PORTLAND PILOTS (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4: at Oregon / vs. Seattle
 
Oregon Ducks (3-1-2, 0-0-0 PAC-12)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 13, 2019
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Eugene, Ore.
Pitch: Pape Field
Online: Live Video I Live Stats
 
POR vs. ORE
Overall Series: 19-4-2
H: 9-3-1  •  A: 10-1-1  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: ORE 2, @POR 1 (9/14/2018)
 
Seattle Redhawks (3-2-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Day: Sunday
Date: Sept. 15, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online: Live Video I Live Stats
 
POR vs. SU
Overall Series: 10-3-4
H: 8-0-1  •  A: 2-2-2  •  N: 0-1-1
Last: @POR 1, SU 0 - OT (9/23/2018)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots travel to Eugene, Ore., this week for a match against the Oregon Ducks on Friday night before returning to The Bluff to host the Seattle Redhawks on Sunday afternoon.
• Kickoff with the Ducks at Pape Field is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, while Sunday's match with the Redhawks is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Merlo Field.
• Links for video streams and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
• Sunday's match against Seattle features a few promotions at Merlo Field, and tickets are still available.
• Sunday is Camper Reunion Day at the stadium, and there will be a Kid Zone set up on Pru Pitch, which is adjacent to Merlo Field.
• Special ticket deals are also available for parents of the campers.
• For ticket information for this weekend and every Pilot home game, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call or text 503-943-GoUP.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots won their lone game last weekend, topping the Denver Pioneers 2-1 on Sunday at Merlo Field.
• After an own-goal gave DU the lead in the fourth minute, Kimberly Hazlett provided the equalizer for the Pilots only five minutes later.
• Ellie Walker helped set up the goal when she connected with Taryn Ries left of the 18, and Hazlett then finished on a cross sent in by Ries.
• Freshman MJ Roe tallied the game-winner in the 47th minute with her first career goal, and Ries earned her second assist of the game.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• No. 1 North Carolina is the only team to score a goal against the Pilots this season; the goal allowed to Denver last Sunday was an own-goal.
• Freshman goalkeeper Jenny Wahlen recorded back-to-back shutouts to begin her career with the Pilots.
• 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.
• Portland returned the majority of their roster from 2018 as 17 letterwinners and eight starters are back.
• Highlighting the returners are 2018 All-WCC selections Olivia Dendinger, Kimberly Hazlett, and Taryn Ries.
• Ries, a junior forward, 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).
• She was voted to the 2019 All-WCC Preseason Team.
• 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.
• Back at the helm is UP alum Michelle French, who 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.
• The Pilots also exploded for 30 goals last fall, nearly tripling the goal output from 2017.
• 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 returns for her second year on The Bluff, while assistant coach and UP alum Logan Emory begins 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.
• 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).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Oregon Ducks are riding a four-game unbeaten streak, and most recently they edged Furman 3-2 last weekend in Greenville, S.C.
• The Ducks have outscored their opponents 15-11, Jordan Wormdahl leads the team with six goals, and Zoe Hasenauer has a squad-best four assists.
• Katelyn Carter has started every game in goal and has a GAA of 1.74.
• Kat Mertz is in her seventh year as head coach at Oregon.
• The Seattle Redhawks had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-0 loss last weekend at Gonzaga.
• They've been outscored 10-7 and Jesse Ray leads the Redhawks with three goals.
• Keeper Madison Waguespack has played the majority of the minutes in goal and claims a GAA of 1.25.
• Julie Woodward is in her 23rd season at the helm of the SU program.
 
PILOTS AT 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.
• 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.