class was ranked No. 5 in the country and features national team players Allison Wetherington (US U-23's), Ellie Boon (US U-20's) and Danica Evans (US U-20's).
• The Pilots have regularly started 3-4 freshmen during all three games this season; Ellie Boon scored the game-winner against Oregon, which was assisted by fellow freshman Danica Evans.
• The Pilots have led the nation in attendance for eight straight years.
• The Pilots have advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs for 13 straight seasons and have reached the playoffs during 20 of the last 21 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.
 
A BRIEF LOOK BACK
• The Pilots scored early at Stanford last Saturday night before earning a 1-1 draw with the No. 2 Cardinal.
• In the game's 11th minute, Emily Sippel was on the end of a cross from Ellen Parker and buried the go-ahead shot from about six yards out.
• The lead would stand until the 67th minute when Stanford capitalized on a loose ball in front of the net.
• Portland goalkeeper Erin Dees finished with a career-high nine saves to help preserve the tie; Dees was named a Primetime Performer by CollegeSoccer360.com following her performance.
 
THORNS AT MERLO
• The Pilots, who claim nine alums who played in the inaugural NWSL season, will welcome Portland Thorns players Tina Ellertson and Mana Shim to Merlo Field on Friday.
• The Thorns, who feature UP alums Christine Sinclair, Danielle Foxhoven and Angie Kerr on the roster, are fresh off winning the very first NWSL Championship.
• Ellertson and Shim will both be available for pre-game autographs at 6:30 and UP will honor the pair with a half-time ceremony.

GREEN DAY
• The Pilots will be holding a "Green Day" on Sunday encouraging fans to ride their bikes to the 2:30 p.m. game against No. 7 Wake Forest.
• Ample bike parking will be provided, and all those who ride their bike to the game will receive one complimentary general admission ticket. 
 
THE WATCH
• Senior Amanda Frisbie, who led the WCC in goals last season, was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list.
• The MAC Hermann Trophy is the highest individual award in college soccer presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete; the winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, at the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
• UP has claimed three MAC Hermann Trophies in program history, with Shannon MacMillan (1995) and Christine Sinclair (2004 & 2005) each nabbing collegiate soccer's top honor.
 
FOR A GOOD CAUSE
• The Pilots will be auctioning off special warm-up jerseys (shown below) this season with all proceeds going to the Portland Pilots room at the Ronald McDonald House.
• Each jersey will feature a player's number, and the team will wear them before every home game all season long.
• Fans can make bids on the jerseys at the fan information booth near the main entrance to Merlo Field during home games, and the winners will be announced following the San Francisco game, on Saturday Nov. 9.
 
THE COUNTRY'S #1 FANS
• The Portland Pilots women's soccer team led the nation in attendance for the eighth straight year after averaging 3,313 fans per game at Merlo Field last fall.
• UP has topped the 30,000-fan plateau for eight straight years as well, reaching 43,064 total fans last season.
• UP owns the NCAA record for attendance in a season when 47,082 fans attended Portland women's soccer games in 2008.
• The Pilots have topped the 40,000-fan mark four times (2008-10, 2013), which is the most in the country.
 
NWSL
• Nine Portland alums total played in the inaugural NWSL season: Christine Sinclair, Danielle Foxhoven, Angie Kerr (Woznuk) on Portland, Megan Rapinoe, Stephanie Cox (Lopez), Keelin Winters and Elli Reed on Seattle and Sophie Schmidt and Kendall Johnson on Sky Blue FC.
• Sinclair, Foxhoven and Kerr helped the Thorns claim the inaugural NWSL Championship with a 2-0 win over Western New York last Saturday night.
 
THE BLOGGER  
• Lorielle McCluskie has taken on blogging duties for Portland, so be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/LoBlog to follow Lo and the Pilots all season long.