PORTLAND PILOTS (4-2-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 7: at Pepperdine (4-4-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 5, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Malibu, Calif.
Pitch: Rokus Field
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. PEPP
Overall Series: 16-8-1
H: 10-4-0  •  A: 6-4-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: PEPP 2, @POR 0 (10/28/2018)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference this weekend when they travel to Malibu, Calif., for a match with the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday afternoon.
• Kickoff for the Pilots and Waves at Rokus Field is set for 1 p.m.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots had a bye last week, but they previously went 2-0 on a road trip to the Bay Area, posting wins over San Jose State and No. 21 Cal.
• Trailing 1-0 late against the Spartans, Ellie Walker scored perhaps the goal of the year when she bent a ball into the top right corner of the frame on a free kick from left of the 18, leveling the score 1-1 in the 86th minute.
• Taryn Ries then provided the game-winner three minutes into extra time; Natalie Muth set up the goal with a perfectly played ball into the box, and Ries ran onto it and found the back of the net to hand the visiting side a dramatic, 2-1 win.
• Against the Bears in Berkeley, Jamie Rita scored in the 58th minute and Rachel Khaw added an insurance goal in the 81st minute as the Pilots collected the 2-0 shutout, which was Cal's first loss of the season.
• Ries assisted on Rita's goal with a well-struck ball into the box, and Khaw finished her own rebound after her initial shot hit the post.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's wins at San Jose State (Sept. 20) and at Cal (Sept. 22) was the program's first two-game, weekend sweep on the road since winning back-to-back games at Saint Mary's and at Pacific in 2015.
• The win over then-No. 21 Cal on Sept. 22 was Portland's first win over a ranked opponent since 2013, which also came on the road at Santa Clara.
• Taryn Ries ranks second in the West Coast Conference in assists (4), assists per game (0.5), and game-winners (2), and she's sixth in points per game (1.25) and seventh in overall points (10).
• Freshman goalkeeper Jenny Wahlen recorded back-to-back shutouts to begin her career with the Pilots, and she leads the WCC with three clean sheets this fall.
• During a 0-0 draw with the Washington Huskies on Aug. 23 in Seattle, Wahlen was stellar in her collegiate debut, providing seven saves to earn the clean sheet.
• She then made three more saves to earn the 1-0 win over New Mexico (Aug. 29) in Seattle, and she opened her career with 228 consecutive scoreless minutes.
• Seven players have scored a goal for the Pilots, with Taryn Ries leading the way with three.
• The Pilots have 10 assists on their 11 goals; Ries also leads the Pilots in this category with four assists.
• Portland returned 17 letterwinners and eight starters from 2018.
• Taryn Ries was voted to the 2019 All-WCC Preseason Team, and the Pilots were picked to finish fourth in a vote by the league's 10 head coaches.
 
LAST SEASON
• Senior Kimberly Hazlett (Honorable Mention), and juniors Olivia Dendinger (Second Team) and Taryn Ries (First Team) all earned All-WCC last season.
• Ries had a breakout season last year en route all-conference first-team and all-region honors.
• She ranked seventh nationally in goals (15) and was ninth in game-winners (6), and she led the league with 33 points.
• Ries also registered a pair of hat tricks, and her 15 goals are the most in a season for a Pilot since 2009 (Danielle Foxhoven).
• Dendinger, a junior center back, helped the Pilots produce eight shutouts in 2018, which are the most clean sheets for Portland since 2013.
• A senior, Hazlett has earned all-conference recognition every year on The Bluff.
• She was second on the team in points last season, finishing with five goals and six assists.
• Senior midfielder Larkin Russell recorded eight assists last fall, which is the most assists for a Pilot in a season since 2012 when Amanda Frisbie claimed nine.
• The Pilots also exploded for 30 goals overall last fall, nearly tripling the goal output from 2017.
 
THE OPPONENT
• The Pepperdine Waves are currently receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• They handed No. 2 Stanford their only loss earlier this season in Malibu, and they claimed a tie against No. 16 UCLA, who was then ranked fifth.
• The Waves have out-scored opponents 13-10, and Leyla McFarland has a team-high eight points on two goals and four assists.
• Pepperdine has posted five shutouts, and keeper Kinsey Ehmann has played a majority of the minutes, registering a GAA of 0.98 and a .800 save percentage.
• In 21 seasons as head coach, Tim Ward has led the Waves to 10 NCAA Tournaments and three Sweet 16's.
 
THE STAFF
• UP alum Michelle French is in her second year as head coach of the Pilots.
• In her first season, French guided the Pilots to 11 wins, which was more than double the previous year's total.
• French came to The Bluff after spending the previous 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.
• Assistant coach Maite Zabala is in her second year on The Bluff, while assistant coach and UP alum Logan Emory is in his first year on the women's side after spending the previous three seasons with the men's program.
• Elli Reed, another Portland alum, is in her second year as the director of operations; Reed returned to The Bluff following a lengthy pro career, which ended with a five-year stint with the Seattle Reign in the NWSL.
 
THE HISTORY
• Portland has a strong 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 21 times overall.
• The Pilots led the nation in attendance for 10 consecutive seasons (2005-14); in 2018 UP ranked fourth in the country in attendance per game (1,679) and were sixth in overall attendance (18,474).
 
THE WORLD CUP
• University of Portland women's soccer alums Megan Rapinoe (USA), Christine Sinclair (Canada), and Sophie Schmidt (Canada) represented their countries last summer at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, with Rapinoe taking the world by storm to claim the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards.
• The Golden Ball award goes to the tournament's best player, while the top scorer receives the Golden Boot.
• In her third career World Cup, Rapinoe collected six goals and three assists as the U.S. won their second straight title and fourth overall.
• Rapinoe was also selected as the 2019 FIFA Women's Player of the Year.
• This was the fifth straight world cup for Sinclair, and the fourth straight for Schmidt.
• Additionally, Sinclair inched closer to becoming the all-time leading scorer in international women's soccer, producing her 182nd career goal; American Abby Wambach is the all-time leader with 184.