PORTLAND PILOTS (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 2: vs. #20 California

#20 California Golden Bears (1-0-1, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
Day: Friday
Date: Aug. 27, 2021
Time: 4:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. CAL
Overall Series: 7-5-2
H: 4-1-1  •  A: 3-4-1  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 2, @CAL 0 (Sept. 22, 2019)

THIS WEEK 
• The Pilots will play their home opener this coming weekend against the 20th ranked California Golden Bears.
• Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27 at Merlo Field.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

PROMOTIONS/TICKETS 
• This weekend is one filled with Pilots soccer, with this Friday marking the home openers for both Pilot soccer teams.
• Friday:
    -It's Merlo Madness in Portland on Friday night for our doubleheader for both         the men's and women's soccer teams!
    -The women's team will start things off at 4 p.m. with their match against the         California Golden Bears followed by the men's team playing their match against         the Air Force Falcons at 7 p.m.
    -Fans are encouraged to wear purple to the games and there will be a t-shirt toss          both before and at halftime of both games!
• For ticket information for this weekend and every Pilot home game, please visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call or text 503-943-GoUP.

NEXT WEEK
• The Pilots will be back on the road next week, heading up to Seattle, Wash. for a pair of matches.
• They'll start things off with a match against the No. 19 Washington Huskies on Thursday, Sept. 2 and another against the Seattle Redhawks on Sunday, Sept. 5
• The match against Washington will kick off at 6 p.m. while the one against Seattle is set for 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stats options.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• Portland finished the first week of the 2021 fall season with a 1-1 record.
• They lost their season opener to the Utah Utes 3-1 on Aug. 19 but bounced back with a 1-0 victory over the Montana Grizzlies on Aug. 22.
• Sophomore forward Nedya Sawan was the lone scorer in both of those matches.
• Sawan has already matched her goal total from last season. She's tied for tops in the WCC in goals and shots on goal (7) and second in total points (4).
• Freshman goalkeeper Bre Norris tallied five saves as the Pilots shutout Montana.
• Norris was the only freshman keeper to play 180 minutes for a WCC team this past weekend.
• 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.
• 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,  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 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 GOLDEN BEARS
• California went 5-7-1 last season with a 3-7-0 record in Pac-12 play.
• Cal is 1-0-1 to start the year, earning a victory over the UC San Diego Tritons on Aug. 19 and a 1-1 tie against the Santa Clara Broncos on Aug. 22.
• Santa Clara were ranked No. 2 in the country to start the season and were the national champions last year.
• Cal has brought in the top recruiting class in the country according to TopDrawerSoccer.
• Neil McGuire is in his 15th season as head coach of Cal.
• Cal's goalkeeper coach Cori Alexander was a four-year starter for the Pilots and helped lead the team to a national championship in 2005.

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 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 played in one match against Great Britain in the group stage.
• 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.