PORTLAND PILOTS (9-6-1, 4-1-1 WCC)
Week 12: at Saint Mary's (5-6-5, 2-2-2 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Nov. 11, 2017
Time: 1:00 p.m.
City: Moraga, Calif.
Pitch: Saint Mary's Stadium
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: SMCGaels.com
 
POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 26-12-4
H: 15-6-0  •  A: 10-6-4  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 1, SMC 0 (11/12/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots navigate to Moraga, Calif., this weekend for the West Coast Conference regular season finale, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday against the Saint Mary's Gaels at Saint Mary's Stadium.
• The Pilots enter the weekend in first place of the WCC with 13 points, with San Francisco and Pacific lurking with 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots picked up a crucial 1-0 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the regular season home finale Saturday night at Merlo Field.
• Rey Ortiz scored the game's only goal in the 35th minute, and the Pilots limited the Bulldogs to just two shots to notch their sixth shutout of the year.
• Ortiz's goal was Top Play Tuesday worthy as he finished with a side volley from 15 yards out on a cross played in by Spencer Myers.
• Following the win, Ortiz was named the WCC's Player of the Week for the second time this year.
• Saturday was senior night and the Pilots honored Hanno Antoni, Paul Christensen, Matthew Coffey, Erik Edwardson, Kris Reaves, Jason Romero and Brandon Zambrano with a pre-game ceremony.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
• The Pilots are chasing their second straight WCC title, but may need some help clinching the championship.
• With 13 points, Portland (4-1-1) is currently on top of the WCC table with one game remaining.
• San Francisco (4-1-0, 12 points) and Pacific (3-1-1, 10 points), who face each other in a make-up game at USF on Wednesday night, both have two games remaining, meaning if the Dons win their final two, they will win conference regardless of UP's outcome at Saint Mary's.
• If the Pilots defeat the Gaels, the best the Tigers can do is tie the Pilots by winning their final two games, but Portland owns the tie-breaker.
• The Dons, who end the season at home Saturday against LMU, hold the tie-breaker over Portland.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Sophomore midfielder Rey Ortiz ranks second in the country in overall assists (13) and assists per game (0.81).
• Ortiz's 13 assists are only one shy of matching the single-season program record of 14, which was set by Joe Leonetti in 1991.
• Ortiz's career mark of 0.48 assists per game is tops on the program's all-time list in the modern era (1986-2017).
• Sophomore striker Benji Michel has been among the nation's leaders in goals for most of the season, and he currently leads the WCC with 10 goals.
• As a team, the Pilots rank in the top 20 nationally in several statistical categories: assists per game (2.25, No. 9), points per game (6.38, No. 10), goals per game (2.06, No. 13), total assists (36, No. 13), and total points (102, No. 20); Portland leads the WCC in each category.
• Rey Ortiz earned his second WCC Player of Week honor after scoring the game-winner during Portland's 1-0 win over Gonzaga on Saturday night; he was also 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 six shutouts this season, giving him 20 in his career, which ranks fifth all-time at UP; he's also fifth all-time with 279 career saves.
• Christensen landed on Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week (Oct. 23) after making five saves during a 3-0 shutout at LMU.
• 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.
• The 2017 recruiting class 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:
        - 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 (1-12-1) game the previous two seasons combined.
        - 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 was 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 Saint Mary's Gaels are coming off two straight ties at home, playing San Diego to a 2-2 draw before earning a scoreless draw with Pacific.
• SMC has scored 21 goals this season while conceding 21, and sophomore Jake Rudel leads the way with six goals on the season; sophomores Anders Engebretsen and Filippo Zattarin both have a team-high four assists.
• Keepers Remi Prieur and Andrew Konstantino have split time in goal, combing for a GAA of 1.22, a .700 save percentage, and six shutouts.
• 12th-year head coach Adam Cooper is the winningest coach in program history.