Portland Head Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt Asks 'Why not us' When Reflecting on Season
Date Posted: 12/27/2022
PORTLAND, Ore. – It's hard to get a sense of how historic a season is during a season. For Portland men's soccer, the stellar year that was 2022 played out exactly as they planned: Compete for the top spot in the conference and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament while playing high-level, entertaining soccer.
It's almost just coincidence that it's been 27 years since Portland had a team play this well. This Pilot squad was simply the best Portland has fielded since 1995, a year that saw the Pilots make the College Cup semifinal for just the second time in program history and finish the year 16-3-3. That team scored 59 goals and allowed just 16 and was one of the last nationally dominant teams that the Pilots have fielded.
Until now. The 2022 squad recaptured that magic, and the numbers show it. They scored 51 goals and allowed only 19. That's the most goals they've scored in a season since '95 and the fewest they've allowed since 2002. At 15-3-3 with a .786 win percentage, they posted their highest win total and win percentage since '95 as well. They advanced to the quarterfinal of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since – you guessed it – 1995.
"We were very much in the moment," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "I think when you get to the banquet and you get to the end of the year and you talk about things that went well and talk about area you can continue to grow. You focus on those things in the moment as a coach; you're very process driven."
Focusing on the process resulted in high-quality soccer on The Bluff. Portland went undefeated at Merlo for the first time since 1995 (again), and posted their highest home win total since 1989 with a franchise record of 11 wins. All those wins came in a row, which was the longest such home winning streak in the nation and the longest streak in program history. They also went undefeated through their first 11 games, the longest streak since 2018.
There's no way around it; this year's team knew how to get a win. Whether it was a gritty one-goal victory or a gaudy multi-goal showcase, Carlin-Voigt was incredibly proud of the determination the team showed each game.
"Being down two goals in each of the first two games I think really set the tone that this group was going to fight," Carlin-Voigt said, referring to the first two matches against Central Arkansas and Indiana where the Pilots found themselves down two goals and came back to earn ties. "(The Pilots) aren't just a technical team or a slick passing team or a sexy team, but this group also was going to have grit and was going to fight for each other."
Statistically, they were one of the top teams all season long. They were first in the WCC in 14 different statistical categories, and they were top 10 nationally in goal differential (third, 32), total goals (fourth, 51), total points (fourth, 154), won-lost-tied percentage (seventh, .786), goals per game (eighth, 2.43), points per game (ninth, 7.33) and total assists (ninth, 52).
"Everything we talked about was collective," Carlin-Voigt said about the impressive team numbers. "The whole objective was having no star on this team. The team is going to be the star."
The talent makes the team, but how they put it together determines whether a team thrives or merely survives. The question for Carlin-Voigt was always the buy-in. One of the strengths of the Pilots this past year was depth, but with depth comes lost playing time for some players. How would certain players handle not getting as much on-field action? Who would step up in a leadership role? Does this team truly buy into the brotherhood that is Pilot soccer?
Carlin-Voigt saw all those questions got answered throughout the season. The players understood that more was at stake than their playing time. Once the words 'national championship' started creeping into their vernacular, it was easy to flip a switch and not sweat how often they're on the field.
"It was the family, the culture, the way that we went about having the season, the cohesion, the buy-in from the guys, the connection to the community at Merlo Field," Carlin-Voigt said. "The group's mindset and mentality was so strong in every way and you could see that. That's something you can't fake."
Several players stepped up as a part of the leadership group. The first name that pops up is George Tasouris, the 26-year-old goalkeeper out of Cyprus who Carlin-Voigt praised as "the best goalkeeper on the West Coast." He was at least one of the best in the conference, earning All-WCC honorable mention and being named the WCC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, becoming the first Pilot to win the award since Paul Christensen in 2017.
It's the kind of honors you get when you lead the WCC in save percentage (.774), goals-against average (.912) and shutouts (8). Technically, he started all 10 shutouts for the Pilots – which were the most the team's had since 1990 – but only got credit for eight due to not playing the full match. He ranked 10th in the country in shutouts, but would have been tied for sixth had he finished two of those matches. He was also seventh in goalie minutes played nationally (1,875:57) and posted 10 saves in the overtime duel against Pitt, the most by a Pilot in a match since 2010.
"George continued to get better every day that he was in our program," Carlin-Voigt said. "He's the kind of guy you take into any battle as your leader. He was an incredible leader, very professional in every sense."
