PORTLAND PILOTS (4-3-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 5: vs. Oregon / at Oregon State
 
Oregon Ducks (4-1-1, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 14, 2018
Time: 5:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. ORE
Overall Series: 19-3-2
H: 9-2-1  •  A: 10-1-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: POR 1, @ORE 0 (9/19/2016)
 
Oregon State Beavers (1-6-1, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Sunday
Date: Sept. 16, 2018
Time: 5:00 PM
Place: Corvallis, Ore.
Pitch: Lorenz Field
TV: Pac-12 Network
Video: Pac-12.com
Stats: OSUBeavers.com
 
POR vs. OSU
Overall Series: 29-4-2
H: 17-2-0  •  A: 12-2-2 •  N: 0-0-0
Last: @POR 1, OSU 0 (9/15/2017)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots have a home-and-away weekend as they face their two in-state rivals, Oregon and Oregon State.
• First on Friday the Pilots will host the Oregon Ducks at 5 p.m. at Merlo Field; the game is part of a soccer double header on The Bluff as the men follow with a match against Washington.
• The Pilots then travel to Corvallis on Sunday to play the Oregon State Beavers at Lorenz Field at 5 p.m., and the game will be shown live on the Pac-12 Network.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots won the 2018 Nike Portland Invitational after picking up a pair of W's at Merlo Field.
• Against Utah Valley on Friday night, the Pilots scored twice in the second half to claim a 2-1, comeback win; Larkin Russell set up both goals.
• On Sunday, the Pilots collected two goals in the first half en route to a 2-0 shutout over UC Irvine and the tourney title.
• Russell added a goal against the Anteaters, the game-winner, to earn tournament offensive MVP honors; she was also the WCC's Player of the Week.
• Portland's holding midfielder Natalie Muth was named the defensive MVP.
 
NEXT WEEK
• Next week the Pilots play their final two non-conference games of the year, first traveling to Grand Forks, N.D., to face the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Friday.
• Portland then returns home to host the Seattle U Redhawks on Sunday at Merlo Field.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots won the 2018 Nike Portland Invitational last weekend at Merlo Field, while Larkin Russell and Natalie Muth were named the tournament's offensive and defensive MVP's, respectively.
• Both Portland and Washington picked up two wins at the Invite, over Utah Valley and UC Irvine, but the Pilots claimed the team title via goal differential (4-1 to 4-2)
• Russell, who had two assists during Friday's 2-1 win over Utah Valley and the game-winner in the 2-0 shutout over UC Irvine on Sunday, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week following the weekend.
• Russell is Portland's first league player of the week since Rachel Lusby nabbed the award in September of 2016.
• Taryn Ries has scored a goal in two straight games.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in fewest goals allowed (5) and goals against average (0.71), and they're tied for the league-high with three shutouts.
• Senior goalkeeper Rachel Lusby has played every minute in goal this season and also leads the WCC in goals allowed, GAA, and shutouts.
• She now has 13 clean sheets in her career, which is only one shy of cracking into Portland's all-time top 10; she's also No. 2 all-time at UP in career saves per game (3.96), she's fourth in overall career saves (178), and her career save percentage of .784 ranks 10th.
• 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.
• The Pilots opened the season with two straight shutout wins (2-0 vs. NAU & 1-0 vs. SJSU) for the first time since 2009.
• Portland didn't allow a goal for the first 250 minutes of the season before Washington found the back of the net against the Pilots in the 71st minute on Sunday, Aug. 26.
• 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.
• Doty, who's a native of nearby McMinnville, was previously the head assistant coach at San Jose State.
• Zabala is a heralded goalkeeper coach who came to UP from Boise State.
• 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 returned the bulk of their roster, 17 letterwinners 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.
• Hazlett landed on the 2018 All-WCC Preseason Team, which is the second straight year to earn that distinction.
• The Pilots were selected to finish seventh in the conference
• 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 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 Oregon Ducks are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• The Ducks, who are 4-1-1, have not played since a 2-0 home win over Gonzaga on Sunday, Sept. 2.
• Oregon has outscored their opponents 8-4, and junior Emma Eddy has scored a team-high five goals.
• Redshirt-senior Halla Hinriksdottir has played every minute in goal, registering three shutouts, a GAA of 0.64, and a save percentage of .765.
• Kat Mertz is in her sixth year as head coach.
• The Oregon State Beavers (1-6-1) are coming off a 4-1 loss to No. 25 Texas Tech.
• The Beavers have scored four goals this season, while conceding 16.
• Redshirt-freshman McKenzie Weinert has scored two of their goals, while true freshman keeper Bridgette Skiba has played every minute, has one shutout, a 2.26 GAA, and a .686 saves percentage.
• UP alum Linus Rhode (1992-95) is in his 11th year as head coach of the Beavers; former Portland goalkeeper Michelle Voiland is also in her 11th year on the OSU staff.