PORTLAND PILOTS (8-5-1, 3-1-1 WCC)
Week 11: vs. No. 15 Northern Illinois Huskies

No. 15 Northern Illinois Huskies (12-1-2, 4-0-2 MAC)
Day: Wednesday
Date: Nov. 3, 2021
Time: 4:30 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. NIU
Overall Series: 1-2-1
H: 1-0-1  •  A: 0-1-0  •  N: 0-1-0
Last: @POR 3, NIU 0 (Sept. 28, 2018)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots will officially play their final non-conference match of the year this Wednesday, Nov. 3 against the No. 15 Northern Illinois Huskies.
• The match is a part of a double-header with the women's team and will kick off at 4:30 p.m.
• Links for the livestream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• For tickets to Wednesday's match, check PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.
• NOTE: In order to attend the match, if you are 12 years old or older, you have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test that was taken at least 72 hours prior to the match.

NEXT UP 
• The Pilots will play their final road match of the season when they travel to Santa Clara to take on the No. 20 Broncos.
• The two teams will play on Saturday, Nov. 6 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 8-5-1 overall and 3-1-1 in WCC play after earning their first tie of the season against the Pacific Tigers.
• Sebastian Nava scored the equalizer in the 59th minute and the Pilots played stout defense for the rest of the match to keep the tie.
• Nava's goal was his third of the season, putting him in a tie for first on the team.
• Pilot keeper George Tasouris also had an impressive nine saves on the night. That's the most for a Pilot keeper since 2015 and is also a season high for Tasouris.
• Portland also defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 4-1 earlier in the week.
• The win was the Pilots' third multi-goal win of the season and their second against a WCC opponent.
• The Pilots had four different goalscorers on the night: Gurman Sangha, Ben Ortiz, Luke Hendel and Jacob Babalai.
• The goals were the second of the season for Hendel, Babalai and Sangha and the first for Ortiz.
• Sangha along with Tasouris also earned WCC weekly honors on Oct. 25, with Sangha taking the offensive award and Tasouris the defensive.
• It was the first such honor this year for Sangha and the second for Tasouris.
• Sangha garnered recognition after scoring the game-winner against No. 15 Loyola Marymount on Oct. 16 in the 94th minute to give Portland a 1-0 win in overtime.
• Tasouris added six saves against LMU and earned his fifth shutout of the year.
• Tasouris became the first Pilot to win the award twice in the same year since Benji Michel back did so back in 2017.
• Tasouris earned WCC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 for his role in Portland's 1-0 victory over UCLA.
• Tasouris is first in the WCC save percentage (.815), second in shutouts (5) and total saves (53) and third in goals-against average (0.84). He is also 11th in the nation in save percentage.
• The grad transfer from Cyprus previously dominated in goal for the Grand Canyon Antelopes, earning All-WAC honors all three years and being named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season.
• He was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for this season.
• The Pilots also earned national recognition  when defender Delentz Pierre was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week for his role in the LMU victory.
• Pierre was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team for the 2020-21 season, but did not play due to injury. He made the All-WCC Freshman Team back in 2019 as well.
• The Pilots swept the WCC Player of the Week awards two weeks ago as well, with Alejandro Pereira earning offensive player of the week and Kevin Bonilla earning defensive player of the week.
• Pereira had a hat trick in Portland's 5-1 win over the San Diego Toreros, the first by a Pilot since 2017. It also marked the first multi-goal game of Pereira's career.
• The forward also had the game-winning assist against LMU this past Saturday.
• Bonilla was recognized after anchoring the Pilots' defense against San Diego, earning an assist on one of Pereira's goals and serving the cross that led to the own goal in favor of the Pilots.
• It is the second time Bonilla has earned weekly honors this year, earning Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week recognition back on Sept. 14.
• Bonilla scored the game-winner for the Pilots against UCLA on Sept. 10 and defended well in the shutout 1-0 win. The win was the first ever for the Pilots over the Bruins both on the road and in the regular season.
• The Pilots had two players named to the All-WCC Preseason squad -- senior and sophomore midfielders Jake Arteaga and Nick Fernandez -- and were picked to finish third in the WCC.
• It is the fifth season in a row that the Pilots have been selected to finish in the top three under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. The only season where they haven't been picked to do so under Carlin-Voigt is 2016, his first year on The Bluff.
• Both Arteaga and Fernandez were strong presences in the midfield last year. Both had an assist against George Fox and Fernandez added a goal as well on the year.
• The Pilots return seven student-athletes who earned All-WCC recognition last season: Arteaga, Fernandez, Hendel, Buba Fofanah, Paul Odendahl, Jacopo Viola and Brandon Cambridge.
• Hendel was the points leader for the Pilots last year with 16, notching a conference-leading seven goals as well as two assists on the year. He was named to the All-WCC Second Team last season. He is currently the points leader for the Pilots.
• Forward Fofanah and midfielder Cambridge both finished second on the team in total points with 10. Both athletes scored four goals, tallied two assist and made the All-WCC Freshman Team. Fofanah also earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Defender Odendahl and goalkeeper Viola both earned All-WCC Honorable Mention recognition after helping the Pilots earn four shutouts in just 10 games.
• Portland boasts the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation per TopDrawerSoccer.
• This marks the fifth straight year that Carlin-Voigt has brought in a top 10 recruiting class or better.
• Carlin-Voigt is in his sixth 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.
• In 2018, Carlin-Voigt helped the Pilots make the NCAA Tournament and advance to the second round with a thrilling 1-0 over UCLA at Merlo Field. The opening-round win was the first for the Pilots since 2009 and the first home playoff win since 2002.
• Carlin-Voigt, who came to The Bluff from UCLA in January 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 is assistant coach Ben Zemanski.
• Zemanski enters the coaching ranks after a lengthy MLS career, which featured a five-year stint and an MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers.
• Former MLS goalkeeper Eric Kronberg also joins the Pilots as the director of goalkeeping after most recently serving as the goalkeeping coach for Portland Timbers 2
• Kronberg spent 12 seasons as a keeper in MLS, playing primarily with Sporting Kansas City.
• 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 15 appearances in the NCAA Postseason all-time, which includes two appearances in the College Cup (1988 & 1995).

