PORTLAND PILOTS (10-7-0, 3-3-0 WCC)
WEEK 11: vs. Loyola Marymount / #25 Pepperdine
 
Loyola Marymount Lions (3-10-4, 1-4-1 WCC)
Day: Friday
Date: Oct. 26, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. LMU
Overall Series: 22-2-1
H: 11-1-0  •  A: 11-1-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: POR 2, @LMU 1 (2ot) (10/14/2017)
 
No. 25 Pepperdine Waves (9-6-1, 4-1-1 WCC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Oct. 28, 2018
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. PEPP
Overall Series: 16-7-1
H: 10-3-0  •  A: 6-4-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @PEPP 4, POR 0 (11/4/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their final two home games of 2018 when they host Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine in a pair of West Coast Conference contests at Merlo Field.
• The LMU Lions will visit on Friday night for a 7 p.m. match, while Sunday brings a 1 p.m. game with the Pepperdine Waves.
• The Pilots will celebrate senior day on Sunday, honoring Hanna Armendariz and Rachel Lusby with a pre-game ceremony.
• Links for a live stream and live stats for both matches can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots suffered a pair of 3-2 setbacks on the road last weekend at No. 7 Santa Clara and San Francisco.
• On Friday against the Broncos, the Pilots led 2-1 in the second half before Santa Clara equalized to send the game to overtime, where Kelsey Turnbow converted a PK in the 92nd minute to hand the home side the win.
• Taryn Ries and Larkin Russell scored for the Pilots, and goalkeeper Rachel Lusby denied a PK off the foot of Maria Sanchez in the 90th minute to extend the match to OT.
• Ries scored again on Sunday, her league-best 15th of the season, and Kendra Steele added her first goal, but the Dons held on for the home win.
 
THANK YOU SENIORS
• This weekend marks the final regular season appearance at Merlo Field for Portland's two seniors, Hanna Armendariz and Rachel Lusby.
• Armendariz, who originally hails from West Covina, Calif., has played all over the field during her career, and this season as a forward she has two goals and an assist.
• Lusby is a local product out of nearby Beaverton, and the goalkeeper enters the weekend with 17 career shutouts, which is tied for eighth all-time at UP; she's currently tops in the WCC with seven clean sheets this fall.
• She's also No. 1 all-time at UP in career saves per game (4.09), she's third in overall career saves (225), and her career save percentage of .784 is tied for ninth.
• In 2017 Lusby earned All-WCC Honorable Mention accolades and landed on the WCC All-Academic Team.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Taryn Ries is enjoying a phenomenal sophomore campaign, and she currently ranks third nationally with six game-winners; she's also No. 4 in the country in both goals (15) and points (33), is fifth in goals per game (0.88), and ranks sixth in points per game (1.94).
• The sophomore forward also leads the WCC in all of those categories, and she has two of the three hat tricks recorded this season by a WCC player.
• Ries' two hat tricks this season came at San Diego (Sept. 27) and vs. Pacific (Oct. 7), and she's the first Pilot to score three goals twice in the same year since Danielle Foxhoven accomplished the feat in 2009.
• Her 15 goals are the most in a season since Foxhoven netted 25 during that same 2009 campaign.
• Junior midfielder Larkin Russell ranks 22nd in the country with eight assists; the eight assists are the most for the Pilot since 2012 when Amanda Frisbie claimed nine.
• The Pilots have already doubled last year's win total of five victories.
• Seven of Portland's 10 wins have been shutouts, and the Pilots lead the West Coast Conference in clean sheets.
• During one stretch this season, the Pilots produced three straight shutouts (Sept. 16-23), going 347 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.
• Previously the Pilots opened the season with two straight shutout wins, something that hasn't been accomplished since 2009.
• Following Portland's two shutouts over North Dakota (Sept. 21) and Seattle (Sept. 27), senior keeper Rachel Lusby was named the WCC's Player of the Week after totaling 11 saves during the two wins
• She also landed Honorable Mention National Team of the Week accolades from Top Drawer Soccer.
• Lusby leads the WCC in save percentage (.786) and shutouts (7).
• Lusby now has 17 career shutouts, which is tied for eighth all-time at UP; she's also No. 1 all-time at UP in career saves per game (4.09), she's third in overall career saves (225), and her career save percentage of .784 is tied for ninth.
• Lusby's 5.05 saves per game in 2017 are an all-time program single season record.
• The weekend of Sept. 7-9 The Pilots won the 2018 Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field, while Larkin Russell and Natalie Muth were named the tournament's offensive and defensive MVP's, respectively.
• Russell, who had two assists during the 2-1 win over Utah Valley and the game-winner in the 2-0 shutout over UC Irvine was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week following the weekend.
• Russell was Portland's first league player of the week since Rachel Lusby nabbed the award in September of 2016.
• During the season opener on Friday, Aug. 17, the Pilots allowed just one shot in their 2-0 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Merlo Field; the one shot allowed was the fewest given up by the Pilots since San Diego also attempted one shot on Oct. 1, 2015, which happened to be a 1-0 win for the Toreros in Portland.
• The Pilots are under the guidance of first-year head coach Michelle French, a Portland alum who was hired to take the reins of the program in December.
• French is the sixth head coach in program history, dating back to 1980, and she's just the third for the Pilots in the last 29 years.
• French came to The Bluff after spending the past 12 years coaching in the U.S. Soccer system, most recently as an assistant coach with the Senior Women's National Team.
• With the Pilots, French (1995-98) was an All-American defender, a four-year starter, and a finalist for National Player of the Year as a senior in 1998; she led the Pilots to three NCAA Final Four appearances as a player, including the NCAA title game in 1995.
• Joining French on the staff are assistant coaches Dominic Doty and Maite Zabala, volunteer assistant coach Rachael Rapinoe, and Director of Operations Elli Reed.
• Rapinoe is a UP alum who was a member of the 2005 National Championship team.
• Reed, who is also a Portland alum, recently retired following a lengthy pro career, which ended with a five-year stint with the Seattle Reign in the NWSL.
• Portland has a strong women's soccer tradition and is one of just four programs to win multiple NCAA Championships in the sport (2002, 2005).
• The Pilots have made eight Final Four appearances (1994-96, 1998, 2000-02, 2005) and they've won 13 WCC Championships.
• The Pilots have advanced to the post-season during 21 of the past 26 seasons.
• The Pilots led the nation in attendance for 10 consecutive seasons (2005-14).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Loyola Marymount Lions have lost four straight, including a 2-1 setback at Pepperdine last weekend.
• The Lions have been outscored this season 26-17, and senior Sarina Bolden leads the team with five goals.
• Senior keeper Charlee Pruitt has two shutouts, a GAA of 1.44 and a .711 save pct.
• Michelle Myers is in her seventh year as head coach at LMU.
• The Pepperdine Waves surged into the top 25 with recent wins over both Santa Clara and BYU; the Waves have only scored 15 goals this season, while conceding just 16.
• Sophomore Joelle Anderson is one of six Waves to have multiple goals, scoring a team-best four; senior GK Brielle Preece has a 1.03 GAA and a .736 save percentage, and Pepperdine is tied with Portland with seven shutouts.
• Head coach Tim Ward is in his 21st year, and he's led the Waves to nine NCAA Tournaments.