PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots men's soccer team has announced its full schedule for the 2021 season, which features matchups against seven teams that have qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and 10 home matches at Merlo Field.

"We are excited to announce our 2021 home schedule, which will be our most challenging and difficult schedule yet," Pilots head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "The players come to our program to play against the best and we have set that up for them this fall. From a fan's perspective you couldn't ask for much more in terms of a great home schedule against nationally ranked programs. We have missed our students and supporters and are players are working hard this offseason.   We can't wait to turn the lights back on at Merlo and have the magic come alive again on The Bluff!"

Portland will officially start the regular season on Friday, Aug. 27 against Air Force. The Falcons made the NCAA Tournament this past season after winning the WAC Men's Soccer Tournament. They have 14 postseason appearances in program history and have four appearances since 2012. The Pilots have played the Falcons three times, winning each match.

The match against Air Force marks the start of a four-game homestand for the Pilots. Following the Air Force match, Portland will play Denver University – a dominant force in the Summit conference and an NCAA tournament team seven of the past 10 seasons – on Monday, Aug. 30. Denver also made the College Cup back in 2016.  Then Portland will conclude their homestand with a Sept. 6 matchup against UC San Diego.

The Pilots will hit the road for one match against the UCLA Bruins on Friday, Sept. 10.  Carlin-Voigt came to Portland in 2016 after serving as the associate head coach at UCLA -- who made the College Cup in 2014. Carlin-Voigt helped lead the Pilots to a 1-0 victory over the Bruins back in 2018 to take Portland to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. That 2018 matchup was also Portland's first home playoff game since 2002.

After that sojourn to California, the Pilots will be back home for two home matches. They'll play Sacramento State on Monday, Sept. 13 and Seattle University on Friday Sept. 17. Seattle has made the tournament four times since 2013, most recently doing so in 2019 after winning both the WAC regular season title and the conference tournament. Portland will then have their final non-conference road match of the season on Monday, Sept. 20 against Cal State Northridge.

The Pilots will close out play in September with a home match against the Washington Huskies on Friday, Sept. 24. The Huskies are a perennial powerhouse in college soccer, having made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances and five straight since 2016. They have won the Pac-12 regular season title four times since 2000 and have come out on top the past two seasons.

West Coast Conference play officially begins for the Pilots on Oct. 2. They'll get things started with a road match against Saint Mary's, one of the top teams in the WCC. They finished second in the conference last season and were first in the WCC the season before, earning a NCAA Tournament berth.

The Pilots will come home back to Merlo Field for one match against San Diego on Oct. 9 before heading to Los Angeles, Calif. on Oct. 23 for their match against Loyola Marymount. The Lions finished first in the WCC last season, earning an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. They lost to the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first round of the playoffs in penalty kicks.

After that, the Pilots will have two matches at Merlo Field the following week. They'll be home for their matchup against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Oct. 27 and again for their match against the Pacific Tigers. One final non-league game against Northern Illinois is set for Tuesday, Nov. 2 as well.

Portland will finish their season off with a road match against the Santa Clara Broncos on Nov. 6 and their home finale against the San Francisco Dons on Nov. 13.

West Coast Conference play will begin on Saturday, Oct. 2 and the league office will release men's soccer matchups, dates and times on Thursday, July 15.

Portland was 3-4-3 this past season and posted and had eight players earn All-WCC recognition for their performance. They're bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation this season, with TopDrawerSoccer having the 2021 class ranked second in the nation.

Portland soccer season tickets are available now and start at just $75 for all men's and women's soccer home matches. Youth team experiences are also available for all home games. For more ticket information, visit PortlandPilots.com or call Dave Taylor at (503) 943-8619 to sign up for season tickets or reserve a group experience today.

2021 Portland Men's Soccer Schedule
Aug. 20 vs. Corban (Exhibition), 7 PM
Aug. 27 vs. Air Force, 7 PM
Aug. 30 vs. Denver, 7 PM
Sept. 3 vs. Oregon State, 7PM
Sept. 6 vs. UC San Diego, 7 PM
Sept. 10 at UCLA, 7 PM
Sept. 13 vs. Sacramento State, 7 PM
Sept. 17 vs. Seattle U, 7 PM
Sept. 20 at CSUN, 7 PM
Sept. 24 vs. Washington, 7 PM
Oct. 2 at Saint Mary's, 1 PM*
Oct. 9 vs. San Diego, 4 PM*
Oct. 23 at Loyola Marymount, 7 PM*
Oct. 27 vs. Gonzaga, 7 PM*
Oct. 30 vs. Pacific, 7 PM*
Nov. 2 vs. Northern Illinois, 5 PM
Nov. 6 at Santa Clara, 7 PM*
Nov. 13 vs. San Francisco, 7 PM*


Home games are in bold.
*indicates WCC game