PORTLAND PILOTS (1-1-0)
Week 2: The Nike Portland Invitational
 
#25 Seattle Redhawks (2-0-0)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 1, 2017
City: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SU
Overall Series: 19-6-1
H: 13-4-0  •  A: 6-2-1  •  N: 2-1-0
Last: @POR 2, SU 1 (9/15/2013)
 
Cal State Fullerton Titans (1-1-0)
Day: Monday
Date: Sept. 4, 2017
City: Portland, Ore.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. CSF
Overall Series: 5-2-1
H: 1-0-0  •  A: 1-1-1  •  N: 3-1-0
Last: POR 4, @CSF 0 (8/26/2012)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots remain at home this weekend to host the 2017 Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field, which will feature the No. 25 Seattle Redhawks and Cal State Fullerton Titans.
• The Pilots open the Nike Invite on Friday night against the Redhawks at 7 p.m.
• Monday night features a match-up with the Titans, which is also slated for 7 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots opened 2017 with a weekend split at home, succumbing to UNLV 3-2 on Friday night in double overtime before cruising past Fairfield 6-0 on Sunday.
• The Pilots twice took a lead over the Rebels, courtesy first-half goals from Benji Michel and Gio Magana-Rivera.
• But the Pilots had to play a man-down after getting a red card in the 39th minute, and the Rebels scored the game-winner with just one second remaining in the second OT.
• On Sunday, Michel scored three goals in a 10-minute span, notching a hat trick during the game's first 26 minutes; it was the first hat trick at Merlo Field since 2003.
• Jason Romero added a hat trick of his own during the win.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• Benji Michel is the reigning WCC Player of the Week after a four-goal performance last weekend, which included a first-half hat trick on Sunday; Michel also landed on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
• Last week's games were part of Oregon State's Hensor/Zaher Nike Classic, and Michel, Rey Ortiz and Gio Magana-Rivera landed on the all-tournament team.
• Michel, a sophomore forward, made history last Sunday 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.
• Portland entered the year No. 15 in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Poll.
• The Pilots are the reigning West Coast Conference Champions after claiming the program's sixth league title last season and their first since 2002.
• Portland returned to the playoffs in 2016, their first visit since 2009.
• 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 14 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 a remarkable turn-around last season 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.
   - 4,362 fans, which was the second largest crowd in Merlo Field history, packed Merlo Field on the final night of the season to watch the Pilots clinch the WCC crown and a postseason berth with a 1-0 win over Saint Mary's.
   - 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).
   - 13th nationally in goals per game (1.89) and 21st in total goals (36).
   - 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.
   - Sanchez was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region First Team, while Michel and Reaves landed on the NSCAA All-Far West Region Third Team.
• 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.
• Joining Carlin-Voigt on the bench are second-year assistant coaches Leonard Griffin, who came with Carlin-Voigt from UCLA, and UP alum Logan Emory, who spent time with Toronto FC of the MLS after graduating from Portland in 2009.
• Goalkeeping coach Emerson De Oliveira and undergraduate assistant coach Steven Evans, a former Pilot standout, return for their second seasons on the staff, and new this year is director of operations Cody Carlson.
• 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 OPPONENTS
• The Seattle Redhawks opened the season with a pair of 1-0 shutouts at home against LMU and No. 20 New Mexico; senior defender Nathan Aune was named the WAC's Defensive Player of the Week following the weekend.
• Freshman forward Noe Meza scored the goal against LMU, while junior Nathan Aune claimed the game-winner vs. New Mexico; junior keeper Josh Adachi collected four saves to notch the two blank sheets.
• Head coach Pete Fewing is in his 24th year at Seattle, and the Redhawks advanced to the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament; the Pilots and Redhawks last met in 2013, a 2-1 Portland home win, and UP leads the all-time series 19-6-1.
• The Cal State Fullerton Titans opened 2017 with a 2-0 loss at No. 5 Clemson and a 1-0 double overtime win at Wofford.
• Senior Samuel Goni scored the game-winner at Wofford, and sophomore keeper Paul-Andre Guerin played all 106 minutes in goal to earn the shutout.
• Head coach George Kuntz is in his fourth year at the helm of the Cal State Fullerton program, and the Titans went 10-9-4 a year ago.
• Portland leads the all-time series with the Titans 5-2-1, and the Pilots won the most recent match-up 4-0 in 2012 at Fullerton.