PORTLAND PILOTS (2-6-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 5: vs. Oregon State
 
Oregon State Beavers (3-2-2, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 15, 2017
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
TV: CSN Northwest (Ch. 737)
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. OSU
Overall Series: 28-4-2
H: 16-2-0  •  A: 12-2-1 •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @OSU 2, POR 1 (9/16/2016)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots remain at home this week to host the Oregon State Beavers in a non-conference game on Friday night at Merlo Field.
• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live on CSN Northwest.
• The game will also be streamed at TheW.tv.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots play their final non-conference game of the season when they travel North to Seattle, Wash., to face the Seattle Redhawks on Friday, Sept. 22.
• The Pilots and Redhawks are slated to play at 7 p.m. at Championship Field.
 
LAST WEEK
• Portland hosted the annual Nike Invitational at Merlo Field, which also featured the Baylor Bears, Boise State Broncos and Washington Huskies.
• The Bears edged the Pilots 1-0 on Friday night, while the Broncos overcame the Pilots by the same margin on Sunday afternoon.
• The Huskies claimed the team title with wins over both Baylor and Boise State.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior Hannah Griffiths Boston, Portland's leading scorer a year ago with eight goals, leads the squad with two goals this season; 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 219-71-23, 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 this 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 OPPONENT
• The Oregon State Beavers are coming off a 3-0 defeat to BYU on Monday night in Corvallis; OSU's three wins came over Portland State, in overtime, at San Francisco and at Seattle.
• The Beavers are allowing only 0.86 goals per game, and they've registered four shutouts.
• Four different Beavers have scored Oregon State's four goals this season, and senior keeper Bella Geist has played every minute in goal; Geist has a save percentage of .829, four shutouts, and a 0.80 GAA.
• Senior forward Nikki Harris led the team last year with six goals and six assists, en route to All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.
• UP alum Linus Rhode is in his 10th year as head coach of the Beavers; former Portland goalkeeper Michelle Voiland is also in her 10th year on the OSU staff.