PORTLAND PILOTS (0-1-1)
Week 2: vs. George Washington / Davidson
 
George Washington Colonials (0-1-1)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 6, 2019
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. GW
Overall Series: 0-0-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 0-0-0
Last: N/A
 
Davidson Wildcats (1-0-0)
Day: Sunday
Date: Sept. 8, 2019
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Online: Video I Stats
 
POR vs. DAV
Overall Series: 1-0-0
H: 0-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 4, DAV 1 (1995 @Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots continue their homestand to open the season with two more matches at Merlo Field.
• On Friday the Pilots host the George Washington Colonials for a 7 p.m. match.
• Sunday brings a visit from the Davidson Wildcats, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
• Links for a live stream and live stats for both matches is available at PortlandPilots.com.
 
PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
• This weekend fans can enjoy a bevy of promotions at Merlo Field, which are listed below.
• Friday:
        - Purple Friday, which is a season-long promotion and asks fans to wear purple to every Friday match.
        - #MerloMadness: Monster Energy drinks and free pizza for students.
• Sunday:
        - Youth Soccer Day: $2 tickets for any kid wearing a soccer jersey, and the ticket is also good for the women's game vs. Denver at 1:00 p.m.
        - Kids Zone on Pru Pitch.
• For ticket information for this weekend and every Pilot home game, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call or text 503-943-GoUP.
 
NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots embark on their first road trip of the season first traveling to Seattle, Wash., for a match with the Seattle Redhawks on Thursday.
• Kickoff for the Pilots and Redhawks is set for 7 p.m. at Championship Field, and the match is the inaugural Caffé D'arte Coffee Cup.
• The winner of this year's contest will earn the Caffé D'arte Coffee Cup, and an MVP will also be selected for the match.
• The Pilots then head to Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday, Sept. 15.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS...
• 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 letterwiners for the Pilots, who also brought back seven starters.
• 2018 WCC All-Freshman Team selection Jake Arteaga returns for the Pilots, as does all-conference defender Esteban Calvo.
• Arteaga and Calvo, a senior, helped the Pilots record five shutouts in 2018 and Arteaga added three goals last season, while Calvo registered one goal and three assists.
• 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 enter the weekend ranked 25th in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll.
• 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 enters 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 George Washington Colonials, out of the Atlantic-10 Conference, enter the weekend with a 0-1-1 record after dropping a 2-0 decision at UNC Greensboro and playing American to a 0-0 draw.
• First-year goalkeeper Justin Grady made a pair of saves vs. American to record his first career clean sheet.
• 16 letterwinners and seven starters returned from a team that was 5-9-3 in 2018.
• Craig Jones is in his eighth year as head coach of the Colonials.
• The Davidson Wildcats also hail from the A-10, and they opened the season with a 2-1 OT win over Wake Tech; they play at OSU on Friday before coming to The Bluff.
• Jamie DiLuzio scored the game-winner vs. Wake Tech on a PK in the 92nd minute.
• The Wildcats went 9-7-2 last fall and finished second in the A-10.
• Mike Babst is in his first year at the helm of the Davidson program.