PORTLAND PILOTS (3-2-1)
Week 4: vs. #23 CSUN
 
#23 CSUN Matadors (4-1-1)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 20, 2019
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. CSUN
Overall Series: 1-1-0
H: 1-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 0-1-0
Last: CSUN 4, POR 0 (8/24/12 at Fullerton)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots play their lone match of the weekend on Friday night when they host the No. 23 CSUN Matadors at Merlo Field.
• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and links for a live stream and live stats for the match can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
TICKETS
• 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 split their two matches on the road last week, dropping a 2-0 decision at Seattle U on Thursday before claiming a 1-0 shutout at Wisconsin on Sunday.
• The game with the Redhawks featured an hour-long weather/lightning delay early in the second half.
• The Pilots dominated the Badgers in Madison, Wis., despite playing a man-down for the final 75 minutes of the match.
• Portland out-shot Wisconsin 12-5, and Alejandro Pereira provided the night's only goal when he hammered a shot into the upper corner of the frame from 20 yards out in the 55th minute.
• Josh Lagudah needed to make just one save to register his second clean sheet of the fall.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• All three Portland wins this season have been shutouts; the Pilots have four shutouts overall, which is tied for the most in the WCC.
• Portland ranks 11th nationally in goals-against average (0.483) and they're 20th in save percentage (0.842).
• Senior goalkeeper Josh Lagudah has recorded a shutout in both his starts this season.
• Offensively, the Pilots have out-scored their opponents 10-3, and seven different players have scored a goal.
• Junior forward/midfielder Luke Hendel landed on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week (Sept. 9) after scoring both of Portland's game-winners last weekend against George Washington and Davidson.
• For the second straight season, senior midfielder Rey Ortiz was named to the Preseason Watch List for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best collegiate player in the nation.
• Ortiz, who collected three goals and three assists in limited action as a junior, was also named to the All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team, as was senior midfielder Gio Magana-Rivera.
• Last year Magana-Rivera produced two goals and a team-best five assists en route to all-west region and all-league first-team honors.
• Ortiz and Magana-Rivera are part of a group of 17 returning letterwinners for the Pilots, who also brought back seven starters.
• The Pilots added the nation's ninth-ranked recruiting class.
• The 10 newcomers are the program's third straight top-10 recruiting class.
• The Pilots received a first-place vote and were selected to finish second in the WCC this season by the league's eight head coaches.
• The Pilots are coming off their second playoff visit in the past three years as they reached the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
• After receiving an at-large bid to the playoffs, the Pilots were awarded their first home postseason game since 2002, and they blanked UCLA 1-0.
• It was also the first time the Pilots advanced to the second round since 2009.
• Other highlights from the 2018 season include:
        - The Pilots didn't suffer their first loss of the season until their 14th match, which was the longest unbeaten streak to start a year since 1995.
        - The 13-match unbeaten string was also the longest for the Pilots since that '95 team went 14 games without a blemish.
        - The 10-0-3 record open to the season ranked as the program's third best start ever, behind only 1995 and the 1988 squad.
• Following last fall, forward Benji Michel signed a homegrown contract with Orlando City SC of MLS; Michel already has 12 appearances and six starts with Orlando, and he's scored a pair of goals.
• A 2018 United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team selection, Michel ended his career with 31 goals in three years, eight assists, 70 points, and 12 game-winners; he ranks third all-time in program history in game-winners, and he's 12th in career goals.
• Portland has re-asserted itself among the national leaders in attendance during the past few years, and last fall the Pilots ranked sixth in the country in total fans.
• Head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt is in his fourth year at the helm of the Pilots.
• 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.
• Joining Carlin-Voigt on the staff are first-year assistant coaches Ben Zemanski and Austin Nyquist.
• Zemanski entered the coaching ranks after a lengthy MLS career, which featured a five-year stint and an MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers.
• Nyquist was previously the Pilots' director of performance analysis.
• Assistant coach Emerson De Oliveira is in his fourth year with the Pilots, and he was recently elevated to the program's director of goalkeeping.
• 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 16 appearances in the NCAA Postseason all-time, which includes two appearances in the College Cup (1988 & 1995).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The CSUN Matadors entered the rankings this week, checking in at No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• The Matadors are one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking second in both points per game (11.0) and assists per game (4.33), and they're No. 3 in goals per game (3.33).
• Daniel Trejo leads the country in overall goals (7) and points (17), and his teammate Julio Rubio is tops in assists per game (1.17).
• Keeper Paul Lewis has started all six games in goal, posting a GAA of 1.84 and a .667 save percentage.
• Six-time Big West Coach of the Year Terry Davila is in his 21st season at the helm of the Matadors, and he's led CSUN to seven NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2016.