Soccer in Oregon has plenty of momentum

Oregon State and Portland have solid programs with national title hopes

_{Both Portland and Oregon State are in the mix for playoff spots in men's soccer, and drawing large crowds for key matches.}

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In the past five years both Oregon State and Portland have been ranked No. 1 in the nation in men's soccer, and that's translated into programs starting their seasons with the goal of not just reaching the NCAA playoffs, but winning there, too.

The University of Portland head coach and players talked up their potential of winning the national championship this season starting from their home opener with Cal, a 0-0 tie. And, although the Pilots tied the Beavers 0-0 in their Sept. 13 meeting at Merlo Field, it still was in the vein that they're best play was yet to come, and a playoff run was very available for this season.

That's what has happened to both teams. The Pilots, especially, have gotten hot on the field with four consecutive wins by a combined 13-1 score, including a 2-1 win at Michigan of the Big 10 Sunday.

Portland is set for what is likely its most important game of the remainder of the season Saturday at San Diego, which has a 6,000-seat stadium, and is the other top team in the West Coast Conference.

Oregon State was ranked 21 by coaches in the Sept. 27 poll, one spot behind San Diego. The Beavers will be at Pac-12 rival Cal-San Diego on Saturday.

The crowd at Merlo Field, in attendance for the Sept. 13 women's/men's doubleheader, gave off the energy that the Portland women's program built up in the early 2000s, which eventually led to a pair of national titles. The doubleheader started with the women's game: a 1-0 Pilots win.

Portland still has the luster of the program that built the need for a stadium like few other college programs have in the nation. It has not, though, had the success it previously had, reaching the NCAA playoffs just once in the past decade, 2022. In the years 2000-09, the Pilots reached the Sweet 16 of the playoffs in every season, but they have not been back since.

The Pilots women opened 1-5, but are 4-6-1 entering a pair of matches this week, including a home game against St. Mary's Saturday at 6 p.m.

Oregon State enters the week at 1-9-2 with a home match against San Diego State on Thursday night.

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Cliff Pfenning

Cliff is a lifelong resident of Oregon and has four decades of experience as a writer, photographer, videographer, broadcaster and now producer. He's a grad of Benson High in Portland and the University of Oregon. His writing background includes stints at The Oregonian, The Register-Guard, The News-Review in Roseburg, The Portland Tribune, The Portland Observer as well as regular contributions to The Medford Mail-Tribune and Willamette Week. He was set to be a content provider for Action Sports Cable Network if it had began operations in 2000. He also has taught sports broadcasting through the high school program at KBPS in Portland.

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