SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Portland freshman Benji Michel scored twice and the Pilots overcame two late San Francisco goals to preserve a 3-2 win over the Dons in a West Coast Conference men's soccer game played on Friday night at Negoesco Field. Michel's brace gives him a WCC-best eight goals on the year.

Michel's first goal was in the 27th minute and it came on a wicked ball sent in by Eddie Sanchez. The Pilots earned a free kick just left of the 18 after USF had been called for a foul, and Sanchez whipped in a dangerous ball that bounced before finding Michel. The freshman did the rest, depositing a shot into the back of the net, handing the visitors a 1-0 lead.

That was Sanchez's first assist on the night, and his second came in the 52nd minute, which allowed the Pilots to take a commanding 2-0 lead. After Portland earned a corner when a shot off the foot of Michel was blocked, Sanchez drove in a well-hit, low ball towards the near post. That's where Matthew Coffey snuck a header inside that left post for his second goal of the year. Sanchez picked up his team-high fourth assist.

And then in the 65th minute, Michel claimed his second goal of the night when he gained possession near the half-way line, dribbled the ball about 30 yards up field, and hit a shot past the USF goalkeeper and into the right corner of the net. His eighth goal of the year gave the Pilots a cozy 3-0 lead, and it was needed after the Dons tried to mount a late comeback.

With a three-goal cushion, Portland goalkeeper Paul Christensen made a couple of clutch diving saves during the second half. But in the 89th minute, USF pulled one back on a goal from Santiago Digiuseppe, and minute later the Dons made it interesting when Leon Schwarzer found the back of the net.

But the first-place Pilots (8-3-1, 2-0-0 WCC) would hold on for their fourth straight win, while the Dons (5-6-0, 1-1-0 WCC) suffer their first conference setback of the season.

"Great game tonight for the group to get the result in a very tough place to play," said Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. "USF is a good team and I have a lot of respect for their coaches in Eddie Soto and Alex Yi and how they approach the game. I thought we created enough quality chances from different ways to earn the result. We scored three good goals and being up 3-0 we needed to do a better job closing out the game. We defended very well for most of the night. Each game we are taking steps forward and growing which is the exciting part. We now will regroup and prepare for a very good Santa Clara team.

"Special credit to our amazing fans in the Villa Drum Squad for making the effort to support the team on the road," noted Carlin-Voigt/

The Pilots have scored 15 goals during their four-match winning streak, which are the most goals scored during a four-game span since Portland collected 17 goals over four contests in 1999.

Next up for the Pilots is a short trip south to face the Santa Clara Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.