PORTLAND PILOTS (6-7-0, 2-3-0 WCC)
WEEK 10: vs. (RV) Santa Clara Broncos

Santa Clara Broncos (8-4-2, 5-0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 23, 2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
TV: KOIN-TV
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. SCU
Overall Series: 15-21-4
H: 9-7-2   •  A: 4-14-2  •  N: 2-0-0
Last: POR 0, @SCU 2 (Feb. 27, 2021)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots women's soccer team plays host to the defending national champions, the Santa Clara Broncos, this Saturday, Oct. 23.
• Kickoff for the match is set for 7 p.m.
• The match will be televised on local CBS affiliate KOIN-TV, the first such Pilot sporting event to ever be aired on the local channel.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can also be found at PortlandPilots.com.

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
• Portland will honor their women's soccer alumni this Saturday, doing a halftime read.
• Check PortlandPilots.com/Tickets for single-game options for both Wednesday and Saturday.

NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots will play one match next week, heading to Los Angeles for a match against the Loyola Marymount Lions.
• The match is set for Saturday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options as well as for tickets.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• Portland is 6-7-0 on the season and 2-3-0 in conference play, most recently defeating the San Diego Toreros 4-1.
• The four goals for the Pilots are the most they've scored in a match this year and the most they've scored against a conference opponent since 2018. That year, they also put up four goals in a win against San Diego.
• Nedya Sawan scored two goals for the Pilots, her eighth and ninth of the season. She is the first Pilot to post a multi-goal game this season.
• This is the second-time Sawan has earned a brace in her career. The first time was last season, also against San Diego in a 3-0 victory.
• Sawan is the scoring leader now for the Pilots with 19 total points (nine goals, one assist). Amongst her WCC peers, she is tied for first in game-winning goals (4), tied for third in total goals and tied for fifth in total points.
• Taryn Ries scored a goal for the Pilots as well while the other goal was an own goal in favor of Portland.
• Ries's goal was her fourth of the season.
• Ries was named to the All-WCC Preseason squad for the third season in a row. She was the only Pilot to earn such an honor. 
• Portland's five shutouts are the fourth most in the WCC.
• Freshman goalkeeper Bre Norris has started every match for the Pilots in goal and has helped Portland earn five shutouts.
• Her 1,170 minutes in goal for the Pilots is the most of any freshman keeper in the WCC. It is also the most minutes played in goal by a Pilot freshman keeper since Cori Alexander in 2003.
• The Pilots are a young squad that returns all but five athletes that played with the team last season. They also add eight talented newcomers to the squad. 
• The Pilots entered the season picked to finish fifth in the conference for the second year in a row.
• Ries was one of four Pilots to earn All-WCC recognition last season, making the All-WCC First Team. The other three were Camille Ashe, Sophia Mattice and Elliott Winklemann.
• Ashe and Mattice both return after putting together stellar freshmen seasons.
• Ashe, who was All-WCC Honorable Mention while also making the All-WCC Freshman Team, started in all 10 matches for the Pilots as a center back. She helped the Pilots record five straight shutouts for the first time since 2010, back when they were ranked second in the nation.
• Midfielder Mattice played and started in nine matches for Portland. She recorded a goal and an assist on the season.
• Ashe and Mattice were not the only young Pilots to play a significant role with the team this past season.
• Sawan played in nine matches (six starts) for the Pilots and ranked second on the team in goals scored (2) and total points (5).
• Both of Sawan's goals came in a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Torreros on March 27. Sawan also recorded an assist against the Pacific Tigers on March 6.
• Eight of the nine Pilots who played in every match this past season -- Gabi Brummett, Jamie Rita, Ellie Walker, Emily Collier, Hannah McCord, Camille Ashe, MJ Roe and Sophie French -- will play this year for Portland.
• French and Walker both played roles in helping the Pilots secure five straight shutouts.
• Brummett and Rita each played key roles in the Pilots' offense, with Brummett notching a team-leading two assists on the year and Rita adding a goal herself.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS
• The Santa Clara Broncos are currently 8-4-2 overall and 5-0-0 in WCC play
• They most recently defeated the No. 3 Pepperdine Waves 4-0, ending the Waves' 11-game win streak and extending their win streak to five.
• Last year, the Santa Clara Broncos shocked the nation by winning the 2021 College Cup.
• It is the second time the Broncos have won a national championship, making them one of just six teams -- along with the Pilots -- to have ever won multiple national championships.
• No team had more All-WCC Preseason Team selections than the Santa Clara Broncos, who had four total: Kelsey Turnbow, Izzy D'Aquila, Alex Lorea and Sally Menti.
• Turnbow has shown why she's one of the top players in the conference throughout the year. She ranks second in assists (7), third in total points (23) and game-winnning goals (3) and fifth in total goals (8) in the whole WCC.
• D'Aquila is also third in the WCC in game-winnning goals (3).
• Jerry Smith is in his 35th season as head coach of the Broncos. He is the longest tenured coach in the WCC.

THE STAFF
• UP alum Michelle French is in her fourth year as head coach of the Pilots.
• French posted a 20-19-8 record in her first three years as the head coach of Portland.
• French came to The Bluff after spending 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 fourth year on The Bluff, while assistant coach and UP alum Logan Emory is in his third year on the women's side after spending the previous three seasons with the men's program.
• Molly Dwyer joins the coaching staff here at Portland after coaching stints with UNC Asheville and Racing Louisville FC.

THE HISTORY
• Portland has a strong women's soccer tradition and is one of just six 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 OLYMPICS
• University of Portland women's soccer alums Megan Rapinoe (USA), Christine Sinclair (Canada) and Sophie Schmidt (Canada) represented their countries this past summer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan, with Sinclair and Schmidt winning their first ever gold medal and Rapinoe earning bronze.
• Sinclair, who is the all-time leading scorer in both men's and women's soccer at 187, scored one goal during the tournament. It came during Canada's July 21 match against the host country, Japan.
• Schmidt played in one match against Great Britain in group play.
• Sinclair and Schmidt's Canadian team defeated Megan Rapinoe and the United States Women's National Team 1-0 in the semifinals after Jessie Fleming scored the game-winning goal off a penalty. It was the second Olympics in a row where the U.S. failed to make the gold medal game.
• Rapinoe did, however, play a significant role in helping the U.S. get bronze, scoring two unassisted goals against Australia in their final match on Aug. 5. The U.S. won 4-3.

PILOTS IN THE PROS
• The Portland women's soccer program has a long tradition of sending players to the pros, both in the United States and in Europe.
• The Puget Sound area has been a popular landing spot for Portland graduates as eight women's soccer alums have played for the Reign.
• Currently the OL Reign roster features Megan Rapinoe and Stephanie Cox, who came out of retirement to re-join her long-time club.
• The Portland Thorns claim the legendary Christine Sinclair, who has spent her entire NWSL career in Portland.
• Sinclair helped the Thorns win two NWSL Championships, once in 2013 and again in 2017.
• Sophie Schmidt has spent the past three seasons as a midfielder with the Houston Dash, who won the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.