PORTLAND PILOTS (4-6-0, 0-2-0 WCC)
WEEK 8: vs. San Francisco Dons

San Francisco Dons (5-4-2, 1-1-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 9, 2021
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. USF
Overall Series: 29-2-3
H: 15-1-1   •  A: 13-1-2  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 0, @USF 0 (March 13, 2021)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots women's soccer team will partake in a doubleheader with the men's team on Saturday, Oct. 9 at Merlo Field.
• The men's team -- whose game will be aired on Portland's CW -- will play first at 4 p.m. followed by the women's team at 7 p.m.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
• The women's soccer team will wear pink on Saturday to promote breast cancer awareness.
• For Saturday's doublheader, buying a ticket to one match gets you access to both matches on the day.
• For tickets to Saturday's match as well as other Pilot sporting events this season, check out PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots will travel to Moraga for a California showdown against the Saint Mary's Gaels on Oct. 16.
• Kickoff for that match is set for 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options and get tickets at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• Portland is 4-6-0 on the season and 0-2-0 in WCC play, most recently falling against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in heartbreaking fashion.
• The Pilots led 2-1 with just under five minutes remaining, but the Zags scored two goals in less than a minute to take the lead and the match.
• It is the third time this season that the Pilots have allowed a game-winning goal in the final 10 minutes of the match.
• Nedya Sawan and Taryn Ries were the two goalscorers for the Pilots.
• It was the fifth goal of the season for Sawan and the third of the season for Ries.
• Sawan is the scoring leader for the Pilots, ranking first in total points (10) and goals (5). She also ranks eighth in the WCC in total goals.
• Her goal total is also more than twice the amount that she scored during her freshman year (2).
• Ries and Sawan are tied for fifth in the conference in game-winning goals at two a piece.
• Freshman goalkeeper Bre Norris has started every match for the Pilots in goal and has helped Portland earn four shutouts, which is tied for fourth in the WCC.
• The Boise, Idaho native is also third in the WCC in total saves (36) and her 900 minutes played is the most of any is the most of any freshman keeper in the conference.
• It is also the most minutes played in goal by a Pilot freshman keeper since Rachel Lusby in 2015.
• 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 named to the All-WCC Preseason squad for the third season in a row. She was the only Pilot to earn such an honor. 
• 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 DONS
• The San Francisco Dons are currently seventh in the WCC at 5-4-2 overall and 1-1-0 in conference play.
• They most recently took down the Loyola Marymount Lions 1-0 at home, their fifth shutout of the season. 
• Every victory for the Dons this season has been a shutout.
• Goalkeeper Molly Eby has played a significant role in that solid defense
• She is first in the conference in total saves (53) and save percentage (.869).
• The next closest player in total saves is Ellyn Casto at San Diego. She is 12 saves behind Eby at 41.
• Jim Millinder is in his eighth season as head coach of the Dons.

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.