#11 PORTLAND PILOTS (8-0-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
Week 7: at Gonzaga
 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-6-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 6, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Spokane, Wash.
Pitch: Luger Field
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. GU
Overall Series: 26-12-6
H: 14-5-2  •  A: 11-7-4  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 1, GU 0 (11/4/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots, who are up to No. 11 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, open play in the West Coast Conference this weekend when they travel to Spokane, Wash., to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday night.
• Kickoff for the northwest rivals is set for 7 p.m. at Luger Field, and links for a live stream and livestats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots dominated Northern Illinois at Merlo Field on Friday night, cruising to a 3-0 win.
• Benji Michel scored his ninth goal of the season during the victory over the Huskies, who entered the game as the No. 13 team in the country in the NCAA RPI rankings.
• Malcolm Dixon and Greg Tracey also scored, with Tracey claiming his first career goal.
• Michel, who also collected the game-winner, was named Top Drawer Soccer's National Player of the Week following the win.
 
NEXT WEEK 
• The Pilots return home next week for a pair of WCC games at Merlo Field, hosting Loyola Marymount on Friday, Oct. 12, and San Diego on Sunday Oct. 14.
• Following that weekend, the Pilots only have one regular season home match remaining, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10 against No. 9 Saint Mary's.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• At 8-0-2 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 10-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 eight teams in the country who have yet to suffer a loss.
• The Pilots have played one of the toughest schedules in the country, and they have wins over Syracuse (currently No. 9 RPI), Northern Illinois (No. 16), Washington (No. 20), Coastal Carolina (No. 33), Oregon State (No. 39), and UC Santa Barbara (No. 40).
• The Pilots moved up to No. 11 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches' poll, while Top Drawer Soccer has the Pilots ranked seventh; Portland is also No. 10 in the current NCAA RPI rankings.
• Portland features the No. 22 offense in the country, averaging 2.0 goals per game.
• Benji Michel started the season by scoring a goal in six straight games and he has a goal in nine of Portland's 10 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. 6 in goals (9), seventh in goals per game (0.9), 10th in points (19), and is No. 13 in points per game (1.9).
• The junior forward is the reigning Top Drawer Soccer 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, landed Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention accolades.
• 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 to collect his second clean sheet of the year.
• 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).
• 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 OPPONENT
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs haven't played since a 2-1 loss at UCSB on Sept. 25.
• Opponents are out-scoring the Bulldogs this season 23-9, and Gonzaga has claimed a pair of shutouts.
• Their two wins have come against CSU Bakersfield and Sacramento State.
• Demitrius Kigeya leads the team with four goals, while Quinn Liebmann has a squad-high two assists, to go along with a goal.
• Redshirt-senior keeper Ben Willis has started all 10 games in goal, and he has a goals against average of 2.21 and a .676 save percentage.
• Paul Meehan, who spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach with the Zags, is in his first season as head coach; prior to his stint at Gonzaga, Meehan was the head coach at Corban University in Salem.
• The Pilots own a 26-13-6 advantage in the all-time series with Gonzaga, and Portland has claimed two straight W's, most recently defeating the Zags 1-0 last season at Merlo Field.