PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots men's soccer head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt announced that George Tasouris has joined the roster for the 2021 season. He comes in as a grad transfer with a year of eligibility remaining.
"We are excited to add George to our program as a proven leader and winner," Carlin-Voigt said. "He's coming off a big season at Grand Canyon where he was voted the best defensive player in their league as he led his team to the NCAA Tournament. He's an experienced and confident goalkeeper who knows what it takes to lead teams and win games in college soccer. He's going to compete with the rest of our returning keepers to form a great goalkeeping union as they push and support each other every day in order to reach their full potential as a group."
Hailing from Cyprus, Tasouris transferred to Portland after spending the past three seasons as the keeper for Grand Canyon University. One of the most highly sought-after grad transfers, Tasouris had a dominant career with the Lopes, earning multiple All-WAC honors during his time between the sticks. This past season, Tasouris was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-WAC First Team honors after leading GCU to its first ever WAC regular season title. He allowed only six goals during the regular season and posted a goals against average of just 0.86.
Tasouris was one of the best goalkeepers in the WAC right from the start of his career. During his freshman year, Tasouris ranked second in the nation and tops in the WAC in save percentage (.860) behind only Remi Prieur of Saint Mary's (.873). He was named to the All-WAC Second Team as well as the freshman team and was also named the WAC Tournament MVP after recording 22 saves and leading GCU to three consecutive 1-0 victories. His 22 saves were a tournament record. During his sophomore year, Tasouris earned All-WAC Honorable Mention recognition after being tabbed as the WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Before starting his college career, Tasouris played with the club team in his home country of Cyprus, APOEL Nicosia, which is a part of the UEFA Youth Champions League. APOEL Nicosia competes often with youth teams such as Ajax, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. Tasouris also has experience playing with Cyprus's national team at the U-19 and U-21 level.
The Pilots return a wealth of players from last year while adding several talented newcomers, with Top Drawer Soccer having Portland as the team with the second-best recruiting class in the nation. They will play two exhibition matches – a road game against Oregon State on Aug. 17 and a home match against Corban University on Aug. 20 – before kicking their season off with a Friday night matchup against Air Force. The Pilots and the Falcons will face off on Aug. 27 at Merlo Field in Portland, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
