(RV) PORTLAND PILOTS (9-2-4, 3-2-0 WCC)
WEEK 11: vs. Saint Mary's Gaels

Saint Mary's Gaels (5-3-6, 1-1-3 WCC)
Day: Wednesday
Date: Oct. 26, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video/Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 27-9-2
H: 12-4-0  •  A: 13-5-2  •  N: 2-0-0
Last: POR 1, @SMC 2 (2021)

THIS WEEK
• After the initial match was postponed, the Portland Pilots host the Saint Mary's Gaels at Merlo Field this week.
• They'll play on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots took a loss at the feet of the Santa Clara Broncos last Saturday, falling 4-0.
• The loss drops the Pilots' record to 9-2-4, which is still their best record through 15 matches since 2010.
• Their six shutouts in a row from 8/21 to 9/8 were the most since 2010 and their nine shutouts this year are the most since 2013.
• The Pilots have allowed only one goal or less in 12 of their first 15 games. 
• Bre Norris won WCC Player of the Week for the third time this season on Oct. 10, the most of any Pilot in over a decade.
• Norris was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week on Aug. 30. Norris leads the WCC in save percentage (.833), goals-against average (.809) and shutouts (9). She is 11th nationally in shutouts.
• As a team, the Pilots are first in the WCC in save percentage (.833), goals-against average (.867) and shutout percentage (.600). Nationally, they're 18th in shutout percentage.
• This is the lowest GAA they've posted as a team since 2010 and the best team save percentage they've had since 2009.
• 12 different Pilots have scored this year, with seven of them scoring the first goals of their Pilot careers.
• The Pilots are a young squad that returns 16 players from last season while adding 10 newcomers
• The Pilots enter the season picked to finish fifth in the conference. It's the fourth time in five years under head coach Michelle French they've been picked to finish in the top five.
• Forward Nedya Sawan was named to the WCC Preseason Team.
• Sawan was one of the best forwards in the conference last season, scoring 12 goals with two assists (26 points). She ranked sixth in the WCC in total points,
third in goals and first in game-winning goals (6).
• Four Pilots earned All-WCC honors last season, with Sawan making the first team, defender Ellie Walker making the second team, forward Taryn Ries earning honorable mention and goalkeeper Bre Norris making the freshman team.
• Ries and Walker are two of eight seniors to graduate, but both Sawan and Norris return for the Pilots.
• Sawan, on top of her All-WCC honors, was the first Pilot not named Taryn Ries to be named to a United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team since 2016, making the third team.
• Norris put together a solid season between the sticks, notching 64 saves with a .771 save percentage and eight shutouts in 1,530 minutes. All of those totals were the most by a freshman Pilot 'keeper since Cori Alexander in 2003. Norris's eight shutouts ranked second in the WCC.
• Six of the Pilots returning for this season started at least 10 games for Portland last year. All returning players who actually participated in a game last season except for one played in at least 10 games last year.
• Camille Ashe is a captain for the 2022 Pilots after playing in 14 games with 12 starts as a defender. Ashe was an All-WCC Freshman Team selection in the 2020-21 spring season and also earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Emily Collier is the third captain for the Pilots as the lone fifth-year senior on the team. Collier played in 14 matches with nine starts, earning an assist against Gonzaga on Oct. 6.
• Shay Adams, Sophia Mattice and Cally Togiai are the three starting returners with the most starts under their belt from last season, starting in 16, 15 and 12 games respectively.
• Adams was a part of the stout Pilots backline, starting in every match she played
• Mattice was the assist leader for the Pilots with three, earning them against San Francisco (10/9), Loyola Marymount (10/30) and Pacific (11/6).
• Togiai scored a goal and earned an assist against Colorado College (9/11).

ABOUT THE GAELS
• The Saint Mary's Gaels are 5-3-6 on the season and 1-1-3 in conference play.
• Last season, they finished a solid 10-4-4 with a 4-3-2 conference record to finish fifth in the WCC.
• Their win total was their best since 2011 and their win percentage was their best since 2001.
• This preseason, they were picked to finish behind the Pilots at sixth.
• Theresa Romagnolo is in her second season as head coach of the Gaels. 

THE STAFF
• UP alum Michelle French is in her fifth year as head coach of the Pilots.
• French has posted a 42-32-16 record in her five 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 fifth year on The Bluff, while assistant coach and UP alum Logan Emory is in his fourth year on the women's side after spending the previous three seasons with the men's program.
• Former Pilot defender Bri Miyama also joins the Pilots as the director of operations. She spent two years as a graduate assistant with sports information.

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).

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, who won a national championship with the Pilots back in 2005 and is a mainstay of the USWNT.
• 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, two NWSL Shields in 2016 and 2021 and the Women's International Champions Cup.
• Sophie French also signed with the Thorns this past summer as a national team replacement player.
• Sophie Schmidt has spent the past five seasons as a midfielder with the Houston Dash, who won the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.
• Taryn Ries signed a professional contract with the Swedish side IK Uppsalla this past January.
• Natalie Muth currently plays for SD Eibar, a team in Spain. Prior to that, she spent a year in Kazakhstan playing for BIIK Kazygurt
• Ellie Walker signed her first pro contract this past summer with Portugese side S.C.U Toronese.
• Former Pilot Larkin Russell has made a serious impact with AC Omonia in Cyprus, being named ot the Best 11 by the Pancyprian Footballers Association.