University of Portland men’s soccer team hosting program’s first Elite Eight home match

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The postseason magic continues for the University of Portland men’s soccer team as the Pilots march on in the NCAA tournament.

The No. 8 Pilots will host the No. 16 Furman Paladins in UP’s first-ever Elite Eight home match.

“We’ve had to be perfect to earn this right to play at home,” said UP head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt.

Head coach Carlin-Voigt has been on the beat up on the bluff for a decade now.

“It’s the best environment in the NCAA tournament, the last home game, the Elite Eight game with the college Final Four berth on the line,” said Carlin-Voigt. “It’s hard to do things here in this program, in this city that haven’t been done before, so it means everything. It means we have a dream to be champions.”

The Pilots own the nation’s best home unbeaten streak of 13 straight. Now they’ve set their sights on defeating Furman in the DI quarterfinals to play for the college cup, something the men of Portland last did in 1995.

“Get behind this team because it’s a good group of guys,” said Carlin-Voigt. “We have a 3.6 GPA, the guys do things the right way, they play for each other, but if you’re around this team, you’ll understand how humble they are. Joe [Highfield] leads the line there. He’s a team-first guy.”

Striker Joe Highfield has scored in each of the last two playoff matches. The 6′4″ redshirt sophomore marketing major and West Coast Conference first-teamer from Minnesota looks to remain hot.

“Our goal is to win the whole thing,” said Highfield. “We’re not afraid to say it. It’s just another step in the journey. We believe we can do it and we’re going to do it so it’s huge. None of us have ever done it before so we’re just excited for the opportunity.”

It’s another major opportunity for Carlin-Voigt’s WCC program that last made the Elite Eight in 2022 but this time, and for the first time, it’s in the comforts of home at the Clive Charles Complex.

“It’s already been a great season but we’re not happy just to get this far, we want to keep going,” said Carlin-Voigt. ”Our guys deserve it. They’ve been working their whole life for moments like this. It’s so fun as a coach to see the joy, the passion that they are playing with, the confidence. We’ve been a group that’s been locked in arms all year. We’ve been united in purpose. We haven’t been given anything, we’ve earned every single game in the playoffs here.”

The University of Portland Pilots will take on the Furman Paladins at Merlo Field on Friday at 7 p.m. for a chance to make the Final Four.