Carlin-Voigt says the team-first attitude helped cultivate individual improvement. Numbers were up across the board for most, but few stand out more than Brandon Cambridge. The WCC Offensive Player of the Year and the All-West Region First Team selection – Portland's first since 2018 – improved mightily, going from one goal to 12 and four assists to seven for 31 total points. His 12 goals were the most for a Pilot since 2013 and his 31 points were the most since 2012.
Statistically, he was one of the best wingers in the country, taking on a heavier attacking role and thriving in it. He ranked sixth nationally in points and game-winning goals (five) and was seventh nationally in total goals. He was first in the WCC in all those categories as well. Few players had as complete an offensive season as Cambridge.
It wasn't just Cambridge who saw massive improvement. Sebastian Nava was an All-West Region Second Team selection who went from one assist last year to 10 this year. He scored four goals as well for 18 points. Jacob Babalai, along with Cambridge, became the first Pilot to eclipse 20 points on the year since Benji Michel in 2018, hitting exactly that mark with eight goals and four assists. He was the top scorer for the Pilots in the tournament as well with two goals and one assist. He had four goals and three assists in total last year.
The list goes on and on. Gurman Sangha had six goals and six assists this year and became the first Pilot since Rey Ortiz in 2017 to have three assists in a match, doing so against Indiana. He had no assists last year and only two goals. Nick Fernandez and Nick Denley were two players who were injured all last year and couldn't play. This year, Fernandez was an All-WCC First Team selection and All-West Region Third Team honoree with one goal and seven assists while Denley started every game he was available at left back and added a goal and three assists. Everyone took a leap forward in some way, and Carlin-Voigt said it showed what real commitment can do for a team.
"Brandon wasn't a success overnight," Carlin-Voigt said. "Gurman Sangha took a couple years… these are projects, building something that sustainable takes time."
Four of the top six scorers by goals in the WCC were Pilots: Cambridge (first with 12), Babalai (second with eight), CJ Tibbling (third with seven (including four against Utah Tech, the most in a game since – ding ding ding! – 1995)) and Sangha (sixth with six). Five of the top six scorers by points were also Pilots: Cambridge (first with 31), Babalai (second with 20), Sangha, Sebastian Nava (both third with 18) and Tibbling (sixth with 16).
This all goes without mentioning the stellar defense of a Pilot squad that led the WCC in goals-against average (.895). Tasouris was the leader, but the back line and midfield had several other major contributors. The center-back tandem of Delentz Pierre and Jake Arteaga was nearly impenetrable, with Pierre earning All-WCC First Team honors and All-West Region Second Team honors and Arteaga earning All-WCC honorable mention despite the position change.
"Delentz Pierre continued to get better and, for me, was the best defender in our league, if not the west coast," Carlin-Voigt said. "And then a guy like Jake Arteaga... putting the team before himself and stepping back in at right centerback… and doing it well."
The outside back pairing of Denley and Kevin Bonilla was relentless. Both are natural attackers – Denley was an attacking midfielder with Concordia University – who focused more on defense, benefiting the team greatly. Bonilla was an All-WCC Second Team selection as well. Greg Tracey was also crucial in the midfield, the prototypical scrappy midfielder that Carlin-Voigt says doesn't get enough attention due to the stats not looking quite as flashy.
The good news is that several of these players – along with key returners such as All-WCC Freshman Team selections Muslim Umar and Oliver Jeppe – will be back next season. Portland will lose at least five players due to exhausted eligibility, but despite that, they still boast strong roster flexibility. Carlin-Voigt wishes every player could play forever, but he also relishes the challenge of finding players committed to Pilot soccer.
"We have to continue to be committed to the principles of our game model and the way that we play," Carlin-Voigt said. "It starts with having a very good spring and continuing to develop guys, continuing to play a challenging schedule. We have a good recruiting class coming in, we're very active in the recruiting market for a couple more special players… it's a really exciting challenge to say among the nation's elite."
Years like 2022 are the kind that teams always remember. Some might see this as an outlier year, a year where almost everything clicked right and they happened to make it to the Elite Eight in an era that doesn't always favor small schools. For Carlin-Voigt, however, Portland is just one step closer to every team's goal.
"When I got the job, the goal was to win a national championship," Carlin-Voigt said. "You know, why not us? Why can't Portland do it? And a lot of people laughed and said it's going to be very difficult in a small school in the modern era to do that. And I don't care. I think that's the standards that we have."
2022 Men's Soccer Highlights