Nick Carlin-Voigt

Nick Carlin-Voigt, who spent the previous four years as the associate head coach for the UCLA Bruins, was named the head coach of the University of Portland men’s soccer program in January of 2016. Carlin-Voigt previously helped build championship programs at both UCLA and George Mason where he brought in nationally ranked recruiting classes each of the last seven seasons.

Carlin-Voigt wasted little time after arriving on The Bluff, assembling nationally ranked recruiting classes, while guiding the Pilots to a West Coast Conference Championship in 2016 and two playoff visits in three years.

2016 was an epic year for men’s soccer as Carlin-Voigt’s brought in the nation’s 17th-ranked recruiting class and led the Pilots back to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2009. The team also won their first WCC title since 2002, and the first-year coach was tabbed the WCC’s Co-Coach of the Year to become the program’s first league coach of the year since Clive Charles in 2002.

The 2016 regular season featured a seven-game winning streak, which was the program’s longest winning streak since 1995, and the Pilots found themselves among the nation’s leaders with a potent offense. During a four-game stretch (Sept. 22 - Oct. 14) the Pilots scored 15 goals, which was the most goals scored during a four-game span since Portland collected 17 goals over four contests in 1999.

Portland carried their momentum from the non-conference portion of their schedule into the WCC, and the Pilots won their first five games against league opponents. The 5-0-0 start in the WCC matched the legendary 1988 Portland squad for the best start to a conference schedule in program history.

The fall culminated on an electric night at Merlo Field as Saint Mary’s visited The Bluff on the final night of the regular season. A win meant a league championship for the Pilots, and in front of 4,362 fans and a regional television audience, Portland came through with a thrilling 1-0 win, sparking a wild celebration never seen before on the historic pitch.

The season brought with it a plethora of accomplishments and individual accolades as the Pilots nearly swept the annual WCC post-season awards. Eddie Sanchez was named the league’s player of the year, becoming the first Pilot to do so since 2002. Paul Christensen nabbed the goalkeeper of the year honor, and the always electrifying Benji Michel, who led the league in goals, was voted the WCC’s top freshman.

Portland also returned to its rightful spot among the nation’s leaders in attendance as nearly 2,500 fans showed up per game to support a remarkable team.

2017 brought in another ranked recruiting class (No. 5) and more accomplishments for the Pilots, who put together another solid campaign. Portland was in the mix for the WCC title until the final day of the season, and despite being ranked No. 38 in the RPI, the Pilots were one of the final teams left out of the postseason.

Following the season, both goalkeeper Paul Christensen and Kris Reaves landed in Major League Soccer as Christensen was selected by Atlanta FC United with the first pick in the fourth round of the MLS Draft, and Reaves signed a homegrown contract with FC Dallas. Both Christensen and Reaves saw time with the big club during the 2018 MLS Season.

Christensen ended his career at Portland No. 5 all-time in program history in both shutouts (20) and saves (283). A four-year starter, he was named to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Team after leading 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. He landed on the All-WCC First Team in 2017 and was named the league’s goalkeeper of the year for the second straight season.

Reaves spent two years on The Bluff, where he earned all-region and all-conference honors.

Rey Ortiz had a historic year in 2017, en route to all-conference, all-region, and All-American recognition. During his sophomore season, the midfielder ranked second nationally in assists per game (0.76), he was third in the country with 13 assists, and he 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. Ortiz tallied two game-winners, and he handed out three assists against Fairfield to become the first Pilot with three assists in a game since 2007.

Joining Ortiz, Christensen and Reaves in earning All-WCC in 2017 were Benji Michel (First Team), Matthew Coffey (Honorable Mention), and Erik Edwardson (Honorable Mention). Michel also earned all-region recognition.

2018 featured the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation and another trip to the NCAA postseason. The start of the season included a 13-game unbeaten streak and a plethora of impressive wins, including at No. 24 Coastal Carolina and against No. 9 Washington. At 10-0-3, the Pilots climbed to No. 7 in the national rankings and they were one of the two remaining teams in the country without as loss. The unbeaten streak was the longest for Portland since 1995 when the team put together 14 games without a loss.

