PORTLAND PILOTS (5-4-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
Week 6: vs. Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's Gaels (6-3-0, 0-0-0 WCC)
Day: Saturday
Date: Oct. 2, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Moraga, Calif.
Pitch: Saint Mary's Stadium
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 26-17-4
H: 15-7-0  •  A: 10-10-4  •  N: 1-0-0
Last: @POR 1, SMC 3 (Apr. 17, 2021)

THIS WEEK 
• This weekend marks the beginning of WCC play for men's soccer, with the Pilots set to take on the Saint Mary's Gaels in Moraga, Calif.
• The match is set for Saturday, Oct. 2 with kickoff at 1 p.m.
• Links for the live stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

NEXT WEEK 
• The men's and women's soccer teams will play a doubleheader next Saturday, Oct. 9, with the men's team facing off against the San Diego Toreros and the women's team taking on the San Francisco Dons.
• The men's match will kick off at 4 p.m. and women's match will start at 7 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options and get tickets at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 5-4 on the season after taking two losses last week, the first coming against the CSUN Matadors and the second against the No. 3 Washington Huskies.
• The Matadors scored a golden goal in the 96th minute to beat the Pilots 1-0 while the Huskies found two second-half goals to win 2-0.
•The Pilots played both games a man down, with Christoforos Kourtis earning a red card in the 35th minute against CSUN and Luke Hendel earning his second yellow in the 69th minute against Washington.
• The Pilots are one of 14 teams with two red cards and the only WCC team with two.
• The week before, the Pilots had two players -- goalkeeper George Tasouris and defender Kevin Bonilla -- earn some serious recognition for their play.
• Tasouris earned WCC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 for his role in Portland's 1-0 victory over UCLA.
• Tasouris recorded two saves on the night, including a critical collection in the 89th minute that prevented the Bruins from finding the equalizer.
• Tasouris is second in the WCC in total saves (32), tied for second in shutouts (4) and fourth in save percentage (.800) and goals against average (0.88).
• He also became the first Pilot since Luis Robles in 2006 to record an assist as a goalkeeper after assisting on freshman midfielder Wesley Frankel's game-winner against the Seattle U Redhawks in the second annua. Caffé D'Arte Coffee Cup.
• Tasouris was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for this season, an award given annually to the top player in college soccer.
• The grad transfer from Cyprus previously dominated in goal for the Grand Canyon Antelopes, earning All-WAC honors all three years and being named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season.
• Bonilla, meanwhile, was named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week on Sept. 11 for his performance against UCLA.
• Bonilla scored the game-winnner for the Pilots in the 33rd minute, the first goal of his career.
• The goal gave Portland their first ever regular-season win and first ever road win against UCLA.
• Bonilla is one of the points leaders for the Pilots this season at three points, playing and starting in every match but one after playing only one match for the Pilots last year.
• The Pilots had two players named to the All-WCC Preseason squad -- senior and sophomore midfielders Jake Arteaga and Nick Fernandez -- and were picked to finish third in the WCC.
• It is the fifth season in a row that the Pilots have been selected to finish in the top three under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. The only season where they haven't been picked to do so under Carlin-Voigt is 2016, his first year on The Bluff.
• Arteaga was a strong presence in the midfield for the Pilots last season, earning All-WCC Honorable Mention recognition. He finished with one assist on the year, which he earned in the season opener against George Fox on Feb. 9.
• Fernandez did the same for the Pilots in the midfield, earning All-WCC Second Team honors and All-WCC Freshman Team honors last season. He also earned an assist against George Fox while adding a goal himself.
• The Pilots return seven athletes who earned All-WCC recognition last season: Arteaga, Fernandez, Hendel, Fofanah, Paul Odendahl, Jacopo Viola and Brandon Cambridge
• Midfielder Hendel was the points leader for the Pilots last year with 16, notching a conference-leading seven goals as well as two assists on the year. He was named to the All-WCC Second Team last season.
• Forward Fofanah and midfielder Brandon Cambridge both finished second on the team in total points with 10. Both athletes scored four goals, tallied two assist and made the All-WCC Freshman Team. Fofanah also earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Defender Paul Odendahl and goalkeeper Jacopo Viola both earned All-WCC Honorable Mention recognition after helping the Pilots earn four shutouts in just 10 games.
• Viola was also named the WCC Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Pilots earn a shutout against the then No. 11 Loyola Marymount Lions, who went on to win the WCC. He also earned six saves in the process.
• Portland boasts the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation per TopDrawerSoccer.
• This marks the fifth straight year that Carlin-Voigt has brought in a top 10 recruiting class or better.
• Carlin-Voigt is in his sixth year at the helm of the Pilots.
• In his first year on The Bluff he led Portland to an improbable turn-around en route to the 2016 WCC title and an NCAA Playoff berth.
• It was the program's first WCC Championship since 2002, and it was their first trip to the NCAA postseason since 2009.
• In 2016 Carlin-Voigt became the program's first WCC Coach of the Year since Clive Charles in 2002.
• In 2018, Carlin-Voigt helped the Pilots make the NCAA Tournament and advance to the second round with a thrilling 1-0 over UCLA at Merlo Field. The opening-round win was the first for the Pilots since 2009 and the first home playoff win since 2002.
• Carlin-Voigt, who came to The Bluff from UCLA during the winter of 2016, was named one of the Top 10 American Coaches under 40 by Top Drawer Soccer in 2017.
• Joining Carlin-Voigt on the staff is assistant coach Ben Zemanski.
• Zemanski enters the coaching ranks after a lengthy MLS career, which featured a five-year stint and an MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers.
• Former MLS goalkeeper Eric Kronberg also joins the Pilots as the director of goalkeeping after most recently serving as the goalkeeping coach for Portland Timbers 2
• Kronberg spent 12 seasons as a keeper in MLS, playing primarily with Sporting Kansas City.
• The Pilots claim renowned men's soccer alums Kasey Keller, Steve Cherundolo, Conor Casey, Nate Jaqua, Heath Pearce, and 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Luis Robles.
• In 1988, legendary coach Clive Charles led Keller and the Pilots to the school's first ever NCAA College Cup; the Pilots returned to the College Cup in 1995.
• The Pilots have made 15 appearances in the NCAA Postseason all-time, which includes two appearances in the College Cup (1988 & 1995).

