The beginning of school brings a barrage of classes, commitments and other stress-inducers — but this busyness also shines a light: A new season of Portland Pilot sports.
Regardless of which sports you’re following most this season, there is reason to be all-around excited. To give an idea of who and what to look out for this season, Sports Editor Kaeden Souki has compiled the ultimate guide for the 2025 Pilots’ fall season.
Men’s Soccer
After finishing last season with a 7-4-7 record — including a 10-game unbeaten streak to close — the Pilots look to carry the late-season magic into this fall. Despite a great end to the season, tough losses early on to low-ranked programs like CSU Bakersfield caused the Pilots to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2020-2021 COVID-19 Season.
Bolstered by an equal 16 new faces and 16 returners, this year may be the squad’s revenge tour. The Pilots were predicted to finish third in the West Coast Conference (WCC) in the 2025 WCC Coaches Preseason Poll. Junior midfielder Efetobo Aror and sophomore forward Joe Highfield were selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team. Last year, Highfield was the first Pilot since 2016 to be named to both All-WCC First Team and All-WCC Freshman Team.
Aror, the 2023 WCC Freshman of the Year, was drafted by the Colorado Rapids in the first round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, but returns to Portland for his junior year. During the summer, he played for Portland Bangers FC, sharpening on-field chemistry alongside fellow Pilots Oliver Jeppe, Wylie Trujillo, Christian Mendoza, Mason Bradley and Michael Dunne.
The squad’s 16 new faces include freshmen such as Mendoza and Bradley but also high-profile transfers like Anton Hjalmarsson, Andrew Portis — who dominated at their Division II programs — and David Ajagbe. Ajagbe was an All-Big Ten Freshman last year for Ohio State, who earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and is currently ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the 99th best men’s player in the country.
One of the squad’s primary strengths is their roster depth, according to head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt.
"I believe I have a bunch of guys that could start, definitely more than 11, if not double that. There's a group that's got some depth,” Carlin-Voigt said.
Starting the season with five victories while outscoring their opponents 18-0, the Pilots are looking to make a statement.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s soccer finished last season in the middle of the pack with a 9-5-6 record — their fourth straight season with at least nine wins. While they took seventh place in the WCC last season, the annual coaches preseason poll picked the Pilots to finish sixth in 2025 in a conference now expanded with the addition of Seattle University.
Typically a defensive-minded program, 2024 was an offensive improvement for the squad as they scored 36 goals — their most in a season since 2013.
UP women's soccer players huddle up before their game vs. Oregon State University.
Head coach Michelle French’s goal is to continue last year’s offensive prowess with more consistency, such as outscoring opponents in close games that contribute to more wins rather than scoring big in blowout wins.
While defense is still a strength, the Pilots will deal with the absence of goalie Bre Norris — the program’s all-time saves leader with 279 — who signed with the NWSL’s Angel City FC in March. Though Norris leaves big cleats to fill, sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Hills shows promise as a starter with 17 saves and three shutouts thus far.
Junior defender/midfielder Hailey Bagby is also a defensive key, whose swiftness disrupts opposing offenses. Bagby’s speed also makes a difference on offense, as she can zoom past the defense into open spaces to create shots.
The team is fresh, but finding their footing will be part of the fun. Only five of the 16 returning players played more than 1000 minutes last season, including sophomore forward Jillian McBride. McBride is the only returning Pilot to earn All-WCC honors last year, having made the All-WCC Freshman Team.
Other key pieces include senior forward Hailey Still, who can ignite the offense at any moment, and senior midfielder/defender Keeley Dockter, who was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team. Dockter plays alongside her sister, junior midfielder Aliyah Dockter, and the two’s on-field chemistry brings out the best in each other. Keeley assisted her sister’s goal in the team’s early-season win against Long Beach.
Amidst the ever-competitive WCC, French’s goal for the squad is simply to stay in the race.
"The parity within our conference to have seven teams that could win on the final weekend is insanity," French said. "So you always have a chance… every game you're given an opportunity to put yourself in a position to be in it at the end of the season.”
Volleyball
Last year, Pilots volleyball had a 5-13 record in conference play which held back their overall record to 12-16. Fortunately, the team returns with the same core as last season.
Crucial to this core is junior middle blocker Taina Kaauwai, a defensive powerhouse who led the team with 114.0 blocks in 2024, finishing top three in kills and aces as well. Kaauwai was the first Pilot since 2017 to make the All-WCC First Team and was named to the 2025 WCC Volleyball Preseason Team.
Also named to the preseason team is senior outside hitter Maui Robins who led the squad last year with 305 kills and 32 aces. An All-WCC Honorable Mention last year, Robins provides crucial consistency on both offense and defense, ranking second in digs last year with 266. Robins started 2024 with Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Sophomore setter Havannah Hoeft, also named All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2024, will continue to be crucial on offense as she enters her second full season. Hoeft logged 924 assists last year, the most by a Pilot freshman since 2016 and the fourth most in the conference. Hoeft showed promise as a freshman and her sophomore season could be no different.
