#7 PORTLAND PILOTS (9-0-2, 1-0-0 WCC)
Week 8: vs. Loyola Marymount / San Diego
 
Loyola Marymount Lions (4-7-0, 1-0-0 WCC)
Day: Friday
Date: Oct. 12, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. LMU
Overall Series: 23-14-3
H: 11-6-3  •  A: 12-8-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: POR 3, @LMU 0 (10/21/2017)
 
San Diego Toreros (4-6-2, 0-1-0 WCC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Oct. 14, 2018
Time: 2:30 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. USD
Overall Series: 18-20-6
H: 11-8-2  •  A: 6-11-3  •  N: 1-1-1
Last: POR 1, @USD 1 (10/13/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The No. 7 Pilots return home this week to host Loyola Marymount and San Diego in a pair of West Coast Conference games at Merlo Field.
• First on Friday the LMU Lions visit the The Bluff for a 7 p.m. match.
• Sunday brings a game with the San Diego Toreros, with kickoff slated for 2:30 p.m.
• Links for a video stream and live stats for both contests can be found at PortlandPilots.com
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots opened the conference schedule with a 3-2 comeback win at Gonzaga on Saturday night.
• Portland conceded two early goals before responding with three straight, with Benji Michel, Luke Hendel, and Malcolm Dixon finding the back of the net.
• Michel and Hendel both claimed an assist as well, and Dixon's game-winner came in the 72nd minute.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• At 9-0-2 the Pilots are off to the program's best start since 1989; that team began the season 10-0-2.
• The 1988 team, led by legendary goalkeeper Kasey Keller, own the program's best start ever as they won their first 21 games before succumbing to Indiana in the College Cup Semifinals.
• The 11-game unbeaten streak is also the longest for the Pilots since 1995 when the team put together 14 games without a loss.
• The Pilots are one of only three teams in the country who have yet to suffer a loss.
• The Pilots moved up to No. 7 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches' poll, while Top Drawer Soccer has the Pilots ranked sixth; Portland is also No. 10 in the current NCAA RPI rankings.
• The Pilots have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, and they have wins over Syracuse (currently No. 7 RPI), Northern Illinois (No. 23), Washington (No. 34), Coastal Carolina (No. 36), UC Santa Barbara (No. 56), and Oregon State (No. 59).
• Portland features the No. 18 offense in the country, averaging 2.09 goals per game.
• Benji Michel started the season by scoring a goal in six straight games and he has a goal in 10 of Portland's 11 matches.
• Michel's goal streak was the longest to begin a season for a Pilot since at least 2001.
• Michel ranks second nationally with six game-winners, he's No. 7 in both goals per game (0.91) and points per game (2.0), he 's eighth in total goals (10), and is No. 10 in total points (22).
• The junior forward landed Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention following his performance at Gonzaga; last week Michel was the Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week and WCC Player of the Week after providing two game-winners and an assist as the Pilots won at Coastal Carolina and defeated Northern Illinois at home.
• Gio Magana-Rivera, who had an assist at Coastal Carolina and two against NIU, also landed Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention accolades after the Pilots went 2-0 against the No. 24 Chanticleers and Huskies.
• Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Kienan Weekes nabbed WCC Player of the Week honors after the Pilots shutout the No. 9 Washington Huskies 1-0 on Sept. 14.
• It was the first conference honor for Weekes, who also landed on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week earlier this season when he registered his first career shutout with five saves during a 1-0 win over UCSB on Aug. 31.
• Weekes made a career-best six saves against the Huskies.
• Rey Ortiz was named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week (Sept. 10) after registering a goal and an assist during a 4-1 win over Jacksonville.
• Ortiz's career mark of 0.44 assists per game is tops on the program's all-time list in the modern era (1986-2017).
• Portland ranks fourth nationally in attendance.
• The Pilots were selected by the league's eight coaches to finish second in the West Coast Conference behind Pacific.
• Pacific received four first-place votes and totaled 44 overall points, while the Pilots collected two first-place votes and 41 points.
• Rey Ortiz ranked second nationally last season in assists per game (0.76) and he was third in total assists with 13; his 13 assists missed matching a program record by one.
• Ortiz also had six goals to lead the WCC with 25 points.
• Following the 2017 season, Ortiz was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Best XI Second Team, nabbed all-region honors, and landed on the All-WCC First Team.
• Michel, who earned WCC All-First Team and all-regional honors last season, made history when he registered a hat trick during the first 26 minutes of a 6-0 win over Fairfield (Aug. 27); the hat trick was the first at Merlo Field since UP's Alejandro Salazar accomplished the feat in 2003.
• Portland's newcomers were ranked as the No. 3 class in the nation, according to Top Drawer Soccer.
• Freshman midfielder Jake Arteaga was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Best XI Freshman Team.
• Head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt is in his third year at the helm of the Pilots, and in his first year on The Bluff he led Portland to an improbable turn-around en route to the 2016 WCC title and an NCAA Playoff berth.
• It was the program's first WCC Championship since 2002, and it was their first trip to the NCAA postseason since 2009.
• In 2016 Carlin-Voigt became the program's first WCC Coach of the Year since Clive Charles in 2002.
• Carlin-Voigt, who came to The Bluff from UCLA during the winter of 2016, was named one of the Top 10 American Coaches under 40 by Top Drawer Soccer in 2017.
• 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 Loyola Marymount Lions scored twice in the second half at home last weekend to open WCC with a 2-1 win over Santa Clara; Jack Sauls scored the game-winner with only 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
• LMU has won two straight and three of their last four.
• The Lions have been out-scored this season 21-12, and sophomore Kris Fourcand leads the team with three goals; senior Antonio Porreco has four assists.
• Junior keeper Paul Lewis has 10 starts and claims a GAA of 1.80 and a .700 save percentage.
• Paul Krumpe is in his 21st year as head at LMU.
• The San Diego Toreros suffered a 2-1 set-back at San Francisco last week, despite out-shooting the Dons 18-10.
• The Toreros have only scored seven goals this year, while conceding 17, and they're produced four shutouts.
• Junior Miguel Berry is the only USD player with more than one goal, scoring three on the year, while sophomore goalkeeper Matt Wiher ranks 16th nationally in save percentage (.833) and is 37th in goals against average (0.78); he's second in the WCC in both categories.
• After eight seasons as an assistant coach and three years as an associate head coach at USD, Brian Quinn is in his first year as head coach