Men's Soccer Heads West to Face Portland

Friday, September 6

Portland, OR

10:00 PM

George Washington University

Portland

9/5/2019 10:14:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Colonials ready for quality test from Pilots

George Washington men's soccer makes a quick visit to the West Coast, taking on Portland in a strong non-conference test on Friday night.

It's the first-ever meeting between the Colonials and the Pilots, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last fall and began this season in the national rankings.

LAST TIME OUT: GW (0-1-1) battled crosstown foe American for 110 minutes on Monday afternoon in a scoreless draw.

The Colonials outshot the Eagles 20-8 for the match, including an 8-0 advantage in the opening half, but couldn't break the deadlock.

NEW IN NET: First-year goalkeeper Justin Grady made a pair of saves vs. American to record his first career clean sheet.

GW needed a new face in net with the graduation of the program's all-time shutouts leader Thor Arne Höfs, and Grady has played well between the pipes through two games, tallying five stops against a pair of goals allowed over 200 minutes.

The rookie netminder out of suburban Philadelphia has a well-rounded background: He started four seasons on the varsity soccer squad at Cheltenham High School and starred in football and baseball, as well.

HERE AND READY: All eight newcomers saw action in the Aug. 30 season opener at UNC Greensboro. Grady, Liam Emson and Tom Cooklin earned starts, while Carlyle Smart, Ryan Cedeno, Jin Kim, Sandro Weber and Matt Sipowicz saw action as reserves.

GO WEST: This is GW's first trip to the state of Oregon. The Buff and Blue last played in the Pacific Time Zone in September 2015 when they visited San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton.

SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots are also seeking their first win of the season. They opened with a scoreless draw vs. Colgate on Aug. 30 before dropping a 1-0 decision to Coastal Carolina two days later.

Coming off a 12-4-3 campaign that included an NCAA win over UCLA, Portland was slotted at No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll before dropping out of the rankings this week.

COMING UP: GW is back in action closer to home on Tuesday night at Liberty before making its debut on the Mount Vernon Campus on Sept. 14 with a 3 p.m. start vs. Brown.

WATCH THIS: Hear from graduate student Alexy Boehm before the trip to Portland.

Great opportunity ahead for our squad! Alexy Boehm previews the trip to Portland. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/yLQM9zfYGs
— GW Men's Soccer (@GWMensSoccer) September 5, 2019