Sept. 22, 2004

PORTLAND, Ore. - The University of Portland women's soccer team, ranked No. 5 nationally by Soccer Times, will host Oregon (1-4-1) at Merlo Field on Friday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m. The Pilots will then take on No. 3 Washington, who enters the weekend with a perfect 6-0-0 record, on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2:00 p.m.

ABOUT NO. 5 PORTLAND: The Pilots (7-1-0) have won six straight after a convincing, 3-1 win over No. 15 Texas on Monday evening. Junior All-American Christine Sinclair scored a pair of goals for the fourth time in five games, while freshman Natalie Budge also tallied a goal for Portland. Sophomore Jennifer Tuttle registered two assists off the Pilot bench. Last Friday, Portland beat Oregon State, 3-1 in Corvallis as Christine Sinclair had two goals and an assist. Sophomore striker Elsa Hume came off the bench for a goal and an assist.

Sinclair leads the Pilots and the West Coast Conference in scoring with 10 goals and three assists through the first eight games of the season. She is currently third on Portland's all-time goals list with 59, and third in career points with 132. Fellow junior All-American Lindsey Huie has four goals and two assists and recently became just the sixth player in school history to accumulate over 20 goals and 20 assists for her career. Senior defenders Kristen Moore and Kristen Rogers anchor the Pilot defense which posts a 1.00 goals-against average through eight games.

Associate director of soccer Garrett Smith will be without the services of sophomores Angie Woznuk and Stephanie Lopez, as well as freshman Megan Rapinoe, who will all redshirt the 2004 season to compete with the U.S. Under-19 National Team at the 2004 World Championships.

ABOUT OREGON: In action last weekend, the Ducks (1-4-1) lost 1-0 to defending national runner-up UConn in Storrs on Sunday, Sept. 21, and 4-0 on Friday, Sept. 19 at Central Connecticut State, a NCAA tourney second-round team last year. Oregon has been outscored 12-4 by opponents. Caitlin Gamble leads the Ducks with two goals, including the game-winner against Weber State. Mele French and Christine Mintz are the other goal-scorers for UO. Domenique Lainez is the primary keeper, playing in five games with a 1.91 goals-against average and 33 saves. Head coach Bill Steffen is in his ninth season at the helm of the Ducks.

ABOUT NO. 3 WASHINGTON: The Huskies (6-0-0) are one of only three undefeated, untied teams in NCAA Division I women's soccer, joining Notre Dame (8-0) and Virginia (8-0). The Huskies have equaled a school record by opening the season with six victories, a feat accomplished in 2000, the same year they won their only Pac-10 title. Washington is ranked in the top six of all four major national polls, coming in at No. 3 this week according to the NSCAA. The Huskies visit Portland State (1-4-1) on Friday before taking on the Pilots. Last week, Washington defeated Loyola (Md.) College 4-1 behind a pair of goals from Tina Frimpong. Sunday's game was played at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md. where the Huskies were scheduled to play Maryland on Friday. Thunderstorms and a tornado warning forced the postponement of the game that was eventually cancelled. Frimpong leads UW with four goals and an assist, while keeper Kelsey Rasmussen has logged all 548 minutes in goal with a 0.66 goals-against average and two shutouts. Head coach Lesle Gallimore is in her 11th season as UW's coach and is the all-time leader among Pac-10 coaches in overall (119) and conference (47) wins.

SINCLAIR ON A SCORING TEAR: Junior All-American Christine Sinclair has netted at least one goal in five straight games, while scoring two goals in four of the last five contests. Sinclair's 23 points are tops in the WCC, as are her 10 goals and five game-winners. Sinclair claimed the sixth WCC Player of the Week award of her career on Sept. 6 after leading the Pilots to a pair of wins at the UConn Adidas Classic. For the tournament, the Burnaby, B.C. native scored two goals, added two assists and earned all-tournament honors. Sinclair now has 59 goals for her career, moving her into fifth place on the WCC career goals scored list. Already third on the Pilots' all-time charts in goals, Sinclair trails only Tiffeny Milbrett (103) and Shannon MacMillan (87). She now has 128 career points, moving her into third place on UP's career points list. Her 22 game-winners tie her with Milbrett for second all-time, trailing MacMillan's 26 winners.

HUIE REACHES 20/20: Junior midfielder Lindsey Huie has became just the sixth Pilot in history to score over 20 goals and 20 assists for her career. Huie's two-goal effort against Weber State on Friday, Sept. 10 gave her 21 goals along with 22 career assists. She joins the short list of Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan, Justi Baumgardt, Tammy Martindale and Jody Lim as the only Pilots to accomplish the feat.

MOORE ASSISTS: Senior defender Kristen Moore continues to climb Portland's all-time assists list after setting up two scores against Weber State on Friday. The Mission Viejo, Calif. native now has 21 career assists, placing her in a tie for 13th on Portland's charts. Two more assists will land her a spot in the top 10 along with teammate Lindsey Huie.

PILOTS KNOW HOW TO HOST: Portland captured its sixth Nike Invitational title in the tournament's 10th year at Merlo Field on the weekend of Sept. 10-12. The Pilots defeated Weber State (4-0) and UAB (3-0), while also sweeping the individual tournament honors as junior striker Christine Sinclair and senior defender Kristen Moore claimed the Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Player awards.

SINCLAIR, HUIE ON MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST: Juniors Christine Sinclair and Lindsey Huie have been named to the 25-player M.A.C. Hermann Trophy preseason watch list. The 25 players are considered to be among the top players entering the 2004 college season. A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in November, with three finalists selected in early December. The winner will be announced at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., on Jan. 7, 2005.

INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore defender Kari Evans has missed Portland's last five games and is doubtful for Monday's contest (concussion).

