PORTLAND, Ore. ---- The Michelle French era has officially begun for the University of Portland Pilots women's soccer program as the team held their first training sessions of 2018 under the guidance of the first-year head coach on Wednesday. French, a Portland alum, was hired in December to assume the reigns of the program.
 
French returns to her roots to take over a storied program, which she starred for on the pitch in the late 1990's. With the Pilots, French 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. French spent the last 12 years coaching in the U.S. Soccer system, most recently as an assistant coach with the Senior Women's National Team. She also served on the USA Women's National Team staff at both the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Joining French are assistant coaches Dominic Doty and Maite Zabala, volunteer assistant coach Rachael Rapinoe, and Director of Operations Elli Reed. Doty, who's a native of nearby McMinnville, was previously the head assistant coach at San Jose State University, Zabala is a heralded goalkeeper coach who came to UP from Boise State, and 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.
 
The Pilots return the bulk of their roster (17 letter winners and eight starters) from 2017, which includes two players who earned all-conference accolades last fall. Senior goalkeeper Rachel Lusby landed all-league honorable mention, while junior forward Kimberly Hazlett was named to the All-WCC Second Team. Lusby's 5.05 saves per game in 2017 are an all-time program single season record, while her 96 total saves missed matching a program record by one. A native of Beaverton, Lusby currently ranks No. 1 all-time at Portland in career saves per game (4.18), she's sixth all-time in overall career saves (159), and her career save percentage of .783 ranks 10th all-time. Hazlett has earned all-conference recognition both years on The Bluff.
 
University of Portland has a strong and proud 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 won 13 WCC Championships. The Pilots led the nation in attendance for 10 consecutive seasons from 2005 through 2014.
 
The Pilots open the regular season when they host Northern Arizona on Merlo Field on Friday, Aug. 17. Portland will also play British Columbia in an exhibition match at Merlo Field on Friday, Aug. 10.