#9 PORTLAND PILOTS (6-0-3, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 6: vs. Saint Mary's Gaels

Saint Mary's Gaels (5-3-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
Day: Friday
Date: Sept. 30, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video/Stats: PortlandPilots.com/KRCW

POR vs. SMC
Overall Series: 26-18-4
H: 15-7-0  •  A: 10-11-4 •  N: 1-0-0
Last: POR 0, @SMC 1 (2021)

THIS WEEK 
• The Pilots open conference play against the Saint Mary's Gaels here at Merlo Field.
• The two teams play on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. with the game set to broadcast on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options.

NEXT UP 
• The conference season continues for the Pilots with a road match against the San Francisco Dons.
• The two teams play on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in San Francisco.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live video and stat options.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are unbeaten through nine games, most recently earning wins over the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (2-1) and the Utah Tech Trailblazers (6-0).
• The Pilots are currently riding their best nine-game start since the 2018 season at 6-0-3.
• In conjunction with the women's team, Portland is the only school in NCAA Division I to be undefeated for both their men's and women's programs. It's the first time both teams have been unbeaten at this point for both teams since 1995.
• Portland's 25 goals through nine games is the most in a fall season since 1999.
• Pilot striker CJ Tibbling earned WCC Player of the Week after scoring an impressive four goals against Utah Tech.
• The Pilots have won the honor four weeks in a row, becoming the first team since Pacific in 2018 to do so. They've won six of a possible 10 awards.
• Tibbling's four goals are the most by a Pilot since 1999, when Connor Casey scored five goals against Gonzaga. Tibbling is just the sixth Pilot in school history to do so.
• Tibbling now sits at 11 points on the year with five goals and one assist. He is first in the WCC in goals (21st nationally) and third in points.
• Brandon Cambridge and Gurman Sangha each scored against CSU Bakersfield.
• Cambridge also earned an assist against Utah Tech and sits at a conference-leading 14 points on the year (12th nationally). He is also tied with Tibbling in total goals with five.
• Other goalscorers this past weekend include Sebastian Nava and Muslim Umar.
• Nava's goal was his third of the year. He also had two assists over the weekend, putting him at six on the year, which is second in the WCC and fifth in the nation.
• Umar's goal was the first of his Pilot career.
• The Pilots are ranked in the two major Top 25 Polls -- the United Soccer Coaches poll and the TopDrawerSoccer poll. This is the first time they've been ranked in the regular season since 2019.
• They are ninth in the United Soccer Coaches poll and College Soccer News poll and eighth in the TopDrawerSoccer poll. It's their highest ranking in any poll since 2018.
• Portland leads the WCC in total points (80), goals (25), assists (30), scoring offense (2.78), goal differential (17), points per game (8.89) and assists per game (3.11). Nationally they are third in goals, fourth in points, assists and assists per game, fifth in goal differential, seventh in points per game and ninth in scoring offense.
• Individually, the Pilots boast the top three conference leaders in points in Cambridge (14), Nava (12) and Tibbling (11) and four of the top six if one includes Sangha (9).
• Pilot goalkeeper George Tasouris -- who won WCC Defensive Player of the Week last week -- is also second in the WCC in save percentage (.784) and Jacob Babalai ranks sixth in total goals (3).
• The Pilots have allowed one goal or less in their last seven matches, the longest such streak since 2018.
• The Pilots were picked as the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference regular season title, finishing first in the annual WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• It's the first time since 2003 that the Pilots have been picked to win the WCC.
• Two Pilots were named to the WCC Preseason Team: Jake Arteaga and George Tasouris.
• Arteaga was Portland's lone All-WCC First Team selection last season, starting 17 games in the midfield and serving as the connective tissue for the Pilots. He was also an All-West Region Third Team selection.
• Tasouris was also an All-West Region Third Team selection along with an All-WCC Second Team pick.
• The goalkeeper from Cyprus was a dominant force between the sticks, leading the WCC in saves (70), second in save percentage (.778) and shutouts (6) and also third in saves per game (3.68).
