PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots Men's Soccer has announced their schedule for the 2023 fall season, which includes matchups against a mix of perennial NCAA Tournament teams, strong west coast challengers and an always exciting conference schedule.
"We are excited to announce another incredibly exciting and challenging fall schedule against the strongest competition from the best leagues across the country," Portland Head Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "We are playing several national powerhouses and historically high RPI teams, which has been the blueprint for our consistent NCAA tournament success over the years. We know every opponent we scheduled this year will present challenges and opportunities for growth. Coming off the Elite 8 this past fall we know the importance of playing a demanding schedule. Our players have been working hard this offseason and we can't be more excited to have our supporters get behind this team this upcoming fall!"
The Pilots will play three exhibition games before beginning the regular season, hosting the Seattle U Redhawks on Aug. 11, traveling to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies on Aug. 14 and hosting the Southern Oregon Raiders on Aug. 18.
After that, the Pilots will open the regular season Friday, Aug. 25 against the Sacramento State Hornets. The Pilots have played the Hornets seven times in their program history, posting a 4-2-1 record with their most recent victory coming in 2021,
a 1-0 win at home.
Portland will play a Monday match on Aug. 28 against an opponent yet to be determined before hosting the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Friday, Sept. 1. The Gauchos have made 14 NCAA Tournaments, won 11 Big West regular season championships, two Big West Tournament championships and a national championship back in 2006. Last year they finished 10-4-6 and made the Big West Championship against UC Riverside, losing 1-0. The Pilots played Riverside in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, winning 2-1.
The Pilots play Utah Valley at home on Monday, Sept. 4 before finally hitting the road for a match against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers came to Portland last season, with the Pilots winning 2-1. West Virginia went 7-7-4 last season but made the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament in 2021.
Portland hosts the Denver Pioneers, a perennially nationally ranked team that went 14-3-5 last season, won the Summit League championship and advanced to the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament. Denver is a perennial NCAA contender, having made the tournament each of the last five seasons and qualifying 11 times since 2008. The Pilots tied Denver on the road last season.
Portland hosts the CSUN Matadors on Thursday, Sept. 21 before playing the Washington Huskies on the road in Seattle. The Huskies went 15-2-3 overall last season and finished first in the Pac-12, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season. They also made the NCAA College Cup Final in 2021.
Conference play begins for the Pilots on Saturday, Sept. 30 here at Merlo Field against the Pacific Tigers. The Pilots beat the Tigers last season 4-0 on the road for their first win over Pacific since 2017. They will hit the road for their next WCC match on Oct. 6 against the Santa Clara Broncos, who the Pilots also beat 4-0 last season at Merlo Field.
Portland takes a short break from conference play after the Santa Clara match to play a pair of Pac-12 opponents in the California Golden Bears and the Oregon State Beavers. They play Cal in Berkley on Oct. 10 and Oregon State in Portland on Oct. 14. The Pilots last played Cal in 2017, losing 2-1 in double overtime. The Pilots played Oregon State twice last season, dropping their regular season match 3-2 but winning 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Paul Lorenz Field. Portland has posted a 25-6 record against the Beavers.
Conference play resumes with a match at home on Saturday, Oct. 21 against the defending WCC Champions: The San Diego Toreros. The Pilots dropped their match against the Toreros 4-1 last season, but they had either tied or beaten San Diego in five of six matches prior to that. Portland then hosts the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Oct. 25, who Portland beat 3-1 in Spokane last year.
Portland plays their final road matches of the season on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 against the LMU Lions and the Saint Mary's Gaels respectively. The Pilots beat both squads last season, skating by the Gaels 2-1 at Merlo Field and dominating the Lions 4-0 at home. Portland finishes WCC and regular season play against the San Francisco Dons on Saturday, Nov. 11 here at Merlo Field.
The Pilots are coming off one of the best seasons in program history, finishing 15-3-3 for their highest win total and winning percentage (.786) since 1995. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since that season and also tied the 1989 program record for home wins in a season at 11.
Tickets for the 2023 season are live now, with season tickets, flex packs and single-game tickets available at
PortlandPilots.com/SOCCERTIX2023. You can click the URL or check out the link in the right-hand column to get yours today.
Below is the full schedule for the Pilots.
2023 Fall Schedule
Aug. 11 vs. Seattle U, 7 p.m.^
Aug. 14 at Washington, 3 p.m.^
Aug. 18 vs. Southern Oregon, 7 p.m.^
Aug. 25 vs. Sacramento State, 7 p.m.
Aug. 28 vs. TBD, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 vs. UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 vs. Utah Valley, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 at West Virginia, TBA
Sept. 15 vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 vs. CSUN, 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 at Washington, TBA.
Sept. 30 vs. Pacific, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 6 at Santa Clara, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 10 at Cal, 2 p.m.
Oct. 14 vs. Oregon State, 7 p.m.
Oct. 21 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 25 vs. Gonzaga, 7 p.m.*
Oct. 28 at LMU, 7 p.m.*
Nov. 4 at Saint Mary's, 1 p.m.*
Nov. 11 vs. San Francisco, 7 p.m.*
^Indicates Exhibition
*Indicates WCC match
Bold indicates home match
All times are PST
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