COMING UP:
Match #20
San Francisco Dons (13-3-3, 7-1-0) at Portland Pilots (7-11-0, 3-5-0)
Saturday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m. | Merlo Field (4,892) | Portland, Ore.   
Series Record: Portland leads, 26-0-2
Last Meeting: Tie, 2-2; Oct. 31, 2014 at USF
Coverage: TheW.tv | Live Stats
 
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Dons (13-3-3, 7-1-0) will travel to Portland on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Pilots from Merlo Field with the potential to accomplish something the program never has: clinch a West Coast Conference title. The first-place Dons need at least a draw on Saturday to win the conference crown for the first time in team history – no small task given USF has never defeated Portland in 28 previous meetings and only tied the Pilots twice. If the Dons end up winning the WCC title, then they will claim the conference's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament, which would begin the following week (Nov. 13, 14, or 15). If USF does not win or tie at Portland, they can still take home the WCC title with a BYU and LMU loss or tie.         
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Dons took over sole possession of first place with a 2-0 weekend that included a 1-0 victory at Pacific this past Friday,
followed by a 2-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sunday. Amanda Whittle netted the game-winner in the 86^th minute against Pacific, as the Dons outshot the Tigers 17-10 on the night and Madalyn Schiffel tied her season-best with six saves.
 
Against the Gaels, USF got early goals from Samantha Jehnings in the sixth minute and Camille Wilson in the 17^th. The USF defense allowed a Saint Mary's goal in the 74^th minute, but held on for the victory in a very evenly contested game that had USF holding a narrow 11-10 edge in shots.    
 
SNAPSHOT: PORTLAND (7-11-0, 3-5-0)
The Pilots are coming off a 1-0 win at home over Gonzaga this past weekend…UP had lost three straight prior to that…Merlo Field ranks second in the WCC in average attendance (2,148)…Noelle La Prevotte and Cecilia Pederson lead the Pilots with four goals…UP is being outscored 24-20 and outshot 191-164.  
 
NOTES AND TIDBITS

• USF can clinch its first-ever WCC title with a win or tie at Portland; if the Dons lose, they will need BYU and LMU to do no better than tie in their last games in order to become conference champions
• The best WCC finish USF has ever had was third place in 1997; the Dons also tied for third in 1993; both seasons were under head coach Jean Paul Verhees
• The Dons came in at No. 62 in this week's RPI rankings after being No. 58 last week
• Three Dons have been named WCC Player of the Week this season: Jessica Nakae (Oct. 27), Sonja Giraud (Oct. 19) and Madalyn Schiffel (Oct. 5); this was the first time in each player's career they have been named player of the week
• With their 2-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sunday, the Dons have established a new program record for wins in a season (13); the previous mark was 12 wins, established by the 1994 squad that went 12-6-1 (3-4-0)
• The Dons have assured their first winning season since 2004 when they went 10-7-3 overall and 3-4-0 in WCC at least assured their play under Pamela Kalinoski, finishing tied for fourth in the WCC; 2004 was also the last year the Dons recorded double digit wins
• No. 5 BYU is the highest-ranked team the Dons have ever defeated; previously, the highest-ranked opponent USF had defeated came in 1993 when the Dons earned a 3-1 victory over then-No. 11 Washington State on the road; and in 2001, USF tied then-No. 6 Cal 3-3.
• The Dons now have two wins over top-20 opponents this year (No. 5 BYU on Oct. 22; No. 19 Santa Clara on Oct. 4)
• The Dons' 3-2 win over San Diego on Saturday was their first victory over the Toreros since Oct. 14, 2005 when USF pulled out a 2-1 double overtime victory in San Diego
• USF has outscored opponents 28-14 so far this season, including a 16-8 advantage in first-half scoring
• The Dons are 5-of-7 in penalty kick tries this year
• LMU snapped a 301-minute scoreless streak for the USF defense with the Lions' goal in the 17th minute in the Dons' 2-0 loss on Oct. 11
• The Dons snapped an 0-30-1 winless streak against Santa Clara with their win on Oct. 4
• Prior to their win at No. 19 Santa Clara (Oct. 4), the Dons' last win over a ranked opponent was a 2-0 victory over then-No. 22 Pepperdine on Oct. 22, 2006
• The Dons' 28 goals have been scored by 10 different players
• Amanda Whittle has established a new career high with five assists so far; she previously had four in 2014; she ranks third in the WCC

 WE'RE GOING STREAKING
The Dons have won their past six road matches, establishing a new team record. USF's streak started with a road victory at Oakland on Sept. 13 and continued with their win at Saint Mary's on Nov. 1. The previous long road winning streak was three games, set in 1993 and 1994. USF hasn't lost on the road since suffering a 2-1 overtime defeat at Oregon State on Aug. 30.   
 
REPEAT PERFORMANCE?
The last time the Dons opened WCC play with at least six wins was in 2004. That season, USF held a 6-3-3 nonconference record before going on to finish 10-7-3, which was good for a tie for fourth place in the WCC that year. That was also the last time the Dons posted a double-digit win total. This season, USF was 6-2-3 heading into WCC action. 
 
STEADY AS SHE GOES
Rochelle Weerackoon is on pace to tie the USF record for career games played. The senior has appeared in 78 contests during her career, making 25 starts. The program record is held by Kelli Bryant (1992-95) and Jaciara Mello (2011-14) who each appeared in 79 matches for the Dons. Sydnie Telson and Alex Alugas are right behind Weerackoon with 77 games played apiece. 
 
TWICE IS NICE
Samantha Jehnings netted a pair of goals in USF's 3-1 win over San Jose State (Sept. 15), making her the first Don to score multiple goals since Mackenzie Krieser scored two in a 4-1 win over Sacramento State on Aug. 31, 2012.
 
ONE FOR THE AGES
Senior Madalyn Schiffel has become the USF leader in a number of career goalkeeping categories this season. Her 25 total shutouts (23 of which are solo) surpassed Amy Voiland (1994-98). Schiffel has also surpassed Voiland for the most career goalkeeper wins in USF history (29). She moved past Aileen Blackburn (1988-91) for most career minutes played in goal (6,425). Finally, Schiffel has come close to the team record for single season goals against average at 0.71 this season – the record is held by Voiland's 0.69 in 1996.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Dons feature two players who have earned national team caps - senior Leticia Torres made four appearances with the Chilean national team last fall; sophomore Camille Wilson made four appearances as the youngest (17 years-old) member of the Philippine national team in 2013, scoring her first international goal against Indonesia.  
 
PILE IT ON
When USF defeated Denver 4-0 on Sept. 4, the Dons enjoyed their highest single-game goal total since a 4-1 win over Sacramento State on Aug. 31, 2013.

WCC STANDINGS
As of Nov. 2, 2015

TEAM	WCC	PTS	OVERALL
SAN FRANCISCO	7-1-0	21	13-3-3
#13 BYU	6-1-1	19	14-2-2
LMU	6-2-0	18	12-5-1
#15 SANTA CLARA	5-1-2	17	12-5-2
PEPPERDINE	3-5-0	9	8-8-2
PORTLAND	3-5-0	9	7-11-0
SAINT MARY'S	2-4-2	8	7-8-4
SAN DIEGO	2-6-0	6	4-13-2
PACIFIC	2-6-0	6	3-12-1
GONZAGA	1-6-1	4	2-11-5