PORTLAND PILOTS (4-4-0)
Week 6: vs. #9 Western Michigan/at #10 Virginia
 
No. 9 Western Michigan Broncos (9-0-1)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 29, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. WMU
Overall Series: 0-0-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: N/A
 
No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers (6-1-1)
Day: Monday
Date: Oct. 2, 2017
Time: 4:00 p.m. (Pacific)
City: Charlottesville, Va.
Pitch: Klockner Stadium
Video: Watch ESPN
Stats: VirginiaSports.com
 
POR vs. UVA
Overall Series: 0-3-0
H: 0-1-0  •  A: 0-2-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @UVA 3, POR 2 (10/5/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots face a challenging few days as they battle a pair of top-10 teams, first playing No. 9 Western Michigan at home on Friday night before traveling to No. 10 Virginia on Monday.
• Kickoff on Friday night at Merlo Field for the Pilots and Broncos is set for 7 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on TheW.tv.
• Monday's contest against the Cavaliers at Klockner Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. (Pacific), and the game is available on the Watch ESPN app.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dropped two games during a challenging California road trip, first succumbing to UCSB 1-0 on Saturday night before Cal Poly defeated Portland 3-1 on Monday.
• In Santa Barbara, the Gauchos scored the eventual game-winner in the 69th minute; the Pilots out-shot UCSB, and Portland created several chances throughout the game.
• On Monday in San Luis Obispo, Billy Garton scored his first career goal, which leveled the scored 1-1 in the 24th minute; the Mustangs would then score two unanswered, including a PK early in the second half, en route to the win.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Pilots are receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches' Poll.
• As a team, the Pilots rank in the top 15 nationally in several statistical categories: assists per game (2.13, No. 11), goals per game (2.25, No. 12), points per game (6.63, No. 12), total points (53, No. 13), total goals (18, No. 14), and total assists (17, No. 15); Portland leads the WCC in each category.
• Sophomore Rey Ortiz is fifth in the country in assists (6) and is sixth in assists per game (0.75).
• Fellow sophomore Benji Michel is 16th nationally in overall goals (6) and is 17th in goals per game (0.75).
• 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 three shutouts this season, giving him 17 in his career, which ranks sixth all-time at UP; he's seventh all-time with 246 career saves.
• 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.
• 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 12 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.
        -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).
        -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 No. 9 Western Michigan Broncos, who are fourth in the country with 21 goals, are ranked in the top 10 for the first time in program history.
• Sophomore Brandon Bye leads a potent WMU offense and ranks fourth nationally with seven goals; senior Jay McIntosh is sixth with six assists.
• Redshirt senior goalkeeper Drew Shepherd is fourth in the country in both minutes played (920:00) and shutouts (4).
• Chad Wiseman is in his fifth year as head coach of the Broncos.
• The No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers are seven-time national champions and have been to the NCAA's a remarkable 36 straight years, which is the most of any team in the history of the sport.
• Like the Pilots, the Cavaliers have netted 18 goals this season and are led by junior All-American Edward Opoku, who has five goals and two assists.
• Senior keeper Jeff Caldwell has played every minute in goal, and has a GAA of 1.06, a save percentage of .735 and has two shutouts.
• Head coach George Gelnovatch is in his 22nd year at UVA; he's won two national titles (2009, 2014) and has made five NCAA College Cup appearances.