Men’s soccer earned their second conference victory on Oct. 10 in a 2-1 battle against San Diego. They are now 2-0-1 in West Coast Conference (WCC) play with a 9-0-2 overall record.
Their 21-match undefeated streak that began last year is now tied for the longest in program history. The last Pilots unbeaten streak of this length occurred in 1988, and the current streak is the second longest in the nation.
The Pilots entered the match as the No. 6 team in the nation, according to the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. They faced a No. 12 Toreros team — defending WCC champions — with a shared 1-0-1 record in WCC play.
Portland wasted no time getting on the board, with sophomore forward David Ajagbe scoring on assists from senior midfielder Micaah Garnette and junior defender Nikos Clarke-Tosczak within the match’s first two minutes. Ajagbe now leads the team with seven goals, second most in the WCC.
Ajagbe, alongside redshirt sophomore forward Joe Highfield, was named to the 2025 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List on Oct. 10, an award granted to the top player in men’s and women’s collegiate soccer.
San Diego tied the game with roughly 11 minutes remaining in the first half, but Portland struck back with a score by junior forward Alex Waggoner less than two minutes later for his third goal of the season.
Portland earned yellow cards following both scores, and each squad ended the match with three cards. Playing a high-ranked conference rival comes with its own baggage, according to Waggoner.
“When you're playing a team that's the three-time reigning champs, you have to come in knowing it's going to be heated at times,” Waggoner said.
With each upcoming match testing the Pilots, redshirt junior goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Hernandez — who logged his 16th save of the season — welcomes the challenge.
“It's a privilege to have pressure,” Hernandez said. "It's a good source of energy to feed off of … it forces us to continue winning, going for goals and not settling for a tie.”
Both teams were scoreless in the second half. Portland held their lead despite intense inside pressure from the Toreros, who put up 11 shots in the second half compared to only four from the Pilots. The team rallied together to ward off San Diego’s close efforts.
“Andrew Portis had an amazing performance,” Waggoner said. “I saw him block like five shots in 10 seconds, he came off the bench and did amazing … Obviously, when you have [Hernandez] in goal, you feel like no one can score on you unless they get lucky.”
The squad’s next challenge will be a road match against No. 16 Oregon State — who has an equal WCC record to Portland and the conference’s top goal-scorer Arnau Farnos — on Oct. 15.
Kaeden Souki is the Sports Editor for The Beacon, he can be reached at souki28@up.edu.
