PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Pilots kept the California Golden Bears off the scoreboard and grabbed a 2-0 shutout win Friday at home at Merlo Field. The win improved Portland's record to 3-4-6 overall and extended their unbeaten streak to five.
Joe Highfield and Muslim Umar scored the goals for Portland, the third of the year for Highfield and the first for Umar. Kash Oladapo also racked up six saves to shut out the Golden Bears tonight.
How it Happened
Portland opened the scoring late when Joe Highfield scored his third goal of the season in the 74th minute, assisted by Diego Rosas and Sebastian Nava. Nava played it to Rosas on the right side of the box, who crossed it to Highfield for the header.
The Pilots grabbed a 2-0 advantage on a goal from Muslim Umar -- his first goal of the season -- in the 83rd minute, assisted by Nava. Nava once again initiated the action with a ball ahead to Umar, who finished it off to score. The 2-0 score held to the end of the game.
Game Notes
- Kash Oladapo piled up six saves for the Pilots out of 14 total Golden Bears shots.
- Joe Highfield's goal was the third of the year for the Pilot. He's the second Pilot to score three goals this year.
- Muslim Umar's goal was his first of the season.
- This is the third shutout of the year for Portland.
- Sebastian Nava is the first Pilot to record multiple assists twice this season.
- The Pilots are unbeaten in their last five matches.
- The win tonight comes against a Cal squad that just beat the previous No. 1 team in the nation in the Pittsburgh Panthers.
- The Pilots have won three straight matches against Cal.
- Portland is 2-1 this season combined against ACC and Big 10 schools.
Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt on the win
"So proud of our guys for staying together and committed to the process. The guys continue to deal with an insane amount of adversity. Tonight was a total team win and we made the plays that matter in the second half. Goals change games and affect the momentum. It was a top action by Nava and Diego with a great finish by Joe for the game winner. Really pleased for Muslim to get such an important goal to secure the big ACC victory by another phenomenal assist by Nava. Cal is a strong, big team and well coached, coming off a big win at No. 1 Pitt, so it was a massive win for our program to keep a clean sheet. We blocked shot after shot and showed we can also be tough and gritty in our own box. We had to have the courage to improve our process and control what what could control, and the guys aligned all week to continue to unlock this team's full potential. College athletics is about a collective spirit and belief in your process and learning to respond when things are challenging and hard. I challenged the guys to raise their collective level and energy and tonight we saw us gain confidence and belief as the game went on."
Up Next
The Pilots resume conference play with a match against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the road. The two teams play on Friday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. in Spokane. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
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