Zags And Pilots Carry Six Wins Into WCC Opener
10/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Gonzaga (6-3-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. Portland Pilots (6-3-1, 0-0 WCC)
2:00 p.m. | Sunday, Oct. 9 | Luger Field
| Live Video
SWEET HOME SPOKANE
- Even though the Zags have dropped their last three away matches, they remain unbeaten at home. Their mark at Luger Field sits at 4-0-1. At home, the Zags have outscored their opponents 12-4 and outshot them 40-26. The crowds have been great with an average attendance of 620 patrons, which is the third-best mark in the WCC. The Zags have been training, resting, and getting healthy prior to this match, utilizing a 14-day stretch without a match.
LIGHT UP LUGER
- Gonzaga's season opener against Bradley was the first-ever soccer match under the new lights at Luger Field. The Zags played the Braves to a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 506. The official ceremony for Light Up Luger was on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and received great fanfare from the donors, supporters, Gonzaga Board of Regents, student-athletes, and Bulldog coaches and staff.
LAST TIME OUT
- Gonzaga struggled at the end of a long stretch of games. The Bulldogs fell 1-4 to Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. on September 25. The match marked the finish of six matches in 16 days, with five of them being out of state.
NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
- For the first time since 2007, Gonzaga entered the NSCAA NCAA Division I Poll, coming in at No. 20 the week of September 12. GU fell out of the rankings the following week after two-straight losses to finish their road trip.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
- Gonzaga defeated #16 Seattle U at home on September 4th and traveled to Washington, D.C. to down #20 American on September 9th. It is already only the sixth time GU has beaten two ranked opponents in a season. Both Pacific and San Diego are currently receiving votes in the NCAA Division I poll, and Washington is ranked No. 16.
WCC NEWS AND NOTES
- Gonzaga trails WCC-leading Pacific, who is off to an 8-2 start, in the WCC standings.
- Gonzaga trails Pacific (21) and Portland (20) in goals with 19 on the season. The Bulldogs are second in assists with 17, trailing Pacific (19). GU comes in third in shots with 136, behind St. Mary's (145) and San Francisco (141).
- Head coach Einar Thorarinsson's squad is led in goals by Austin Giftopoulos at three, which is sixth in the West Coast Conference. Ben White leads the team with three assists, third in the WCC. In goal, Ben Willis is second in the conference with 32 saves. Colton Cavey has already struck two game-winning goals, good for second in the WCC. Jakob Granlund has remained aggressive and is averaging 2.56 shots per game, coming in as the second-best mark in the conference.
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Gonzaga is 13-24-6 all-time against the Pilots. The Zags enter Sunday's match riding a two-match win streak against the Pilots. GU has won the last two matches in overtime, 2-1, in Portland last season and at home in 2014. The match has gone to overtime 11 times in the series, but these were the first since 2012. Connor Bevans scored the game-winner two minutes into overtime last year and Lars Ludwigs ended the final match of 2014 on a cross from Graison Le just 28 seconds into overtime in that match.
- The Zags started the series in 1981 with eight-straight losses before bucking the trend in 1993 with a 2-1 win in Spokane.
- GU was won two-straight matches five different times in the series, including the win streak entering Sunday.
- Gonzaga has won in 2-1 fashion in eight of the 13 wins, and shutout the Pilots four times. From 2005 to 2008, when the teams used to meet twice a year, Gonzaga was unbeaten with four wins and three ties.
- The most memorable match took place in 2001 in Seattle in Gonzaga's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Zags lost to Portland in the first round, 0-1, with the difference coming in a Pilot goal in the 69th minute. The match was played at Washington's Husky Stadium.
NCAA Top-20
- The Zags mark of 19 assists are 19th in the NCAA.
THE MEAT OF THE SCHEDULE
- As the Zags embark on their seven-match conference schedule they carry six nonconference wins into the conference schedule for the first time since 1999. Prior to 2014, Gonzaga used to play a 12-match conference slate, before Pacific added a men's soccer program.
CHASING THE 90s
- Gonzaga is looking to use its early season momentum to capture its first WCC title since 1998, when they were co-champions with San Diego. GU was also co-champions, this time with Santa Clara, in 1997.
