PORTLAND PILOTS (8-7-0, 4-3-0 WCC)
WEEK 12: vs. No. 12 BYU Cougars

No. 12 BYU Cougars (11-4-1, 6-1-0 WCC)
Day: Wednesday
Date: Nov. 3, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
TV: KRCW
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. BYU
Overall Series: 4-11-0
H: 1-5-0   •  A: 0-6-0  •  N: 3-0-0
Last: @POR 0, BYU 4 (April 17, 2021)

THIS WEEK 
• The Portland Pilots women's soccer team will host the No. 12 BYU Cougars on Wednesday, Nov. 3 in their final home game of the season.
• The match is a part of a doubleheader with the men's team, who will playing the No. 16 Northern Illinois Huskies first at 4:30 p.m.
• The women's match will start at 7:30 p.m.
• Both matches will be streamed live with live stats, with options available at PortlandPilots.com. The women's match will also be tape-delayed and broadcast on KRCW on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS
• Wednesday's match will serve as the women's team's senior day, with the Pilots honoring their nine seniors.
• Before the game, there will be a pregame ceremony celebrating the team's seniors.
• For tickets, be sure to check PortlandPilots.com/Tickets. Buying tickets to one match gets you access to both matches.
• 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 WEEK
• The Pilots will play their regular-season finale on the road against the Pacific Tigers.
• Kickoff for the match is set for Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• Portland is above .500 at 8-7-0 overall and 4-3-0 in WCC play, most recently defeating the Loyola Marymount Lions 1-0.
• The win was Portland's third in a row and the seventh shutout of the year for the Pilots.
• Nedya Sawan scored her 10th goal of the year, making her just the third Pilot since 2012 to eclipse 10 goals scored in a season.
• Sawan is the scoring leader for the Pilots with 22 total points (10 goals, two assists). Amongst her WCC peers, she is first in game-winning goals (5), third in total goals and fourth in total points. Her five fame-winning goals ranks 11th in the nation.
• Last week, the Pilots swept the WCC Player of the Week honors, with Sawan taking home offensive player of the week honors and freshman goalkeeper Bre Norris winning defensive player of the week.
• It is the first time the Pilots have had two players earn both honors this year and the first time two have one in the same week since the WCC switched to the dual format.
• Sawan won after scoring two goals against San Diego in a 4-1 win on Oct. 20 and notching an assist in a 2-0 win over Santa Clara.
• The brace against the Toreros marked the first multi-goal season from any Pilot this year and the second of Sawan's career. Sawan's first came against San Diego last season.
• Norris was dominant between the pipes for the Pilots, especially against the Broncos.
• She totalled eight saves against Santa Clara and didn't allow a goal despite 19 shots being sent her way.
• Norris's 1,350 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.
• Norris is third this season in shutouts with seven. Her 56 saves are the most by a Pilot keeper since Rachel Lusby had 81 in 2018 and the most by a Pilot freshman since Cori Alexander had 64 her freshman year 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, 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.
• Mattice played and started in nine matches for Portland. She recorded a goal and an assist on the 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 COUGARS
• The No. 12 BYU Cougars are 11-4-1 on the season and are tied for first place in the WCC with a 6-1-0 conference record. They took their first WCC loss of the season last Saturday against the Santa Clara Broncos, losing 1-0.
• Prior to the loss they had won every conference match by multiple goals, with an average goal differential of +4.5.
• No WCC offense has been more potent than the Cougars, who rank first in points (170), goals (58) and assists (54). They are also first in the nation in goals scored, second in points and third in assists.
• They have the top two goalscorers in the conference in Mikayla Colohan and Cameron Tucker, who have 13 and 12 goals respectively.
• Colohan and Tucker are also both first and second in total points (38 and 29 respectively). Colohan also leads the conference in assists with 12, which is five more than the next closest player.
• The next closest player in assists is BYU teammate Olivia Smith, who has seven.
• Jennifer Rockwood is in her 26th season as head coach of the Cougars.

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.