PORTLAND PILOTS (5-1-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
WEEK 6: vs. Cal Poly Mustangs
Cal Poly Mustangs
(3-3-2, 1-0-0 Big West)
Day: Saturday
Date: Sept. 23, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore.
Pitch: Merlo Field
Video: ESPN+
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
POR vs. CPU
Overall Series: 1-0-2
H: 1-0-0 • A: 0-0-1 • N: 0-0-1
Last: POR 1, @CPU 1 (2016)
THIS WEEK
• The Portland Pilots are back home for their final nonconference match, a showdown against the Cal Poly Mustangs at Merlo Field.
• The two teams play on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
• Links for a video stream and live stats can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots are 5-1-2 after an undefeated road trip saw them tie Brown University in Providence 0-0 and defeat Stonehill College 4-0. Their four goals against Stonehill were the most they’ve scored in a match this season.
• The Pilots now have six shutouts through eight matches and have allowed just two goals through this stretch, the fewest since 2008 for the program.
• Bre Norris earned credit for the shutouts, putting her at 25 for her career. That total ranks sixth all-time in program history.
• Norris’s stout defensive performance earned her WCC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season and the seventh time of her career. She leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally in boht goals against average (.250) and shutouts (6) and also ranks 10th nationally in save percentage (.889).
• The four goalscorers against Stonehill were Violet Rademacher; Nina Rhode; Hailey Bagby; and Nedya Sawan. Rademacher and Sawan became the first two Pilots this year to score multiple goals on the year while Rhode and Bagby scored the first two goals of their career.
• Portland currently leads the conference in goals against average (.250), shutout percentage (.750) and save precentage (.889) and ranks third, fifth and eighth nationally in those respective categories.
• This is the third time since 2013 the Pilots have earned five wins through their first eight matches.
• Portland head coach Michelle French now sits at 50 wins for her career.
• The Portland Pilots are coming off a memorable 2022 campaign that saw them make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
• During the tournament, they advanced to the second round with a 3-0 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils. The win was Portland’s largest in the playoffs since 2010.
• After that, they played the No. 1 overall seed in the Alabama Crimson Tide. Portland fell 2-1 to the Tide in Tuscaloosa.
• Overall, the Pilots finished with a 12-5-4 record, which was their best since Michelle French took over as head coach and also their best since 2013.
• They started the season with an incredible unbeaten streak of 13 games in a row, which was their longest since the 2005 season. That year, the Pilots won their second national championship.
• Portland also went undefeated at home for the first time since 2010, finishing 9-0-3 at Merlo Field.
• The Pilots had five players earn All-WCC honors on the year: Shay Adams, Bre Norris, Cally Togiai, Isabella Yakel and Sophia Mattice. All five players return this year.
• Adams was a top defender for a Pilot team that recorded 11 shutouts on the year, the most for the Pilots since 2010. Adams started in 18 matches for Portland.
• Adams was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team, making her the first Pilot since Ellie Boon in 2016 to make first team.
• The other Pilot to make both an All-WCC team and an All-Region team was Norris. The goalkeeper was All-WCC Second Team and made the second team for the West Region as well.
• Norris recorded 90 saves with just 16 goals allowed for a goals-allowed average of 0.82. She started in all 11 shutouts for the Pilots.
• The Boise product led the conference in minutes played (1,759:37), save percentage (.849) and shutouts and was also third in total saves and fourth in saves per game (4.50). Her shutout total was seventh in the nation.
• Norris’s saves total and saves per game average last season were the third highest each in program history. Norris is already seventh in career saves with 154 in just two years.
• Norris was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers to Watch list for this year.
• Togiai led the Pilots with 16 points off six goals and four assists last season. Making the second team, the forward from Tualatin was the first Pilot with at least five goals and four assists since 2019.
• Yakel played in 21 matches with 19 starts as a freshman, the most of any freshman on the team. Yakel made the WCC All-Freshman Team and was crucial on both offense and defense, scoring one goal while patrolling the midfield defensively.
• Sophia Mattice had one goal — a game-winner against Nebraska — and was second on the team in assists with three. She earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• As a team, the Pilots were first in the WCC in save percentage (.840) and second in goals-allowed average (0.905).
• The Pilots returned 19 players from last year’s squad while adding eight newcomers.
• The Pilots enter the season picked to finish second in the WCC per the annual WCC Preseason Coaches Poll. It’s the highest they’ve been picked to finish since 2014.
• Three players were named to the 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team: Norris, Togiai and Nedya Sawan.
• Sawan was one of the best forwards in the conference in 2021, 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).
• Along with that, in 2022, Sawan scored five goals for the Pilots to rank second on the team.
• Nine returners for the Pilots started in at least 10 matches as well for Portland
• Camille Ashe, a captain for the Pilots in 2022, returns to anchor the back line. She started 20 matches and played in all 21 contests for the Pilots, the only returning Pilot to hit that mark.
• Katana Norman is the last of the six returning Pilots to have played in at least 20 games last season. She tallied one assist against Saint Mary’s on Oct. 26.
last year.
• Keeley Dockter was highly influential in the midfield for Portland, having scored two goals and adding two assists as well.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Cal Poly Mustangs are 3-3-2 on the year with a 0-2-1 record against ranked opponents.
• Last year, they went 9-7-3 overall and 6-1-3 in Big West play to finish first in the conference. They lost in the first round of the Big West Tournament to Long Beach State.
• Alex Crozier is in his 32nd year as head coach of the Mustangs.
THE STAFF
• UP alum Michelle French is entering her sixth year as head coach of the Pilots.
• French has posted a 50-38-18 record in her six 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.
• Associate head coaches Maite Zabala and Logan Emory are in their sixth and fifth years with the women’s soccer program. They became the first associate head coaches in program history this past year.
• The staff was named the West Region Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches, the first time they’ve earned the honor.
• Assistant coach Tina Frimpong Ellertson joins the staff this year as well. Frimpong Ellertson is a former US National Team player and was Pac-10 Player of the Year back in 2004 with the Washington Huskies.
THE HISTORY
• Portland has a strong women’s soccer tradition and is one of just seven 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 postseason 22 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 three NWSL Championships (2013, 2017, 2022), two NWSL Shields in 2016 and 2021 and the Women’s International Champions Cup.
• 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 last 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 in 2022.
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