The Pilots, who entered the national rankings during the third week of the season and remained there for the remainder of the year, battled through injuries and consistently fielded a starting XI that featured seven first-year players. Portland was unfazed, and by the end of the regular season they had suffered only three losses, which was the fewest since 1995, a year the Pilots reached the NCAA College Cup.

Portland was rewarded when they received a berth to the postseason and a first-round home match against the Pac-12’s UCLA, a storied program that was making their 45th playoff appearance. The game in mid-November was the first home playoff contest for the Pilots since 2002.

The game was an epic battle, and in the end the home side was victorious as a goal from Michel, stingy defense, and a solid performance by Weekes allowed the Pilots to claim the 1-0 shutout. The win sent the Pilots to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

There wasn’t much time to celebrate the win as the very next morning the Pilots were on a plane to Lexington, Ky., for a match-up with the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Portland gave everything they had left against the Wildcats, but Kentucky’s historical season continued as they moved on to the next round with a win.

The end of the season brought more individual accolades for the Pilots as seven Portland players landed All-West Conference recognition, five were named all-region, and Michel was named a Second Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. Michel, who led the team with 11 goals and was No. 3 in the nation with seven game-winners, is the first Pilot to be named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches, which was previously known as the NSCAA, since Nate Jaqua in 2002.

Top Drawer Soccer named Michel to their Best XI Second Team, while Jake Arteaga was place on the TDS All-Freshman Second Team.

Michel and Magana-Rivera were named to the All-WCC First Team, Ortiz landed on the All-WCC Second Team, Esteban Calvo, Malcolm Dixon, and Lionel Mills all received honorable mention, and Jake Arteaga was named to the conference’s all-freshman team.

Earning United Soccer Coaches All-West Region were Michel and Ortiz (First Team), Weekes and Magana-Rivera (Second Team, and Dixon (Third Team).

Portland also ended the year ranked 21st in the country, marking the first time the Pilots finished the year in the national rankings since 2009.

At UCLA Carlin-Voigt helped put together the nation’s number one recruiting class three times (2013, 2014 & 2015). Since his arrival in Westwood, 11 Bruins were drafted or signed into Major League Soccer, highlighted by 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, Leo Stolz.

In 2012 the Bruins won the Pac-12 Championship while finishing with an overall record of 13-3-3. The Bruins reached the post-season all four years, grabbing the No. 1 overall seed in 2013 when UCLA finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The Bruins finished with a 12-3-5 overall record and a 6-1-3 mark in the Pac-12 Conference and defeated four top-3 opponents during the course of the season, including top-ranked Indiana and California. In 2014 the Bruins advanced to the NCAA College Cup Championship in a game that was decided by penalty kicks. Carlin-Voigt had an influential role in building and coaching each of the teams that advanced further each year at the NCAA Championships from 2012 to 2014.

Carlin-Voigt has a passion for teaching and champions a possession-based brand of attacking soccer that was instrumental in the growth of one of the nation’s most explosive offenses. He primarily coached the attacking players in 2014 when the Bruins were the highest scoring team in the NCAA tournament with 11 goals in four games leading into the title game. In 2015, Carlin-Voigt coached the team to 47 goals, which ranked in the top three nationally for goals per game. The 2015 Bruins were the only team in the country to have four players record 20 points or more, and all of them were underclassmen.

Carlin-Voigt was honored as one of College Soccer News’ top-15 assistant coaches in the country in 2013 and 2014, when he was the only coach on the West Coast to earn that distinction. Carlin-Voigt was actively involved in all aspects of the UCLA soccer program, including player development, training, scouting, scheduling, soccer-specific fitness training, summer camp development and alumni and community outreach. As the academic liaison in 2013, he helped the Bruins claim the highest team grade-point average in the UCLA athletic department for first time in program history.

Prior to his stint at UCLA, Carlin-Voigt helped assemble three consecutive recruiting classes at George Mason that were ranked in the top 35. In 2008, he helped coach the Patriots to their first ever Colonial Athletic Association Conference Championship as his recruiting and coaching made immediate turnarounds as the Patriots had a nine-win improvement after his first recruiting cycle. His recruiting classes at George Mason were the foundation of the 2013 Patriots team which went on to win their first ever Atlantic-10 Conference Championship. Carlin-Voigt assisted with every aspect of the George Mason program led by former Major League Soccer Coach of the Year, Greg Andrulis.

