PORTLAND PILOTS (1-1-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 3: Nike Portland Invitational
 
vs. Denver Pioneers (3-0-1, 0-0-0 Summit)
Day: Sunday
Date: Sept. 8, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. DU
Overall Series: 6-2-0
H: 4-1-0  •  A: 1-1-0  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 2, @DU 1 - OT (9/26/2015)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots host the 2019 version of the Nike Portland Invitational at Merlo Field.
• This year's invite will include the Denver Pioneers and Washington Huskies, who will face each other at Merlo Field on Thursday at 5 p.m.
• On Sunday, the Pilots play their first home game of the season when they host the Pioneers for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
• The Portland Invitational dates back to 1992.
• Links for video streams and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK
• The Pilots split their two games last weekend at the 2019 Husky Invitational at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
• On Thursday against the New Mexico Lobos, Taryn Ries scored her first goal of the season as the Pilots claimed a 1-0 shutout.
• Freshman keeper Jenny Wahlen collected three saves to register her second consecutive clean sheet to begin her collegiate career.
• The No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels then defeated the Pilots 4-0 on Sunday to win the Husky Invitational team title.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 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.
• Also back is senior midfielder Larkin Russell, who recorded eight assists last fall; that's the most assists for a Pilot in a season since 2012 when Amanda Frisbie claimed nine.
• Joining the Pilots' experienced roster are 11 newcomers.
• 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 Denver Pioneers sit just outside the United Soccer Coaches' Top 25 after opening the season with three wins and a draw.
• The Pioneers have won three straight, including against No. 24 Texas, and they've yet to concede a goal this year.
• Hannah Adler and Samantha Feller have both scored two goals to lead Denver, and Meg Halvorson has a team-best two assists.
• Goalkeeper Brittany Wilson has played every minute on goal and has recorded a total of 11 saves.
• Long-time head coach Jeff Hooker is in his 28th year at the helm of the program, and in 2018 he led the Pioneers to the Summit League Championship and the first round of the NCAA tournament.