PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
Week 1: vs. Sacramento State / Syracuse
 
Sacramento State Hornets (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 24, 2018
Time: 5:30 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SAC
Overall Series: 3-2-0
H: 2-0-0  •  A: 1-2-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @SAC 2, POR 1 (9/15/2016)
 
Syracuse Orange (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Aug. 26, 2018
Time: 7:30 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. SYR
Overall Series: 0-0-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: N/A
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open the 2018 campaign this weekend by hosting Sacramento State on Friday night before welcoming Syracuse to The Bluff on Sunday.
• Friday's match with the Hornets will kickoff at 5:30 p.m. and is part of a double header as the women's team will follow with a game against San Jose State.
• Sunday is also a double header, with the men featured in the second game at 7:30 p.m. against the Orange.
• A live stream of both contests will be available at TheW.tv.
• This weekend's games are part of the Hensor/Zaher Classic, hosted by Oregon State and split between Portland and Corvallis.
 
THE BLUFF IS THE PLACE TO BE 
• Friday will be a festive night on The Bluff as the soccer double header is part of UP's Annual New Student Orientation, and will feature the always popular Bite on The Bluff, which is now in its 10th year.
• The annual event is a street food fair featuring many of the popular Portland food carts, including Voodoo Doughnut, Koi Fusion, Thrive, Churros Locos and much more.
• The Bite begins at 4:00 p.m. and takes place in the Chiles Center Plaza, which is adjacent to Merlo Field.
• The University will also be honoring the legacy of former coach and Portland soccer icon Clive Charles with the re-naming of the student section to 'Clive's Army'.
• As part of that, the first 5,000 fans to Merlo Field will receive a 'Clive's Army' t-shirt, and the American Cancer Society will be on hand taking donations to help fight prostate cancer; donations can also be made online at PortlandPilots.com/ClivesArmy.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots remain at home next weekend to host the annual Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field, which will feature matches against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
• The game with UCSB is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday night, and the Gauchos are regulars in the NCAA playoffs and won the national title in 2006.
• The game with the Mustangs will take place on Monday (Sept. 3) at 7 p.m.

DYNAMIC DUO EARN PRESEASON HONORS
• The preseason accolades have been rolling in for Portland juniors Benji Michel and Rey Ortiz, who were both named to the initial 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Portland was one of only two schools to have more than one player named to the list, and the trophy is handed out annually to the best collegiate player in the nation.
• Ortiz was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Best XI First Team, while Michel landed on the second team, and both were voted to the All-WCC Preseason Team.
 
MORE ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• The Pilots are receiving votes in the initial United Soccer Coaches poll, and Portland sits at No. 22 in Top Drawer Soccer's preseason rankings.
• 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.
• Ortiz's career mark of 0.46 assists per game is tops on the program's all-time list in the modern era (1986-2017).
• Michel was among the nation's leaders in goals for most of last fall before ending the year with a team-best 10, which ranked second in the WCC.
• He also was second in the league with 22 points, which were behind only Ortiz's 25.
• Michel earned WCC All-First Team and all-regional honors, and he 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.
• As a team in 2017, the Pilots ranked in the top 25 nationally in several statistical categories: assists per game (2.24, No. 9), points per game (6.35, No. 9), goals per game (2.06, No. 12), total assists (38, No. 14), and total points (108, No. 24); Portland also led the WCC in each of those categories.
• The Pilots returned 12 letterwinners this season, which includes five starters.
• 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 Sacramento State Hornets went 8-9-2 overall last season, including a 4-4-2 mark in the Big West Conference.
• The Hornets were selected to finish sixth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' poll, and senior midfielder Dominic Scotti was the lone Hornet named to the all-league preseason team
• Sacramento State returned six starters from last year and added 10 newcomers.
• Michael Linenberger enters his 30th year at Sacramento State and he's just three wins shy of 200 for his career.
• The Syracuse Orange welcome back 16 players from last year's squad, including its starting defense and five of its top six scorers.
• The Orange roster includes 10 newcomers, three of which are transfers.
• Syracuse went 6-8-4 last year and was 0-6-2 in the ACC after going to the NCAA playoffs in 2016.
• Ian McIntyre enters his ninth year as head coach of the Orange, and this will be the first meeting ever between Portland and Syracuse.