What do you know?

This is a piece of UP lore every fan should know.

The 1995 finals against Notre Dame was one of the classic heartbreakers UP suffered through in the 1990's.

It was UP's first finals. (semi's Losses to Notre Dame the years before and after)

UP was ranked #2 in the Nation then, on the strength of a tenacious defense that registered 16 shutouts. (I'd like to say Kristen Eaton was the rock in the middle, but I'm not sure I have the right year) and Notre Dame was #4. ND had just beaten North Carolina in a one goal game where Cindy Parlow scored an own goal trying to clear a header from Cindy Daws.

I'd refer you to the UP archives for some references to that game, but as you know, they are lost to us now.
I'll tell you what I remember, (Whether accurate or not) about that game.

First, I'll quote to you from the Notre Dame archive, which still has their version of that game and the 1996 heartbreaker.

Against Portland, after 90 minutes of regulation, two-15 minute overtime periods and five minutes in sudden death overtime, Daws was again the catalyst. After Michelle McCarthy was fouled outside of the box, Daws quick-kicked the direct kick past the Portland goalkeeper to end the exhausting game and Notre Dame's dreamlike run to the title.

Why was that so controversial? well, the ref had whistled the ball dead, people still hadn't cleared the area, Our keeper, Erin Fahey, was in fact still trying to find out from the ref whether she had whistled a direct or indirect kick and the ref hadn't yet whistled the ball back into play.
Erin was on the post lining up the wall when the kick was made.
I've seen that same situation in world cup play, and the kicking team was yellow carded (Ghana, I think)
But the ND bench rushed the field in celebration, the obviously flustered ref ended the game, and we filed out of Buckley Center in disbelief.

To this day, people who saw that game (not just UP fans), will tell you the game was stolen.
Clive didn't dwell on it, he just went over and shook Petruchelli's hand vowing to get good enough that those plays wouldn't matter.

Eventually, UP did. If you recall the 2002 and 2005 seasons, UP made its own chances to win it all.

If you had seen me and the other oldtimers smiling the biggest smile after the 3-1 pasting we gave Notre Dame in the Playoffs in 2005, now you know why.



If you are ever at Notre Dame and have some time to kill, go to the Sports archive and ask to see the game, They still have it available for viewing. ask for :
AWSO 31193 VH : Women's Soccer - Notre Dame vs. Portland, NCAA Tournament Final [TV Broadcast, ok quality] 1995/1203


I'd tell you to go to the UP archive, but we apparently don't have one anymore.

I recall 2002 like it was yesterday. Christine's hat trick against Richmond at Merlo, then watching OT before playing our concert. We knew the game was tied, so we started asking each other where to find a TV with cable. Someone suggested the basement of Christie, so off we went.

When I saw that run down the left side, I thought, "Here we go. We're gonna score." Sorry to whoever it was that made the run, but I do remember the cross, the shot, then Christine putting in the rebound, then us Pilots going nuts.

ESPN showed the reaction from the Pilot bench, and when Clive stood up, smiled, and raised his arms, I said, "Wow, Clive is fired up about this. "

Luckily for us we have that video linked here. Not that I've forgotten what happened.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote: Sorry to whoever it was that made the run, but I do remember the cross, the shot, then Christine putting in the rebound, then us Pilots going nuts.

That was another Kristen. Kristen Moore, this time. That play was just one of the chances the Pilots made for themselves that I was referring to.

That team was also pretty good defensively. I think they only allowed one goal the entire tournament.

Here's one example of when archives don't really do you any good. The Press release that Kristen raced down the sideline after gathering up a long pass from Misaki, then sent it in to Sinc. I remember she stole a lateral/back pass from one Santa Clara player to another.

This time there is a way to tell. You be the judge.




about 3:50 minutes in.


(The main reason I put this up is just to see Clive in Triumph again...)

Thanks for the great story about the 1995 title game, geezer.

You'd think that the NCAA in such a high profile game would have reviewed that "winning goal". It was so obviously a screw up by the ref!

Was there any outrage or challenge issued by UP to the NCAA? If they didn't, I would have been hopping mad at our guys for not at least making a big stink about it to the national media, the WCC and the NCAA.

I'm kinda glad I missed all that. (Oh, I would have loved that season and those players! It's the final ending fiasco that would have been difficult to ever forget. But Clive was right about not putting your team in a position to lose. That's the final peice in the heart of a true champion. My signature belief, as stated below, comes from watching many teams who didn't understand the "never let up, ever" philosophy of the true champion. But it's something to behold when you see a team that's got it! And I really feel the Pilots have that now ingrained in their culture. That's why they have a shot at winning it all every year, in my opinion.)

I've been very pleased with the program overall since I hopped on board!

Oops, looks like I got caught editing-- Have a look at the video above for a smile.

