Pilots men’s soccer claims #1 ranking in coaches poll for first time in program history

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- It’s safe to say not many people outside of the Portland Pilots men’s soccer program saw the team coming this season.

In the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 preseason poll, the Pilots not only didn’t make the top 25 — they had zero votes.

“I would’ve laughed, honestly,” said senior captain Sebastian Hernandez on his reaction if someone had told him preseason that his squad would be ranked #1 in October. “I wouldn’t have expected it, to be honest.”

The expectations for the Pilots have certainly skyrocketed from there.

Not only are they the top-ranked team in the country, but they’re also receiving all eight first-place votes.

The jump from second last week to first this week came after the Pilots defeated Gonzaga 3-0 and then #1 team, NC State, tied with Pitt.

“I was talking to Miguel Hernandez, the goalkeeper, and I was like, ‘Hey, they tied against Pitt. Do you think we’re going to be number one?’ He was like, ‘I think we might be. We haven’t lost. We have one tie. They have two ties.’ So, it was pretty crazy,” said Hernandez, acknowledging that the Pilots had been tracking teams ahead of them in the standings.

Collegiate soccer isn’t as crazy as other college sports in terms of the money being thrown around, but still, this is a monumental achievement for a school with the third-smallest enrollment in the top 25 poll currently.

“It shows you that we’re not a mid-major,” said head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. “In no shape or form do we think like a mid-major, behave like a mid-major, train like a mid-major. We train like we want to be the best.”

The goal now is to remain the best.

The College Cup, which is the equivalent of the Final Four in soccer, begins on December 12.

“Being #1 just puts a big target on our back and makes other teams want to come after us with some fire, so just trying to think of like, this number one can change any minute, so just being humble, I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Hernandez.

This team is hoping to sustain this run to become the next big thing in Soccer City USA.

“It’s a team that’s unified, that believes in playing for Portland, that wants to represent our city in the right way,” said Carlin-Voigt. “There’s been so much news around Portland right now. I’m not going to get into the politics of that, but this is a beautiful city, and I think our team represents all the beautiful things that we have here.”

The Pilots are on the road this weekend but return to Merlo Field for a big game against 15th-ranked San Diego on October 10 at 7 p.m.