PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland's historic season continues as the Pilots nearly swept the West Coast Conference Men's Soccer Individual Postseason honors, which were announced on Tuesday. Senior Eddie Sanchez is the WCC's Player of the Year, junior Paul Christensen is the league's goalkeeper of the year, Benji Michel was named the conference freshman of the year, and Nick Carlin-Voigt is the co-coach of the year.
 
The Pilots won the 2016 WCC Championship and are returning to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2009.

"This is well-deserved recognition for our program to receive major end of the year conference awards," said Carlin-Voigt. "The most important award however was the outright WCC championship. We understand individual awards aren't possible without a strong collective spirit and personal sacrifice so everyone in our program can take great pride in the achievements voted on by the WCC coaches. These awards are always a direct byproduct of our team culture.
 
"The turnaround the guys made in short period of time, to go from last to first, is truly something that has united the Portland soccer community here in Soccer City USA. We scored the most amount of goals in the conference, while conceding the least, which speaks volumes to how consistent the group was both in and outside of conference play."
 
Sanchez, Michel and junior defender Kris Reaves were also named to the All-WCC First Team, while Christensen landed on the All-WCC Second Team. Junior midfielder Matthew Coffey and sophomore defender Lionel Mills both earned all-league honorable mention, and Michel and Gio Magana-Rivera were selected to the conference all-freshman team.
 
Sanchez, a midfielder/forward out of Canby, Ore., becomes the first Pilot to be named the league's player of the year since 2003. He was named the WCC's Player of the Week twice this season, and he landed on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week three times. He's tied for the league-high against WCC opponents in both assists (5) and points (11), and he's found the back of the net three times as the Pilots won six conference matches. He has six goals and seven assists on the season, and he notched a hat trick at Gonzaga on Oct. 9. He becomes a four-time selection to the All-WCC First Team.

"Eddie had his best regular season in a Pilot uniform and is well deserved of the player of the year award," Carlin-Voigt said. "His teammates pushed him daily and without them this wouldn't have been possible. He developed into a balanced player who could flip a game at any time."
 
Christensen, who calls Woodinville, Wash., home, posted a goals against average of 0.57 against WCC foes and has an impressive .857 saves percentage. He also claims four shutouts during conference play. He recorded consecutive shutouts at home against LMU and San Diego en route to nabbing WCC Player of the Week accolades on Oct. 31. Christensen is the program's first keeper to ever earn the league's top award, which was implemented a few years ago.

"Paul Christensen led the conference in shutouts and was a driving force behind our transformation as the conference's best defensive team," noted Carlin-Voigt. "He's a fantastic leader and true captain both on and off the field, but again our core of keepers led by Kienan Weekes deserve a lot of credit for the environment and unity they display daily in training."
 
Michel, who came to The Bluff from Orlando, Fla., has ranked among the nation's leaders in goals and points all season long. He scored five goals against conference opponents, registered 11 points and claims two game-winners, which all lead the WCC. Overall he has 10 goals, four assists, 24 points and three game-winners on the season, and he was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week (Oct. 17). He's Portland's first league freshman of the year since Sanchez in 2013.

"Benji made an immediate impact in our attack, and leading the conference in goals as a freshman is truly rare," said Carlin-Voigt. "He is a very dynamic goal scorer, who only continues to develop and mature into a very polished attacker."
 
Carlin-Voigt, in his first year at the helm of the UP program, led the Pilots to their first league title since 2002. Portland is currently ranked 20th in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer, the Pilots compiled their most wins (12) in a season since 2009, and their 6-1-0 league mark is the best conference record since 1989. The Pilots also rank eighth in the nation in goals per game (2.00), are 13th in total goals (36), and rank 21st in points per game (5.33). Carlin-Voigt earns the program's first coach of the year accolade since Clive Charles in 2002.

"I'm honored and humbled to be named coach of the year," added Carlin-Voigt. "I want to first thank the players. I love working with the guys daily and they will always be the most important part of our mission. As any head coach knows the success of program depends on the coaching and administrative support provided. I would like to thank the whole department for their contributions to our championship year. This award should be renamed the 'coaching staff of the year' award. Special credit to coaches Leonard Griffin, Logan Emory, Steve Evans, Emerson De Oliveira and our performance coach Bryant Ferate.
 
