Pilot steers team to bigger goals

After summer with Canadian national squad, forward’s ready

By steve brandon

The Portland Tribune, Aug 31, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Pilot Alex Elliott (left) says his team’s stronger all around this year, and he expects playoff time as the payoff.

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND

The grandson of a professional boxer says the University of Portland men’s soccer team has a lot more punch this year.

“We’re stronger all around this year,” forward Alex Elliott says. “I think we can fill the net with at least two goals a game, if not more, and become a powerhouse in the conference.”

Last year, the Pilots totaled 28 goals in 19 games, went 8-8-3 overall and 4-7-1 in the West Coast Conference, and missed the postseason for the second straight year after four consecutive appearances from 2001 to 2004.

Elliott, now a junior, led UP with nine goals (second in the WCC) and 18 points. After spending this summer with Canada in the Under-20 World Cup, the native of Vancouver, British Columbia, is ready for even more production.

“I expect a ton more from myself, and I know my teammates expect it, too,” Elliott says. “I learned a lot and became a better player from my travels with the Canadian national team.”

Elliott grew up in Canada after his grandfather, Frank Elliott, immigrated from Russia to box as a pro. Alex Elliott has watched old films of his grandfather in the ring, and has a speed bag hanging at home in Vancouver. But soccer has been his sport since he was picked to train with an academy in B.C. well before he became a teenager.

He’s grown to 155 pounds on a 5-7 frame. “I try to push for them to list me at 5-8, but they never give it to me,” he says.

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