PORTLAND PILOTS (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 2: at UC Davis / at UC Irvine
 
UC Davis Aggies (0-2-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 25, 2017
Place: Davis, Calif.
Time: 4:00 PM
Pitch: Aggie Soccer Field
Video: BigWest.tv
Stats: UCDavisAggies.com
 
POR vs. UCD
Overall Series: 0-1-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-1-0 •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @UCD 1, POR 0 (1988)
 
UC Irvine Anteaters (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
Day: Monday
Date: Aug. 27, 2017
Place: Irvine, Calif.
Time: 7:00 PM
Pitch: Anteater Stadium
Video: N/A
Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
 
POR vs. UCI
Overall Series: 2-1-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 2-0-0  •  N: 0-1-0
Last: POR 1, @UCI 0 - OT (9/25/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots embark on their first road trip of the season when they head south to California for non-conference games against the UC Davis Aggies and the UC Irvine Anteaters.
• First the Pilots will be in Davis on Friday for a 4 p.m. contest against the Aggies at Aggies Soccer Field; this is the first meeting for UP and UC Davis since 1988 when the Aggies for an NCAA DII program.
• Portland then travels to Irvine to face the Anteaters for the third straight year, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. on Monday night at Anteater Stadium.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots remain on the road for the 2017 version of the Husky Nike Invitational for match-ups with New Mexico and Florida at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
• Portland will first battle the New Mexico Lobos on Friday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m. on Friday before taking on the No. 9 Gators Sunday night (Sept. 3) at 6 p.m.
• Florida has been to 14 straight NCAA Tournaments and reached the Round of 16 last year.
 
LAST WEEK
• Senior Hannah Griffiths Boston continued to dominate Portland's crosstown rival with two more goals last Friday night as the Pilots opened the season with a 2-1 comeback win over Portland State at Merlo Field.
• Griffiths Boston, who recorded a hat trick during last year's win over the Vikings, scored in the 47th and 84th minutes, the with game-winner coming on a PK.
• On Sunday the No. 23 NC State Wolfpack held off the Pilots to claim a 1-0 win at Merlo Field.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior Hannah Griffiths Boston, Portland's leading scorer a year ago with eight goals, is tied for No. 1 in the WCC with two goals; the Portland native ranked fourth in the WCC in goals last fall.
• The Pilots entered the season with 14 returning letterwinners and seven starters.
• Portland returned the majority of its offense from a year ago as seven of the Pilots' eight leading goal scorers from last season are back.
• Sophomore midfielder/forward Kimberly Hazlett was voted to the Preseason All-WCC Team; a year ago Hazlett, who had two goals and an assist in her first year on The Bluff, landed on the league's all-freshman team.
• Portland's roster includes a heralded freshman class, which is ranked 28th in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
• The freshman class features a handful of local players including Olivia Dendinger (Hillsboro), Taryn Ries (Ridgefield, Wash.) and Ellie Walker (Vancouver); Ries is the No. 62 ranked recruit in the country, while fellow freshman Kendra Steele (Bellingham, Wash.) is No. 102.
• Head coach Garrett Smith, who has been named WCC Coach of the Year six times, is in his 15th year at the helm of the Pilots.
• Smith, a Portland men's soccer alum, has posted a career overall record of 218-66-23, while guiding the Pilots to a remarkable 76-23-9 mark in the WCC; he led the Pilots to a national title in 2005.
• Portland's game at BYU on Oct. 15 of last season was the 300th career game at the helm of the Pilots for Smith.
• Redshirt-senior Ariel Viera returned to the pitch last weekend after missing all of last year with an injury; Viera was part of Portland's fifth-ranked recruiting class in 2013, and she landed on the WCC All-Freshman team her first season on The Bluff.
• An outside back her first three seasons, Viera has taken on a more offensive role this year in the midfield.
• Viera, who calls Scappoose home, finished with 116 career goals during her four years at Scappoose High School, which is tied for the second most all-time in Oregon girls prep soccer history and is behind only fellow Pilot Tiffeny Milbrett's 131 goals at Hillsboro.
• Former Pilot midfielder Lisa Chambers is in her 11th year as an assistant coach, while UP men's soccer alum Miguel Guante (2002-05) is in his first season as an assistant coach for the women's program.
• Guante, who has coached at FC Portland since 2003, spent the past five years as the head coach for the Lincoln High School girls varsity team in downtown Portland.
• Guante played both in the midfield and at right back for the Pilots, earning All-WCC Second Team honors all four years.
• He helped lead the Pilots to the Second Round of the NCAA Playoffs three times, and he tallied six career goals and six career assists.
• Portland won the NCAA National Championship in 2002 and in 2005, and the 2005 team was inducted into the UP Athletics Hall of Fame last October.
• The 2002 squad will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame this fall.
• The Pilots have advanced to the post-season during 21 of the past 25 seasons.
• The Pilots have led the nation in attendance during 10 of the last 12 years.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• UC Davis opened the season with a hard-fought 2-1 loss at No. 3 and defending national champion USC last Friday; SDSU topped the Aggies 1-0 in San Diego on Sunday.
• The Aggies return 10 letterwinners and five starters off of last season's squad that finished 7-8-4 overall and 3-3-2 in the Big West.
• Sophomore Nicole Carson and junior Crystal Crump lead the way offensively, accounting for two goals and three assists apiece a year ago; senior Mandy McKeegan tallied to goal against USC.
• Junior goalkeeper Alexis Smith returns for her third season in net after posting a 1.11 goals against average last season.
• Former Pepperdine associate head coach Twila Kaufman is in her fourth year at the helm of the Aggies.
• UC Irvine succumbed to nationally ranked Cal 2-1 last weekend in Berkeley, Calif., as the Bears claimed the game-winner in the 69th minute.
• The Anteaters return 22 letterwinners and 10 starters from a team that was 13-7-2 in 2016 and 5-2-1 in the Big Sky, good for a second-place finish.
• Senior and All-Big West selection Kiana Palacios led UC Irvine last year with nine goals and five assists; sophomore keeper Maddie Newsom started all 22 games in goal last season, posting a 0.79 goals-against average, which ranks second all-time at UC Irvine.
• 11th-year head coach Scott Juniper led UC Irvine to postseason berths in 2010 and 2011.