PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 1: at Utah and Montana

Utah Utes (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Thursday
Date: Aug. 19, 2021
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Salt Lake City, Utah
Pitch: Ute Field
Video/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. UTA
Overall Series: 3-1-0
H: 1-0-0  •  A: 1-1-0  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 3, UTA 0 (2006)

Montana Grizzlies (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Sky)
Day: Sunday
Date: Aug. 22, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Missoula, Mont.
Pitch: South Campus Stadium
Video/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. MON
Overall Series: 2-0-0
H: 1-0-0  •  A: 0-0-0 •  N: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 7, MON 2 (2009)

THIS WEEK 
• The Pilots open the 2021 season with a road trip to Salt Lake City, Utah where they'll play the Utah Utes Thursday night at Ute Field.
• They will follow that up with a match in Missoula, Mont. against the Montana Grizzlies at South Campus Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 22.
• Kickoff is set for 6 PM against Utah and 12 PM against Montana.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• The Portland 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 enter the season picked to finish fifth in the conference for the second year in a row.
• Senior striker Taryn Ries was named to the All-WCC Preseason squad for the third season in a row.
• Ries finished last season with a team-leading five goals, which was also good for sixth in the conference. She notched a hat trick in the season opener against Oregon State (Feb. 10) and a brace against the Pacific Tigers (March 6).
• Ries was also one of four Pilots to earn some sort of All-WCC recognition last season, being selected to the All-WCC First Team. The other three were Camille Ashe, Sophia Mattice and Elliott Winklemann.
• While Winklemann has graduated, Ashe and Mattice both return after putting together stellar seasons as freshmen.
• 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 played a key role in helping the Pilots record five straight shutouts for the first time since 2010, back when the Pilots were ranked second in the nation.
• Mattice was also solid in the midfield for the Pilots, playing and starting 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.
• Forward Nedya 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.
• Midfielder Hannah McCord also returns to the Pilots after playing in all 10 matches last season with three starts. She recorded one shot on the season against Saint Mary's on April 10.
• Aubrey Turner played in nine games for the Pilots last season with three starts. She recorded five shots on the season.
• 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 UTES
• The Utah Utes come into this season after finishing just 4-9-3 last year. 
• Utah played one WCC opponent in the BYU Cougars, who they lost to 5-1. The Cougars were ranked 10th in the nation at the time.
• Senior forward Anna Escobedo, who has returned for the 2021 season, was the leading scorer for the Utes last season with three goals.
• Hideki Nakada was named the head coach of the Utes on May 27, 2021 after spending the past seven seasons with the Stanford Cardinal, a dominant force in college soccer.
• Nakada spent the last three seasons with the Cardinal as their associate head coach.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES
• The Montana Grizzlies went an impressive 9-2 this past season and qualified for the NCAA Tournament
• In the tournament, the Grizzlies lost 1-0 to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first round.
• The Grizzlies led the Big Sky in goals scored (21), goals against average (.620) and shutout percentage (.545)
• Montana was also second in tootal points (53) and save percentage (0.833) and third in total assists (11).
• Chris Citowicki is in her fourth season as head coach of the Grizzlies
• Citowicki has put together three impressive seasons with Montana, posting a record of 23-17-12 overall and 20-4-7 against Big Sky opponents.

THE STAFF 
• UP alum Michelle French is in her fourth year as head coach of the Pilots.
• French has posted a 24-24-12 record in her four years as the head coach of Portland.
• French came to The Bluff after spending the previous 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 five 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 did not play in any matches, but was an alternate for Canada.
• 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.