• Tasouris was twice named WCC Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Pilot since Benji Michel to win the award multiple times in a season. Tasouris was also on the Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List and a Senior CLASS Award nominee
• The Pilots played three exhibition matches and won all three contests, beating the Southern Oregon Raiders 3-1, the No. 5 Oregon State Beavers 4-0 and the No. 3 Washington Huskies 2-0.
• As a team last year, the Pilots went 11-7-1 and finished tied for third in the WCC.
• They made the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six seasons (five fall seasons) under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. They advanced to the second round after defeating the Seattle U Redhawks 3-2 at home for the third time since 2002.
• Portland beat four teams in the top 40 of RPI last season: UCLA, Seattle U, Northern Illinois and Loyola Marymount. That was the third most by any team in a major western conference (Pac-12, WCC, Big West, Mountain West, WAC).
• The Pilots had seven players earn All-WCC honors last season: Arteaga, Tasouris, Delentz Pierre, Brian O'Hara, Sebastian Nava, Atem Kato and Luke Hendel. Of those players, Arteaga, Tasouris, Pierre and Nava are all returning.
• Pierre earned second team honors despite playing just 14 games (12 starts), anchoring a strong back line in all those contests. He was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week on Oct. 26.
• As a freshman, Nava was the second-leading scorer on the Pilots with four goals. He made the All-WCC Freshmen Team as well as earning honorable mention.
• The Pilots return six players who started in at least 10 games last season.
• One key contributor will be Kevin Bonilla, who made several honorary teams including the All-West Region Third Team, the TopDrawerSoccer Freshmen Best XI First Team and the College Soccer News All-Freshmen Third Team.
• Bonilla also made the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week on Sept. 14 after playing a solid 90 minutes and scoring the game-winner.
• 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 was the team leader in assists as an outside back with five.
• The Pilots also return key attacking contributors in Brandon Cambridge and Jacob Babalai.
• Cambridge was a key creator on the wing, notching four assists with one goal scored. He was an All-WCC Freshmen Team selection in the 2020-21 season.
• Babalai was tied for third on the team in goals 
• Portland also returns Nick Fernandez, a key contributor from the 2020-21 season. That year, he made both the All-WCC Freshman Team and the All-WCC Second Team.
• The Pilots also several talented transfers in Jose Olmos, CJ Tibbling and Marios Andreou.
• Olmos played the past three seasons at Old Dominion as a defender. He was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2019.
• Tibbling was a physical forward for the Seton Hall Pirates, earning All-BIG EAST honors three of his four seasons with the team. He was also a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American and an All-East Region First Team selection in 2020-21 season.
• Andreou played four seasons at Grand Canyon, earning All-WAC honors twice for the 'Lopes.
• Portland boasts the No. 19 recruiting class in the nation per TopDrawerSoccer.
• This marks the sixth straight year Carlin-Voigt has brought in a top-20 recruiting class.
• Carlin-Voigt is in his seventh 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 Cole.
• Cole joins the staff after a stint as assistant coach with the Cornell Big Red. Cole was previously a stout defender for the Vermont Catamounts and also overseas in Germany.
• 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 17 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 5-3-1 to start the season, entering conference play at fourth in the WCC
• Last year, they were 11-6-1 with a 4-2-1 conference record, tying with the Pilots for third place in the WCC.
• They also beat the Pilots 1-0 last season in their only matchup.
• The Gaels are the only team to repeat as WCC Regular Season Champions in the past six seasons, doing so in 2018 and 2019. They were the first team to do so back to back since Santa Clara in 2006-07. 
• Adam Cooper is in his 17th 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 at the next level.
• 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.
• 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.
• Jacobo Reyes also currently plays for Liga MX side Raya2 Expansion. He is currently on loan from Monterrey, another Liga MX squad.