PORTLAND PILOTS (6-5-1, 1-0-1 WCC)
Week 9: at Loyola Marymount
 
Loyola Marymount Lions (3-8-2, 1-1-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 21, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Los Angeles, Calif.
Pitch: Sullivan Field
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: LMULions.com
 
POR vs. LMU
Overall Series: 22-14-3
H: 11-6-3  •  A: 11-8-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @POR 1, LMU 0 (10/28/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots stay on the road this week for another West Coast Conference match in Southern California as they battle the Loyola Marymount Lions in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
• Kickoff at Sullivan Field is at 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots, who played a man-down for the final 33 minutes, earned a 1-1 draw with the San Diego Toreros on Friday night at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
• Gio Magana-Rivera gave the Pilots a 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season in the 17th minute, and the lead would stand until the 63rd when the Toreros provided the equalizer.
• The game would eventually end in a tie, despite the Pilots out-shooting the Toreros and having a handful of chances at the game-winner, but USD keeper Thomas Olsen collected six clutch saves to keep the match level.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Sophomore midfielder Rey Ortiz is second nationally in assists per game (0.83) and is third with 10 assists.
• Ortiz's 10 assists are only four shy of matching the single-season program record of 14, which was set by Joe Leonetti in 1991.
• Sophomore striker Benji Michel is 12th in the country in goals per game (0.75) and is 17th in total goals (9).
• As a team, the Pilots rank in the top 20 nationally in several statistical categories: assists per game (2.42, No. 7), goals per game (2.25, No. 8), points per game (6.92, No. 8), total assists (29, No. 12), total points (83, No. 14), and total goals (27, No. 19); Portland leads the WCC in each category.
• Rey Ortiz became the second straight Pilot to be named the WCC's Player of the Week on Oct. 9 when he nabbed the award after scoring a goal and producing two assists as the Pilots opened the WCC with a 3-1 win over No. 18 Pacific; Ortiz was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week.
• Benji Michel earned WCC Player of the Week (Oct. 2) after scoring twice during a 4-1 win over No. 9 and previously unbeaten Western Michigan at Merlo Field on Sept. 29.
• Michel was also the initial WCC Player of the Week (Aug. 28) after a four-goal performance during the opening weekend, which included a first-half hat trick vs. Fairfield; Michel also landed on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
• Benji Michel made history on Sunday (Aug. 27) when he registered a hat trick during the first 26 minutes of a 6-0 win over Fairfield; the hat trick was the first at Merlo Field since UP's Alejandro Salazar accomplished the feat in 2003.
• Jason Romero also tallied a hat trick during the win, which featured the most goals scored by the Pilots since a 6-0 win over Marshall in 2006.
• Senior goalkeeper Paul Christensen has three shutouts this season, giving him 17 in his career, which ranks sixth all-time at UP; he's sixth all-time with 266 career saves.
• Michel (31), Ortiz (44), Kris Reaves (78), and Christensen (81) were all recently named to Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason National Top 100 Player Rankings.
• 4,385 fans, which included a remarkable 2,113 students, packed Merlo Field when the Pilots hosted UNLV in their home-opener on Friday, Aug. 25; it's the second largest men's soccer crowd in program history.
• Portland picked up two first-place votes and was slated to finish second in the WCC this year.
• A league-best three Pilots were voted to the Preseason All-WCC team as Paul Christensen, Benji Michel and Kris Reaves were selected by the conference coaches.
• Portland returned 16 letterwinners and seven starters, and joining Christensen, Michel and Reaves are three other Pilots (Matthew Coffey, Lionel Mills, Gio Magana-Rivera) who earned all-league recognition last season.
• The 2017 recruiting class, which features 12 incoming newcomers, was ranked fifth in the country by College Soccer News and No. 6 by Top Drawer Soccer.
• Second-year head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt led the Pilots to an improbable turn-around in 2016 as he guided the team to the top of the WCC, a year after a last-place showing.
• Milestones from 2016 include:
        -A seven-game winning streak (Sept. 22 - Oct. 30), which is the program's longest winning streak since 1995.
        -The 5-0-0 start in the WCC matched the legendary 1988 Portland squad for the best start to a conference schedule in program history.
        -Won first WCC Championship since 2002.
        -Reached NCAA Postseason for first time since 2009.
        -Posted most wins (12) since 2009.
        -6-1 conference mark is the best since 1989; this came after the program only won one WCC game the previous two seasons combined.
        -Worst to First: Pilots went 1-12-1 in the WCC during the previous two years.
        -10th in the country in average attendance (2,298).
        -Nearly swept WCC individual honors, as then-senior Eddie Sanchez was named WCC Player of the Year, Benji Michel was the league's freshman of the year, Paul Christensen was selected as goalkeeper of the year, and Nick Carlin-Voigt was tabbed as the co-coach of the year.
        -Carlin-Voigt is the program's first league coach of the year since Clive Charles in 2002.
• Carlin-Voigt, who came to The Bluff from UCLA during the winter of 2016, was recently named one of the Top 10 American Coaches under 40 by Top Drawer Soccer.
• The Pilots claim renowned men's soccer alums Kasey Keller, Steve Cherundolo, Conor Casey, Nate Jaqua, Heath Pearce, and 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Luis Robles.
 • In 1988, legendary coach Clive Charles led Keller and the Pilots to the school's first ever NCAA College Cup; the Pilots returned to the College Cup in 1995.
• The Pilots have made 15 appearances in the NCAA Postseason all-time, which includes two appearances in the College Cup (1988 & 1995).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Loyola Marymount Lions are coming off a 2-1 home win over Gonzaga.
• The Lions have been out-scored 21-12 this season, but they feature a balanced scoring attack with eight players finding the back of the net.
• 2016 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Alvaro Madrigal leads the team in points with nine (3g, 3a), while John Bovill has a team-best four assists.
• Reigning WCC Defender of the Year Connor Johnson was voted to the preseason all-league team.
• Senior keeper Collin Partee has a goals against average of 1.69 and a save percentage of .768, and he claims one clean sheet on the year.
• Paul Krumpe is in his 20th year as head coach at LMU.