FANatic wrote:

Was there any outrage or challenge issued by UP to the NCAA? If they didn't, I would have been hopping mad at our guys for not at least making a big stink about it to the national media, the WCC and the NCAA.

I'm kinda glad I missed all that.

I'm glad I saw it. Now that it's in the past and the championships are on the shelf, It makes the wins sweeter.


Clive never beefed to the media about any of that stuff. Not if we got screwed in seedings, not if there were bad calls, None of it.

He only focussed on things he could do something about. Like getting getting so good you could win in spite of those things. He just felt it was better to focus ahead.

Losing with a great team didn't seem to bother him like it does some.

Here's a quote from the piece in the CLIVE thread

I am not so much result-oriented as teaching-orientated. If it becomes all about winning, all you get is frustrated when you lose. I can’t say results were secondary, but they were kind of linked up with everything else. I think you always look to the next game – how are we going to make it better, not perfect, but nearer perfect? I get a lot out of getting players to improve their game but also develop as people. I think the two things can be connected.

Purplegeezer wrote:
UP was ranked #2 in the Nation then, on the strength of a tenacious defense that registered 16 shutouts. (I'd like to say Kristen Eaton was the rock in the middle, but I'm not sure I have the right year) and Notre Dame was #4.

You'd never have the right year, because she was an outside back. Haha. Tia Sharpe was the rock in the middle, back when the Pilots still played a 3-5-2.

FANatic wrote:
You'd think that the NCAA in such a high profile game would have reviewed that "winning goal". It was so obviously a screw up by the ref!

Was there any outrage or challenge issued by UP to the NCAA? If they didn't, I would have been hopping mad at our guys for not at least making a big stink about it to the national media, the WCC and the NCAA.

A) It was women's soccer in 1995, so they didn't really care...especially since UNC was out of the tournament. It didn't really matter to the NCAA.
B) From my understanding, the referee admitted he didn't really know how to stop the celebration in progress and didn't have the heart to tell the Notre Dame players to clear the field because there were so many of them on the field celebrating. It is also my understanding, though this may be urban legend, that the referee sent a letter of apology to UP and Clive for his actions several weeks after the Final Four. It's so unbelievable to think that it actually might be true.
C) No outrage or challenge from UP (I'm sure there was outrage...I was outraged when I watched it on TV); I think, from what I understand, Clive was always of the opinion of "well, if that's the way Chris Petrucelli wants to win, especially a national championship, and he's okay with that, then so be it. We'll have other opportunities." There's no use in looking like a poor loser, especially in the face of such poor winners.

All I have to say about 1995 is those stupid, freaking green jerseys. Argh! And that stupid, smarmy Leprechaun who ran the sidelines--I'm sure those of you who made the trip to Santa Clara for the Final Four in 1996 remember who I'm talking about. I was with a group of people during that trip and we happened to run into him and he started taunting us and I thought that was especially brave of him considering he was backed by a bunch of cheerleaders and our group was kind of a crew of soccer hooligans who probably would've beat him senseless had we not been in the lobby of a hotel.

KFTC wrote:

Purplegeezer wrote:
UP was ranked #2 in the Nation then, on the strength of a tenacious defense that registered 16 shutouts. (I'd like to say Kristen Eaton was the rock in the middle, but I'm not sure I have the right year) and Notre Dame was #4.

You'd never have the right year, because she was an outside back. Haha. Tia Sharpe was the rock in the middle, back when the Pilots still played a 3-5-2.

Tia!

Well, if I had an archive, I'd have had it right
I admitted they were going to get my version, even if wrong.

Ugh... bad memories of 1995. I just remember being in BC Aud stunned and not understanding what had happened.

What I know for a fact is that they used video of that game while training officials. Friends of mine who I played with and who reffed and who had to take classes, and they used that video as an example of what NOT to do and of a terrible call and the consequences of allowing something like that to happen.

There's no way around it... it was a terrible call. I think everyone who saw it knew that it shouldn't have counted, but once the cork was off the bottle, there just wasn't any way to put the chapmagne back in, you know? There's a certain part of me that almost admires Cindy Daws for just kicking it in and forcing the ref into that spot. But then I think... nah, it was way too cheap.

And KFTC... you've never been more right than you were about that damned Leprachaun. Wanted to kill him. I'm not a violent guy and I've never been in a fight, but that freaking leprachaun...... I was close.

Stonehouse wrote:

And KFTC... you've never been more right than you were about that damned Leprachaun. Wanted to kill him. I'm not a violent guy and I've never been in a fight, but that freaking leprachaun...... I was close.

I've never understood that whole leprechaun thing and the Fighting Irish thing. First off, sometimes the leprechaun is 6'2" or something, which makes absolutely no sense.

But beyond that, the Fighting Irish thing seems like a slur that goes beyond any Native American or other ethnic slur.