Carlin-Voigt spent five years (2007-12) at George Mason, while also coaching the D.C. United Youth Academy Program (2007-10), where he helped mentor U.S. National Team Goalkeeper and D.C. United starter Bill Hamid. In addition to Hamid, who was named the 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Carlin-Voigt coached 30 NCAA Division I players with D.C. United.

While at George Mason Carlin-Voigt helped recruit 12 players with U.S. Youth National Team experience. Five players were either signed or drafted into the MLS while another seven played professional soccer abroad. Prior to his time at George Mason Carlin-Voigt was an assistant women’s coach at University of Wisconsin (2005-06) where he helped the program win the Big Ten Championship.

Before his coaching career, Carlin-Voigt was an NSCAA All-American at Kalamazoo College, where he was a regular on the Dean’s List and graduated cum laude with a degree in economics. Considered one of the top goalkeepers in Division III soccer, he was a two-time team captain for Kalamazoo and a four-year starter, and he holds the Kalamazoo record for shutouts and saves.

Following his graduation in 2004, Carlin-Voigt had a short playing stint with Cruz Azul Oaxaca of the Mexican Second Division that was cut short due to a knee injury. From 2002-05, he played for the Kalamazoo Kingdom where he set franchise records as a goalkeeper for wins and shutouts during the 2004 season. He also saw time on trial with Osnabruck of the German third division in 2006. In 2013 Carlin-Voigt was called into camp with the United States National Beach Team.

An avid learner and student of the game, Carlin-Voigt has studied leadership development and coaching methods at professional clubs such as Real Madrid, Chelsea, Fulham and Santos. He also observed the U.S. National Team’s preparations during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NICK CARLIN-VOIGT

“Nick is one of the bright young coaches in the college game. No doubt he will bring a passion, work ethic and relentless drive that will benefit the University of Portland immensely.”

- Caleb Porter, Head Coach, 2015 MLS Champion Portland Timbers


“Nick has a proven track record of recruiting top level talent to the college game. Portland is a fantastic opportunity for him to build his own program. I would expect Portland to be competing with top teams around the country under Nick’s leadership in a short time.”

- Chris Henderson, Sporting Director, Seattle Sounders FC


“I loved Nick from first time I met him. His energy, enthusiasm, knowledge and charisma is top one percent, which is why he has been able to recruit at such a high level. Nick is the hardest working guy I’ve ever worked with in my career and I’ve been around a long time. He brought us three straight elite recruiting classes, he brought that same ability to UCLA, and now he will do it at Portland. The main reason that he is a fantastic recruiter is because he has lots of integrity and trust with kids and their parents. I’m sure he will embrace the Portland culture and will have great success. He is a very dynamic, aggressive, passionate coach and Portland will benefit from his dedication and commitment. There was no question in my mind that he would become one of the best coaches in the country and I’m sure very good things will happen for the Portland program in a short amount of time.”

- Greg Andrulis, Head Coach, George Mason University Men’s Soccer and former Columbus Crew (MLS) Head Coach


“Nick's level of professionalism across the board is a huge benefit for the University of Portland as well as for the West Coast Conference. Having the opportunity to work closely with Nick I'm convinced he's going to help re-establish our league as we work together to be a power conference on the West Coast."

- Eddie Soto, Head Coach, University of San Francisco Men’s Soccer


“Nick has always been a fantastic coach as he is very driven, a great communicator, and a leader both on and off the field. With his attention to detail and competitive nature, Nick served as a great model for our team. Congratulations to the University of Portland on its new appointment.”

- Leo Stolz, 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy Winner, All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year at UCLA


“I really enjoyed the three years I got to work with Nick. On a personal note he was always willing and able to provide me with whatever I needed to make me a better player. As for the program, he promised that he would be committed to bringing in the best talent and character and he provided that year after year. With his work ethic there is no doubt that he will find success at Portland, and they are lucky to have him.”

- Earl Edwards, UCLA Men’s Soccer All-American, current player for Orlando City (MLS)