PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2-0)
Week 4: at Oregon State
 
Oregon State Beavers (2-4-0)
Day: Sunday
Date: Sept. 17, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Corvallis, Ore.
Pitch: Paul Lorenz Field
Video: N/A
Stats: OSUBeavers.com
 
POR vs. OSU
Overall Series: 22-4-0
H: 15-0-0  •  A: 7-4-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @POR 1, OSU 0 (9/17/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their only game this week on Sunday night when they travel to Corvallis, Ore., to face in-state rival Oregon State.
• Kickoff at Lorenz Field is set for 7 p.m.
• Live video is not available for the contest, but live stats can be found at OSUBeavers.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dropped a heartbreaker 2-1 in overtime to Cal on Saturday night at Merlo Field.
• Benji Michel scored Portland's goal, his sixth of the season, in the 48th minute, and the Bears equalized in 51st minute.
• The Pilots were awarded a PK during the final minute of regulation, but Cal goalie Drake Callender came through with a big-time save.
• Portland also hit the crossbar with a shot in the first overtime before the Bears netted the game-winner in the 103rd minute.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches' Poll.
• As a team, the Pilots are third in the nation in goals (16), are fifth in assists (14), and are sixth in points (47), while leading the WCC in all three categories.
• Sophomore Rey Ortiz is tied for No. 1 in the country with six assists, while fellow sophomore Benji Michel is second nationally with six goals.
• Michel was 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.
• Michel, a sophomore forward, 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 two shutouts this season, giving him 16 in his career, which ranks sixth all-time at UP.
• 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 Pilots are the reigning West Coast Conference Champions after claiming the program's sixth league title last season and their first since 2002.
• 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 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.
   - 4,362 fans, which was then 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.
• 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 OPPONENTS
• The Oregon State Beavers are coming off a trip back east, where they lost 1-0 to Colgate and 3-2 to Syracuse; the Beavs have wins over UNLV and UC Riverside this season.
• Six different Beavers account for OSU's seven goals this season, and they've let in nine goals to the opposition.
• Junior Hassani Dotson has netted a pair of goals this season, while seniors Timmy Mueller and Jordan Jones both have a goal and an assist.
• Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Ryan Vincent has played every minute between the pipes, posting a GAA of 1.20, a .571 save percentage, and one blank sheet.
• Steve Simmons is in his ninth year at the helm of the Beavers.
• The Pilots and OSU have a lengthy history, which dates back to 1978; Portland owns a 22-4-0 advantage in the all-time series, and the Pilots won the most recent match, which was a 1-0 decision at Merlo Field in 2014.