"I would be remiss not to mention and honor the contributions of prior UP coaches Bill Irwin, Brandon McNeil and Rob Baarts. Lastly I want to give special credit to Amber Eubanks who's done a remarkable job keeping the guys healthy and ready to play during a very challenging travel schedule."
 
Reaves, a transfer originally from Duluth, Ga., was an anchor on the backline. He helped the Pilots collect six shutouts on the year.

"Kris Reaves was arguably our most consistent player all year and really helped create a winning mindset in the group," Carlin-Voigt said. "I can't speak highly enough about the impact he's made on The Bluff and how important he's been to our team. It's well-deserved for him to be named first team all-league."
 
Matthew Coffey has three goals and an assist, and he produced the game-winning goal Saturday night as the Pilots clinched the WCC Title with a 1-0 win over Saint Mary's. Coffey was also named the WCC Player of the Week following the win.
 
A native of Kula, Hawai'i, Mills started all 18 games this season and played a major role in Portland's six blank sheets. He also helped limit league opponents to just 0.57 goals per game when facing the Pilots.
 
Gio Magana-Rivera, a midfielder from Hood River, Ore., has three goals and a game-winner on the year.
 
The Pilots travel to Albuquerque, N.M., this week to face the New Mexico Lobos in an NCAA First Round game on Thursday night.
 
All five individual awards, including the all-conference teams, were voted on solely by the WCC's eight head coaches.

2016 WEST COAST CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Player of the Year: Eddie Sanchez, Portland
Defensive Player of the Year: Connor Johnson, Loyola Marymount
Goalkeeper of the Year: Paul Christensen, Portland
Freshman of the Year: Benji Michel, Portland
Co-Coach of the Year: Nick Carlin-Voigt, Portland; Ryan Jorden, Pacific
 
2016 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER FIRST TEAM
Name, School, Year, Position   
Tristan Blackmon, Pacific, Jr., D
Julio Cervantes, Pacific, Sr., F
Jalen Crisler, Gonzaga, Jr., D
Jakob Granlund, Gonzaga, Sr., F
Connor Johnson, Loyola Marymount, Jr., D
Benji Michel, Portland, Fr., F
Kris Reaves, Portland, Jr., D
Eddie Sanchez, Portland, Sr., F
Rafael Sanchez, Saint Mary's, Sr., D/MF
Leon Schwarzer, San Francisco, Jr., MF
Michael Turner, San Diego, Sr., MF
 
2016 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year, Position   
Valdemar Andersen, Santa Clara, Sr., D
Ben Braman, Saint Mary's, Jr., D
Brennan Castro, Santa Clara, Sr., D
Paul Christensen, Portland, Jr., GK
David Garrett, San Francisco, Sr., F
Curtis Goldsmith, Pacific, Jr., GK
Aaron Lombardi, San Francisco, Jr., MF
Adrien Perez, Loyola Marymount, Sr., F
Josh Smith, San Francisco, Sr., D
Jakub Svehlik, Saint Mary's, Fr., MF
Wouter Verstraaten, Pacific, So., D
 
2016 WCC MEN'S SOCCER HONORABLE MENTION
Merlin Baus, San Diego; Miguel Berry, San Diego; Matthew Coffey, Portland; Carlos Delgadillo, Santa Clara; Santiago Digiuseppe, San Francisco; Andrew Konstantino, Saint Mary's; Alvaro Madirgal, Loyola Marymount; Patrick McGrath, San Diego; Christo Michaelson, Gonzaga; Lionel Mills, Portland; Jose Ochoa, Loyola Marymount; Camden Riley, Pacific; Ander Saez, Pacific; Ben White, Gonzaga
 
2016 WEST COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Name, School, Position        
Garrett Amador, Loyola Marymount, D
Jelani Ambrose, Santa Clara, D
Davis Behnke, Gonzaga, D
Miguel Berry, San Diego, F
Andreas Charalambous, Pacific, MF
Gio Magana-Rivera, Portland, MF
Benji Michel, Portland, F
Anthony Orendain, Pacific, F
Matt Orr, San Francisco, D
Jake Rudel, Saint Mary's, D
Jakub Svehlik, Saint Mary's, MF