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
• The No. 15 Northern Illinois Huskies are 12-1-2 this season and were recently crowned the MAC Champions.
• They earned the title after taking down the then No. 19 Akron Zips 2-1 in their final conference match.
• They've been the most dominant team in the MAC all season long, leading in total points (110), goals (38), goal differential (31), shutout percentage (.600) and save percentage (.829).
• Of the categories above, nationally they rank second in shutout percentage and goal differential, seventh in save percentage, ninth in goals and 12th in points.
• Nick Markanich has been an offensive force for the Huskies, ranking first in the MAC (second in the nation) in points (32) and goals (14). His five game-winning goals also ranks first in the MAC and third in the nation.
• Martin Sanchez has been stout between the pipes, ranking first in the conference in save percentage (.825), goals-against average (0.483) and shutouts (8). He is third, eighth and fifth naitonally in those categories as well respectively.
• Ryan Swan is in his fifth season as head coach of the Huskies.

PILOTS IN THE PROS 
• Portland has a long tradition of sending players to the pros, with several athletes playing in either MLS or the USL.
• Benji Michel, who played with the Pilots from 2016-18, signed a homegrown contract with Orlando City SC back in 2018 and has even earned call-ups to the U.S. Men's National Team's U-23 and senior squad.
• The Pilots have two alums currently playing in USL League One: Rey Ortiz and Esteban Calvo.
• Ortiz currently plays with the Chattanooga Red Wolves and Calvo with the Richmond Kickers.
• Paul Christensen is currently a goalkeeper with the Greenville Triumph and was drafted 70th overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United.
• Collen Warner is a midfielder with the Colorado Rapids and has played professionally since 2007.
• Additionally, alum Luis Robles has carved out an impressive career with the Red Bulls and he was named the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
• On March 11, 2017, Robles set an MLS record for consecutive league starts with 142, and he's run that streak to 183, spanning from September 2012 to May 2018. 
• Robles also became the first player in club history to record 50 clean sheets on April 15, 2017 after a 2-0 victory against D.C. United.