While the Pilots have talent, they were predicted by the preseason poll to finish 10th in the WCC. The main goals for this season are to improve in conference matchups and build up the program’s name by continuing to earn individual weekly and season awards.
The Pilots are off to a 5-1 start in 2025.
Senior outside hitter Maui Robins spikes the ball in a game against Loyola Marymount University.
Men’s Cross Country
Coming off their 35th WCC Cross Country Championship title, the Pilots were picked to finish first in the conference’s preseason poll — the third straight season with such prediction. Three runners — senior KG Monyebodi, graduate student Jonas Price and senior Cameron Stein — were named to the preseason team.
Stein and Monyebodi are the only returning runners to have earned All-WCC honors last year, but the squad still has many athletes — sophomore Anthony Giesch, sophomore Jacob Hupke, graduate student Giuliano Scasso, sophomore Andrew Gannon and senior Trey Gannon — who could cement names in Pilots’ history.
Another runner, freshman Collin Penuel, was named WCC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week Sep. 2.
You may be able to expect this team to replicate similar success to last season. Head coach Rob Conner took home WCC Coach of the Year, while Matt Strangio shared co-runner of the year honors, capping off his historic season and career in Portland.
While the loss of more experienced runners like Strangio may be felt in the more individualized spring track season, the cross country squad still has reliable runners to contribute to the team’s success.
Women’s Cross Country
Coming off of a second-place finish in last year’s WCC championship, women’s cross country is looking forward to another successful season. They were picked third in the preseason poll, with junior Maebh Richardson being selected to the 2025 preseason team.
While four Pilot runners earned All-WCC First Team honors in 2024, Richardson is the only to remain on this year’s squad. Juliette Forstrom and Fleur Templier transferred, while Laura Pellicoro graduated, putting an end to her legendary run in Portland.
As with the departure of Strangio from the men’s team, the loss of Pellicoro will certainly be felt in the track and field season. But with the more team-oriented aspect of cross country compared to track, the unit remains strong with returning runners like Richardson, sophomore Rose Perotin, sophomore Jane Roloff and junior Izzy Lochtefeld. The squad also boasts 17 freshmen.
However different this year’s team may look, the Pilots running culture is still deep-rooted, and the squad has potential.
Women’s Tennis
Last spring, Women’s tennis snuck into the 2025 WCC Championships with a 9-10 overall and 4-4 conference record before being swiftly handled in the first round by Washington State.
Before that, several Pilots picked up steam in the last four competitions, earning solid victories in both individual and duo matches. The NCAA has allocated the fall season for singles and doubles competition and the spring for team play since 2023.
Senior Alaia Rubio Perez, an All-WCC Singles Honorable Mention last year, earned several singles wins in the fall as well as doubles wins with junior Nadine Arbaizar Martinez and the now-graduated Sally Pethybridge.
Pethybridge was named to last year’s All-WCC Singles First Team, while she and Rubio Perez received All-WCC Doubles Second Team honors. With the departure of only Pethybridge and Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, the team retains seven players.
Sophomores Isabella Marquart and Lexie Flores, who earned wins in their debut season, are back better than ever and the team welcomes two new faces — freshman Kennedy Harris and graduate student Dariya Radulova, a highly-anticipated transfer from Virginia Tech.
Anchored by head coach Filip Zivkovic, a decorated former Pilots tennis player and tenured coach, fans can look forward to how the team does this fall.
Men’s Tennis
While men’s tennis struggled last season in team play, they were much better in singles and doubles last fall and only miss Maxim Groysman from this year’s squad.
Groysman was an All-WCC Singles Honorable Mention and was named honorable mention for the All-Conference Doubles Team along with junior Stefan Skobelev. Other key returning players include sophomore Lucas Kimelman, senior Nikola Keremedchiev, and juniors Tom Garcia, Cade Fernando and Tannor Binder.
Senior Nikola Keremedchiev returns a ball in a match against Seattle U.
Fernando and Binder have proven themselves to be a strong doubles pair, winning the White Doubles Draw at last year’s Gonzaga Invitational.
Beyond the strong returning core, the squad adds two freshmen, Gian Manhas and Eli Noel, as well as sophomore transfer Lucca Lafrance.
Like the women’s team, they are supported by a strong coaching staff. Head coach Aaron Gross, now in his 22nd season as coach, is a former WCC Coach of the Year and led the program to its first regular season conference title in 2017. Assistant Coach Mathieu Garcia, older brother of player Tom Garcia, also won All-WCC honors as a Pilot under Gross’s coaching.
With the experience of this close unit, the squad looks to stay consistent in singles and doubles.
Editor’s note: Basketball and rowing either predominantly take place in or are more competitively-focused in the spring.
Kaeden Souki is the Sports Editor for The Beacon. He can be reached at souki28@up.edu.