ABOUT THE GAELS
• The Saint Mary's Gaels are 7-3 on the season after being picked to finish second in the WCC.
• They have played two similar opponents to the Pilots in CSUN and the Sacramento State Hornets, winning both matches.
• The Gaels finished second in the WCC last season after winning the conference the prior two seasons.
• From the 2018 season to the 2020-21 season, no team in the NCAA had put together a better cummulative record (40-4-3) than Saint Mary's.
• They have been picked to finish in the top three in the conference each of the past three seasons.
• The Gaels have several players among the leaders statistically in the WCC.
• David Brog is tied for first in the WCC in total asssists with three while Phillipe Van der Lof and Sebastian Schacht are first and second in game-winners with three and two respecively.
• Schahct was selected to the All-WCC Preseason team this year for the second season in a row.
• As a team, Saint Mary's leads the conference in total goals at 15.
• Adam Cooper is in his 16th season as head coach of the Gaels.

PILOTS IN THE PROS 
• Portland has a long tradition of sending players to the pros, with several athletes playing in either MLS or the USL.
• Benji Michel, who played with the Pilots from 2016-18, signed a homegrown contract with Orlando City SC back in 2018 and has even earned call-ups to the U.S. Men's National Team's U-23 and senior squad.
• The Pilots have two alums currently playing in USL League One: Rey Ortiz and Esteban Calvo.
• Ortiz currently plays with the Chattanooga Red Wolves and Calvo with the Richmond Kickers.
• Paul Christensen is currently a goalkeeper with the Greenville Triumph and was drafted 70th overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United.
• Collen Warner is a midfielder with the Colorado Rapids and has played professionally since 2007.
• Additionally, alum Luis Robles has carved out an impressive career with the Red Bulls and he was named the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
• On March 11, 2017, Robles set an MLS record for consecutive league starts with 142, and he's run that streak to 183, spanning from September 2012 to May 2018. 
• Robles also became the first player in club history to record 50 clean sheets on April 15, 2017 after a 2-0 victory against D.C. United.