PORTLAND, Ore. – Most games between college soccer teams end with each team heading their separate ways, with one team usually elated and the other going back to the drawing board. That was not the case after Monday's game between Portland Pilots men's soccer and the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. After the Pilots' win over the Pioneers, Portland players and coaches lingered on Merlo Field to hear what the coaches of the Pioneers had to offer.
The reason's simple: When Jim Tursi and Bill Irwin speak, people listen. That's what happens when you're a legend.
Monday's game was more than just a matchup between two Portland schools on a hot, muggy evening – it was a homecoming for two people who were instrumental in transforming Portland soccer into what it is today.
"It's connecting with your past," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "Those guys have done so much that we really wanted to make sure everyone in the community and currently on our team respects the past, understands that this place is bigger than all of us, and that we leave it better than we found it."
Tursi and Irwin left an indelible mark on Portland Pilots soccer during their time on The Bluff. Tursi holds the honor of being here at Portland's beginning, joining as one of the first players on the inaugural varsity team back in 1977 and then serving as a coach on the women's side when they transitioned to the NCAA in 1986.
Tursi was solid in his three years as head coach, posting a 35-17-3 record, and went on to become a three-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year and nine-time NWC champion with the Willamette Bearcats women's team. As a player, Tursi's name is littered all over the record books for Portland men's soccer. His 66 goals and 167 points both still hold as the school records for a career, and his 26 goals are still the most by a Pilot in a single season. His 35 assists rank second all-time for the Pilots as well.
It was a homecoming for Tursi, even if a lot of his memories weren't specifically at Merlo.
"They (the Pioneers' players) were asking me my memories of when I played, but again, I played on the field right over there," Tursi said, gesturing to Prusynski Pitch, the home of Pilot Soccer prior to the construction of Merlo Field. "We lived our stories here for many years, but this is really for them."
Irwin's legacy is just as unimpeachable. Irwin, alongside the legendary Clive Charles, helped transform Portland Pilots soccer into a national powerhouse when he joined Charles in 1986. He was an assistant coach for the 2002 women's team that won their first ever national championship and then was director of soccer for both teams following the passing of Clive Charles, helping the 2005 women's team earn their national championship.
Combined with his time as head coach of the men's team – Irwin led the men from 2003 to 2015 – Irwin helped lead both sides to a combined 10 NCAA College Cup appearances along with those two titles. He's developed numerous All-Americans and stellar goalkeepers, from Kasey Keller to Luis Robles to Erin Fahey, the list goes on.
Irwin's had plenty of experience on this pitch, but not as frequently on the other end.
"It's a bit strange," Irwin said with a chuckle about coaching against the Pilots. "But hey, it's what you have to do."
The game itself came together after Tursi visited the Pilots in the spring. With a date open on the schedule and the option to play one Division III team available to the Pilots, Carlin-Voigt asked Tursi if he and the Pioneers would be interested.
"I jumped on it right away," Tursi said. After that, everything came together smoothly to bring the Pioneers to The Bluff.
As the Pioneers walked on Merlo Field for the first time, many players had their phones out to capture the moment, taking photos and videos of one of the best fields in college soccer. It's not lost on either Tursi or Irwin how special an opportunity it is for the players to play here.
"It's nice to come back and give our kids the experience of playing on here, because this is one of the premier college soccer fields in the country," Irwin said. "Them coming out here and seeing what it's like playing against a Division I team, it was a good learning experience for us."
Much like their roots at UP, Tursi and Irwin starting from scratch at with the men's side. Tursi – whose official title with the Pioneers is Director of Soccer, having handed the reigns of head coach to Fraser Morrison – restarted the men's program as a varsity club in 2022 and held the title of head coach on the women's side from 2010 onward until this season. Irwin has spent the last seven years helping, joining as an assistant in 2018.
With their new challenge at Lewis & Clark, it's been more about creating something for future teams to build on for years to come than anything else.
"We decided to build a foundation first and try to build as we go forward," Tursi said. "This is kind of the culmination of my first graduating class, to have a chance to see what the big leagues look like… can we give them a sense of trying to build a program."
Both Tursi and Irwin have a soccer legacy that goes beyond the college level. Irwin was head coach of the U.S. U-23 Women's Team from 2007-11 while also serving as a goalkeeper coach for U.S. Soccer and being a founder of FC Portland. Tursi is a mainstay of Portland soccer at all levels – from Tursi Soccer Store to developing youth at the club level, he's a figure that's immensely important to the local community.
That legacy is something Carlin-Voigt finds highly important in regard to both coaches. He finds inspiration in that past to help build towards the future.
"We honor that history, and we educate the players on that, and to see that in person is really, really important," Carlin-Voigt said. "We wanted to connect to the past, understand and respect it, and then our job is to create new history."
Irwin got the last word on Monday night as the stands cleared. As Carlin-Voigt asked for closing thoughts from Irwin, one of the founders of UP Soccer finished strong.
"Once you step over the white line, you have to earn the right to play on this field," Irwin said. This isn't something that's given – day in and day out, you have to show that you belong on Merlo Field.
Irwin and Tursi certainly earned the right.
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