PORTLAND, Ore. --- Malcolm Dixon scored the equalizer and neither Portland or San Diego could find the back of the net during 20 minutes of overtime as the No. 7 Pilots played to a 1-1 draw with the Toreros in a West Coast Conference men's soccer game on Sunday afternoon at a sun-splashed Merlo Field. The draw allows the Pilots to stay unbeaten on the year as they extend their streak to 13 games without a loss.
 
"We had a flat first half today and that was on us as we needed to start faster," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "These Friday-Sunday games are always challenging. Our standards are high and once we started playing our way the game started to turn in the second half."

The Toreros (5-6-3, 1-1-1 WCC) jumped ahead early by benefiting from a penalty awarded to the visiting side in the second minute. A foul was called on the Pilots inside the 18, and USD's Miguel Berry slotted in the PK to hand the Toreros the 1-nil advantage.
 
From there the Pilots looked to level the score, but the Toreros did well defensively, limiting Portland's chances for the rest of the first half.
 
Portland (10-0-3, 2-0-1 WCC) then controlled possession for long stretches during the second half, which led to some quality opportunities. In the 65th minute, Greg Tracey played a nice through ball to Benji Michel, but San Diego keeper Matt Wiher reacted quickly to deny the shot off the foot of Michel with a clutch save.
 
Moments later Rey Ortiz delivered a stellar ball into the area to find Tracey, who hit a shot wide as the score remained 1-0 in San Diego's favor.
 
The Pilots then earned their own PK after a foul was called on Wiher, who tackled Michel from behind after he had gotten inside the box with possession, which was the result of another dangerous ball sent in by Ortiz. But the Toreros caught a break when Portland couldn't capitalize as the penalty attempt was dragged wide.
 
Wiher kept the score 1-0 in the 78th minute when he punched a shot over the bar, which came from Tristan Weber as he nearly found the top shelf with a bending free kick from right of the 18-yard box.
 
But there was nothing the San Diego keeper could do when Dixon scored his fourth goal on the year, evening the score 1-1. In the 82nd minute, Weber had possession left of the 18, made a nice move to shake the defender, and sent a hard-hit cross towards the top of the six. That's where Dixon provided the finishing touch, and the two sides would eventually head to overtime.
 
Dixon claimed the only decent chance in the first OT when he sent a shot high after a nice give-and-go with Alejandro Pereira.
 
In the second OT it was Pereira with a well-struck shot from near the top of the 18 that almost gave Portland the win. The freshman forward gained possession about 40 yards out, made his way up field, and sent a driven shot towards the frame. But Wiher was there with the game-saving stop, and he corralled the ball to avoid an attempt on the rebound as Dixon was in the area.
 
The clock would soon hit 110 minutes, ending the game in a tie.
 
Wiher finished with five saves on the day, while his Portland counterpart Kienan Weekes was also solid between the pipes. Weekes collected four saves to allow the Pilots to match the 1989 squad for the second best start to a season in program history.
 
The 13-match unbeaten string is the longest for the Pilots since a 14-game stretch in 1995.

"I continue to be proud of our fighting spirit and unity," added Carlin-Voigt. "We surely created enough chances to get the result tonight, but we will grow from the game, continue to find ways to improve as we prepare to face USF."
 
Portland has a bye next weekend, but they return to the pitch on Friday, Oct. 26 at San Francisco.