PORTLAND PILOTS (1-0-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
Week 2: Nike Portland Invitational
 
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (2-0-0, 0-0-0 Big West)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 31, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. UCSB
Overall Series: 3-2-1
H: 1-0-0  •  A: 0-1-1  •  N: 2-1-0
Last: @UCSB 1, POR 0 (9/23/2017)
 
Cal Poly Mustangs (1-0-1, 0-0-0 Big West)
Day: Monday
Date: Sept. 3, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. CP
Overall Series: 8-2-1
H: 4-0-1  •  A: 3-2-0  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: @CP 3, POR 1 (9/25/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots stay at home this week to host the 2018 Nike Portland Invitational, which features matches against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and the Cal Poly Mustangs, who both hail from the Big West Conference.
• First the Pilots will face the Gauchos on Friday night, with kick off set for 7 p.m.
• Monday night brings a contest with the Mustangs, which will also start at 7 p.m.
• A live stream for both matches will be available at TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots opened the season last weekend at home with a 1-1 draw against Sacramento State in front of 4,409 fans at Merlo Field.
• The Hornets scored the game's first goal in the first minute, but Benji Michel provided the equalizer in the 27th minute as the two sides would eventually play to a tie.
• On Sunday night, it was the Syracuse Orange who jumped out to an early lead at Merlo Field, and again it was Michel who produced the equalizer, this time in the 28th minute.
• Rey Ortiz then buried the game-winner on a penalty in the 76th minute, and the Pilots would hold on from there to claim the win over the ACC side.
 
NEXT WEEK
• Portland plays just one game next week, which will come against Jacksonville on Saturday night at Merlo Field.
• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with the Dolphins, and this will be the first meeting ever between Portland and Jacksonville.
 
DYNAMIC DUO EARN PRESEASON HONORS
• Portland juniors Benji Michel and Rey Ortiz both received a handful of preseason honors, including being named to the initial 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Portland was one of only two schools (FIU) 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 sit just outside of the United Soccer Coaches top 25, coming in at No. 27.
• Benji Michel, who has scored 10 goals during each of the past two seasons, has two goals in two games.
• 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 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll and sit just outside the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, are 2-0 after wins over St. John's and UC Riverside.
• Freshman forward Carter Clemmensen was named Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week after scoring the game-winner during both of UCSB's wins.
• The Gauchos were tabbed to finish second in the Big West, while sophomore Rodney Michael and junior Noah Billingsley were selected to the preseason all-conference team.
• Two-time national coach of the year Tim Vom Steeg is in his 20th season as head coach, UCSB won the national title in 2006, and they've been to the postseason 12 times during the past 14 years.
• The Cal Poly Mustangs are 1-0-1 with a win over Fresno Pacific and a scoreless draw at Gonzaga.
• Sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Perez found the back of the net twice against Fresno Pacific.
• Cal Poly was selected to finish eighth in the Big West this season, and they returned 16 letterwinners from a team that was 7-10-1 a year ago.
• Steve Sampson, former manager of the United States Men's National Team and Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, is in his fourth year as head coach of the Cal Poly men's soccer program.