USD -- or, Win out, Baby

Geezaldinho wrote:OK, we figure this one's a gimme.

Game Information

The No. 2 Portland Pilots will conclude the 2009 regular season with the outright West Coast Conference title on the line this Friday. Portland will host the San Diego Toreros (12-5-2, 5-1-0 WCC) in a nationally televised match with kickoff set for 8 p.m. at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. It will be also be Senior Night for four Portland players who will make their final appearance in a regular season game at Merlo Field.



Game Coverage

Sunday’s game will be televised live on ESPNU with Sam Gore and Krista Blunk calling the action. Live statistics and free live audio for the game will also be available at portlandpilots.com.



Pilots Briefly...

• The Pilots defeated No. 14 Santa Clara 1-0 on Sunday at Buck Shaw Stadium

• It marked the first road win for the Pilots at Santa Clara since 1997

• Michelle Enyeart notched the game-winner in the fourth minute and was named the WCC Player of the Week for the third time this season

• Portland has clinched at least a share of its 11th WCC Championship and can post a perfect league 7-0-0 record for the fifth time with a win on Friday

• Portland has outscored WCC opponents 31-1 through six matches

• The Pilots have won 10 straight matches, outscoring opponents 47-2 over that stretch

• Three Pilots have earned national player of the week honors a combined six times in 10 weeks

• Portland is 9-0 this season at home and averaging 3,558 fans per game

• The Pilots lead the nation in scoring (3.89) and are third in goals-against average (0.39)

• Foxhoven leads the nation in points per game (2.94) and goals per game (1.24)

• Foxhoven, Michelle Enyeart and Sophie Schmidt is the only teammate trio with 10 or more goals in the nation

• The most goals scored by a Pilot team in school history is 79 (‘05); 2009 Pilots have 70

• The Pilots are No. 3 in the latest NCAA RPI release, announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3

• Portland in the national polls this week:

- TopDrawerSoccer.com #2; NSCAA #2; Soccer America #2; Soccer Times #2

• Kelsey Davis was named one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award

• Portland will have no national team conflicts for the first time since winning the 2005 NCAA title

• Head coach Garrett Smith has a 133-18-7 record in his seventh year at the helm

• Pilots logged the sixth 20-win season in school history last year and third in the last six years

• UP has two NCAA titles (2002, 2005) and eight NCAA College Cup appearances



Scouting San Diego

The Toreros (12-5-2, 5-1-0 WCC) defeated Gonzaga (5-1) and Seattle University (2-1) last weekend to keep their hopes for a WCC title alive. In Friday’s win over the Zags, Elissa Magracia scored at the 2:36 mark, then just a minute later Stephanie Ochs scored the game-winner on a break-away to give USD a 2-0 lead. Jackie Zinke, Mariah Hobbs and Erica Peeples capped the scoring. In Sunday’s win over Seattle, Christine Mock and Ochs provided the goals. Ochs leads the Toreros with six goals and eight assists. Mock adds five goals and one helper. Courtney Parsons is the primary goalkeeper for San Diego and posts a 1.11 goals-against average and seven shutouts. The Toreros have played a tough schedule with good results. USD has wins over Rutgers (2-1) and Santa Clara (1-0) and also tied UCLA (1-1). Key losses have come to Ohio State (3-0), Kansas (5-0) and USC (4-0). Head coach Ada Greenwood is in his seventh year at the helm of the Toreros with a career record of 91-49-14. Greenwood led USD to the second round of last year’s NCAA playoffs as the team finished with a 15-3-3 overall record. He returned eight starters and 21 letterwinners to the roster this year. Portland owns a 12-2-2 all-time record against the Toreros, including a 4-1 victory at USD last season. The Pilots are currently riding an eight-match unbeaten streak against the Toreros, including five consecutive wins. Both UP losses were by 1-0 margins during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.



Pilots Continue WCC Dominance

Portland has clinched at least a share of its 11th WCC regular season title in 18 years affiliated with the league and posts a 102-13-6 (.868) all-time against WCC competition. A win over San Diego would mark the fifth time the Pilots have won the league with a perfect 7-0-0 record. Through six matches, the Pilots have outscored WCC opponents 31-1.



Among the National Leaders

Portland leads the nation in scoring (3.89), is second in W-L percentage (.944) and third in both shutout percentage (.722) and goals-against average (0.389). Danielle Foxhoven leads the nation in points per game (2.94) and goals per game (1.24), while Michelle Enyeart is third in assists per game (0.71) and seventh in points (2.22). Kelsey Davis ranks fourth individually in goals-against average (.039).



Foxhoven Approaching UP Leaders

With 21 goals scored this season, Danielle Foxhoven is one shy of cracking UP’s single-season top 10. Only three players are currently on the list: Christine Sinclair, Tiffeny Milbrett and Shannon MacMillan. Sinclair is the single-season leader with 39 goals in 2005, while Milbrett is next with 30 goals in 1992 and 1994. With 37 career goals, Foxhoven is already tied for seventh on the UP charts and her 88 points are tied for 10th.



Bermuda Triangle

Portland is the only team in the nation to have three players with 10 or more goals, according to collegesoccer360.com. Foxhoven (21), Enyeart (13) and Schmidt (10) comprise the highest scoring trio in the nation.



Davis: Lowe’s Senior CLASS Finalist

Kelsey Davis has been named one of 10 women’s soccer finalists for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, presented to one NCAA Division I individual per sport. Online fan voting is available right now at seniorclassaward.com. Fan votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. Eligible student-athletes must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. Davis looks to follow in the footsteps of former Pilot teammate Stephanie Cox, who was the inaugural women’s soccer winner in 2007.



Home Sweet Home

Portland has led the nation in average attending four years in a row and 2009 is off to a good start too. A standing room only crowd of 5,068 (the third largest crowd in Merlo Field history) witnessed a 4-0 Pilot win over California in the season opener. Through nine games, Portland is averaging 3,558 fans.

Last year, Portland established a new single-season total attendance record for women’s soccer (47,082) breaking the previous mark of 47,035 set by Texas A&M in 2007. The program also led the nation in average attendance (3,622).

The home field advantage over the years is quite apparent as the Pilots post a 184-20-7 (.889) home record at Merlo Field since its inception in 1990.

Portland led the nation in average attendance the previous three seasons as well. 3,403 in 2005, 3408 in 2006 and 3,771 in 2007. The average attendance in 2007 established a new school record and is the second most in NCAA women’s soccer history for a single season. Only North Carolina’s 2001 average of 3,983 was higher. Portland was the first program to ever eclipse 40,000 fans in a season during its run to the 2005 championship.