Christensen, Michel & Ortiz Nab All-Region Honors
Date Posted: 1/12/2018
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland sophomores Benji Michel and Rey Ortiz were named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region First Team, while senior Paul Christensen landed on the all-region second team, it was announced on Friday. Michel earned all-region third-team honors a year ago, while this is the first regional accolades for both Christensen and Ortiz.
Ortiz, who was also named First Team All-WCC, ranked second nationally this season in assists per game (0.76) and he's third in total assists with 13. A native of Acapulco, Mexico, the midfielder missed matching the program's single-season assist record by one. He also scored six goals, which ranked third in the WCC, to give him a league-high 25 points, and he was named the league's player of the week twice. He tallied two game-winners, which tied Michel for the team-high, and he handed out three assists against Fairfield to become the first Pilot with three assists in a game since 2007.
Michel, a forward out of Orlando, Fla., was among the nation's leaders in goals for most of the season. He ended the year with a conference-best 10 goals, and he added two assists for a total of 22 points, which was second in the WCC to Ortiz's 25 points. Michel notched a hat trick during a win over Fairfield to become the first player to accomplish that feat on Merlo Field since 2003, and he earned WCC Player of the Week honors twice. He also landed on the All-WCC First Team for the second straight year.
The two-time reigning WCC Goalkeeper of the Year, Christensen led the conference in shutouts for the second consecutive year, producing six clean sheets overall. His three shutouts against league opponents were also tops in the league, as was his 1.11 goals against average. A four-year starter, Christensen ends his career No. 5 all-time in program history in both shutouts (20) and saves (283). He's history major with a cumulative GPA of 3.36.