THREE PILOTS REDSHIRT: Pilot sophomores Angie Woznuk and Stephanie Lopez, as well as freshman Megan Rapinoe, will redshirt the 2004 season to play for the U.S. Under-19 National Team at the 2004 World Championships. Woznuk was a second team all-WCC selection as a freshman and one of the Pilots biggest playmakers. Lopez earned freshman All-America honors as a central defender and was named the Soccer Buzz West Region Freshman of the Year. Rapinoe was rated the sixth-best individual recruit in 2004 according to Soccer America.

A BRIGHT FUTURE: Portland's seven-player freshmen recruiting class was ranked seventh nationally by Soccer Buzz, following a 2003 class that ranked fourth overall. Soccer America tabbed the Pilots eighth nationally and listed freshman Megan Rapinoe as the sixth-best individual recruit. Rapinoe and Kelli Cronkrite were listed among the top 50 high school seniors by Soccer Buzz. Cronkrite, as well as fellow freshmen Natalie Budge and Emily Michaelson, have started all eight Portland games this season. Michele Scifo has made one start and appeared in seven contests as well.

A SPECIAL NIGHT! The Clive Charles Soccer Complex at the University of Portland officially celebrated the first night match in Merlo Field history on Sept. 10, 2004 as the Pilots defeated Weber State, 4-0 with the sixth-largest crowd in Pilot history on hand (4,070). The inaugural night match had a wide-array of activities that began with the recognition of special donors Harry Merlo, Earle Chiles and Joe Giravente. At halftime, former UP athletics director Joe Etzel and Clarena Charles, wife of the late Clive Charles, were honored at midfield along with over 50 Pilot soccer alums. The night was capped by a postgame fireworks display.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In the Sept. 20 national polls, Portland held steady at No. 5 according to Soccer Times. Both Soccer America and the NSCAA kept Portland at No. 6, while Soccer Buzz moved the Pilots up four spots to No. 7. In regional rankings, the Pilots are second in the West Region according to both Soccer Buzz and the NSCAA, trailing Washington in both polls.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Portland has already played four ranked teams and will face three more schools earning national rankings in this week's polls. The Pilots have home matches against No. 3 (NSCAA) Washington on Sept. 26 and No. 22 (Soccer Times) Pepperdine on Oct. 15. The Pilots and ninth-ranked (Soccer America) Santa Clara will battle on Oct. 24 at Buck Shaw Stadium in a nationally televised match on College Sports Television. PILOTS ON CSTV: The University of Portland women's soccer team will be featured on national television when the Pilots travel to Santa Clara on Sat., Oct. 24 to take on the Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium. The rematch of last year's NCAA women's third round match will be aired on Thurs., Oct. 28 at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on College Sports Television's as part of CSTV's Soccer package this fall.

MERLO DOMINANCE: The Pilots have historically been dominant at Merlo Field since it's inception in 1990. The team is 125-17-5 (.867) and finished 9-1-2 (.833) at home last season. The Pilots were among the national leaders in attendance in 2003, averaging 1,440 fans per contest. Portland is already 3-0-0 in 2004 and averaging 2,158 fans per match.

WCC PRESEASON POLL: Conference coaches picked Portland to finish second in the WCC, in the league's preseason poll. Santa Clara, who has captured three-straight WCC titles, was tabbed as the favorite after receiving six first place votes and 48 total points. Portland collected the other two first place votes and had 44 total points. Pepperdine, the only school other than Santa Clara and Portland to win the WCC crown, was selected third, while San Diego, Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga and San Francisco round out the poll.

COMING UP NEXT: The Pilots hit the road to Pullman, Wash. for the Washington State Tournament on Oct. 1-3. Portland will take on Brigham Young on Friday, Oct. 1 at noon, then play host Wazzu on Sunday, Oct. 3 at noon.

SOCCER COACHING STAFF: Director of soccer Bill Irwin begins his second season at the helm of the Pilot soccer program. Irwin was named the director of soccer for both the men's and women's programs last season following the passing of legendary Pilot head coach Clive Charles, whom Irwin served 17 seasons under as an assistant. Associate Director of Soccer Garrett Smith has been with Portland in a coaching capacity since the 1992 season. Smith handles the daily operations of the women's team, leading last years' squad to the NCAA third round and an 18-3-2 overall record. Assistant coaches Rob Baarts, Dan Schell and Lauren Orlandos enter their first season on the Portland combined staff, while Wynne McIntosh begins her third year with the Pilots.

2003 SEASON REVIEW: The Pilots made their 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past 13 years, finishing the season with an 18-3-2 record despite the redshirt of national player of the year Christine Sinclair. Sinclair missed the season as she helped Canada make the semifinals of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. Portland earned an NCAA berth and promptly shut out Denver in the first round, 1-0 to get some payback for an early season 4-3 overtime loss to the Pioneers on the road. Portland then crushed Nebraska 4-1 in the second round before tying rival Santa Clara, 0-0 and falling 4-2 in penalty kicks. Sophomore midfielder Lindsey Huie was an All-American and led Portland with 12 goals and 13 assists. Senior defender Imani Dorsey was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year as well as the WCC Co-Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.

PILOTS ON THE INTERNET: The University of Portland women's soccer team will have live stats via the internet for all home games throughout the 2004 season. Check out the Pilots at: http://www.portlandpilots.com/livestats/wsoccer/xlive.htm.

TICKET INFORMATION: Season tickets are available for the 2004 Portland women's soccer season and can be obtained through either the Pilot Ticket Office (503-943-7525), or TicketsWest (503-224-TIXX). Advanced single-game tickets are also available at the ticket office or through TicketsWest. General admission tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students. Reserved stadium chair seating is $10, while reserved bench back seating is $8 for adults and $6 for students. Other ticket options are also available, including youth team and group packages.