150 years ago, Fighting Irish wasn't a reference to irish independence patriots or a reference to US independence patriots like Sullivan ( Colonial officer of the day when the British were forced out of Boston on St Patrick's day 1776) or General Henry Knox (commanded Colonial artillery)


It was a slur against Irish Americans who participated in food and Draft Riots in the Civil war era and immortalized by political cartoonist Thomas Nast. They were seen as a threat to the established Tamany organization that ruled politics at the time in New York City. Notre Dame even dressed up the 'leprechaun " like the ape-like characters in the cartoons.

See if you don't agree.

Note: Wrote this before Stonehouse' and geezer's last two posts.

Wow! Clive must have been one classy guy. (I never met the man, but hear of him regularly, even
years after his passing. He will obviously always be the backbone of the UP soccer program - men and women.)

"KFTC wrote:

B) From my understanding, the referee admitted he didn't really know how to stop the celebration in progress and didn't have the heart to tell the Notre Dame players to clear the field because there were so many of them on the field celebrating.

A very telling piece of info, KFTC. He "didn't have the heart to tell the Notre Dame players..."!
Well, DID HE HAVE THE HEART TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF UP PLAYERS AND COACHES AND TELL THEM THAT THEY JUST "LOST" THE TITLE ON HIS MISTAKE, after running through the season and playoffs unbeaten, and were in their FIRST championship game, after over 120 minutes of shutout soccer? Sounds like he was trying to rationalize his mistake and ended up sounding like a buffoon in the process.

I assume the referee was NCAA top flight, or he wouldn't have been assigned the title game. Everyone makes mistakes, but his linesmen and alternate ref should have talked him into acting rationally and stopping the insanity. There are certain mistakes in life, especially if you are a seasoned grown-up, that you just cannot make. (Like an airlines pilot misjudging the runway - okay that was a tad bit extreme of an example.) But a blown call happens all the time in sports and can cause your team a title. But this guy apparently KNEW he was wrong, and still didn't take action. He should have been sanctioned by the NCAA and forced to undergo Marine Basic Training!!! After that, he wouldn't have any trouble calling off that insane "celebration".

However, in the spirit of Clive and all that's happened between now and then, I "forgive" the referee in question. And I do believe in Clive's basic tenet of moving forward, and getting so good that that kind of situation just cannot happen again. Certainly, the 4-0 pasting of UCLA in the 2005 finals is a classic example of taking control and not letting anything, including referee's calls or non-calls or just plain "bounce off the crossbar" bad luck, stop you from winning the match!!!

I don't remember the incident in the Notre Dame match clearly, though I'm sure I watched it at the time. But as a referee, I'm wondering what he did that was wrong. In general, the team taking the kick has a right to a quick restart if they want one, unless the referee stops the match for an injury or they have asked the referee to push the defense back to a ten-yard interval. Did one of these situations occur? Was there some other reason why the referee should not have allowed a quick restart? (Chaos around the ball is not a valid reason.) Was the restart not taken from the proper spot?

As for asking whether the kick is direct or indirect, setting the wall, etc., defenders and goalkeepers do that at their own risk. It shouldn't be necessary to ask whether it's direct or indirect because the referee's arm will be up in the latter case.

I remember watching Michelle Akers with the USWNT at Merlo in the early 1990s. She had been taken down hard outside the box and was on hands and knees facing the corner flag. One of her teammates placed the ball behind her boot, she tapped it backwards while still on her knees (taking the free kick), and her teammate blasted it into the net past a stunned 'keeper: Goal USA!

Yeah, that's a fair question SoreKnees.

But as a player, when there is a kick awarded outside the box, just the way it works is the offense gets set, the defense sets the wall, and then the referee signals or blows his whistle to indicate that play is back live.

I mean... quick restarts are OK in the middle of the field and off corner kicks and stuff, but on a direct kick outside the box, it's just kind of standard procedure for the ref to indicate play is back on. I can't think of any instance in my glorious career as a player in which a quick restart was allowed (or even attempted) on a direct kick like that. It's just not the way it works.

You're right, Stonehouse, that's usually the way it works on possible scoring situations. But unless there's an injury or card, it's the attacker's option. Most attacking teams want to back the opponents up and get their players into position, so they usually ask for 10 yards, which means that play cannot restart until the referee signals. I've seen a few situations over the years where clever players have seen an opportunity and taken advantage of the quick restart in scoring situations. Because it's not commonly done, the defense is often unprepared.

True. And honestly it's hard to remember exactly how it went down since it was so long ago. And of course we are all a little to close to the situation.

But I think you're right... there is room for argument for sure, based on the rules.

But here's the thing... if I remember right (I'm hazy) the referee himself was not ready for it. He was moving the line back (not sure if ND asked for him too) and all of a sudden the ball was in the goal. He wasn't facing the kicker and was not in a position to know if it was legally kicked, if anyone was offsides, etc. etc.

The referee has EVERY right to call back a free kick if he is not prepared for it. He wasn't for this one, but he didn't have the you-know-whats to call it back.