LMU @ Merlo 10/17/08

They were solid. Korie is rough and tough, which is good in a central defender. Neither of them have the finesse of Michelle O, but they back down from nobody. Kassi looks to have grown in confidence with every game.

Interestingly the UP stats now show minutes played and - aside from Kelsey who has played every minute of every game - Kassi has more minutes than anyone else; followed by Michelle O.

Important to qualify the positive with an acknowledgement that neither Gonzaga or LMU had strong attacking game. Hard to tell how good the forward players were because the supply to them was erratic. Pilots apply pressure from the front - Danielle and Sophie chase folks down and neither WCC opponent has had the midfiled control to really test the UP back four.

But what the UP defense needed to do they did relatively well and without great alarm. Kelsey is credited with 4 saves last night but I don't recall any of them being anything other than catching a long and speculative shot from too far out to be of any concern.

Sara Jackman at left mid was causing problems for Loyola all night -- until she was taken out due to a cramp or similar right-leg problem late in 2nd half. (Looks like she wanted to stay in but simply could not.) She was scrappy and feisty and at least 3 times had the referee talking to her and telling her to cool it. She'd had her hands all over her mark, grabbing and battling -- almost yellow card stuff, but not quite. Clearly she is not backing down and wants to make the most of her chance to start. She looks calm in the offensive end as she looks to pass or cross the ball, and was always open wide at the side for balls from the other mids or forwards. Nice game for her. "Left mid by committee" may be an outdated idea with her playing this well.

Kasise and Korie were not tested strongly by an unorganized Lions attack. They gobbled up every attempt at a through ball as the entire Pilots back line showed dominance in the air. Kudos to Jessica Tsao, as solid as ever. Michelle O. showed poise and calming influence at holding mid. She does not go forward as Keelin does from that spot, but her passing touch is marvelous and she deftly moves the ball to an open teammate. She is a defensive rock in front of the center backs. Like Keelin she owns the airspace and really elevates to win headers.

A halftime bonus was a chance to chat with Christine Sinclair, who noted with a wry smile that "Our coach got canned" after the Olympics. Hmm, bet the next coach can still find a spot for Sinc somewhere in the lineup.

The second half was sloppy and filled with fouls (the ref called bogus misdemeanors and overlooked felonies) after Megan R. and Foxhoven sat down. Both played dominant games and Foxhoven showed real fire with and without the ball -- great stuff to watch. Even with 7 subs in the game the Pilots still kept attacking. Ellie went in as striker but nobody served her a ball to run on; too bad because Loyola's D couldn't match her speed.

Megan R.'s dad was at the railing by the Pilots bench at game's end , introducing himself to a young fan wearing a "Megan Is My Idol" T-shirt -- he said he agreed with the message!

I loved the scene of the recruits for next year (I could ID Elinor Priest and Kendall Johnson but not the others) joining the huddle at game's end -- how could they not feel some powerful energy standing next to this group.

All in all a fun night at Merlo Field with the past present and future of Pilots soccer showing up in fine form.

Sophie appears to have found her role. Mostly a target player and lay it off. Great shielder. I'm pleased she assumed that role instead of trying to find the speed game that's not there.

Christine walked by the student section last night ("We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"), and she has an entourage now. (Okay, it was just Tiffeny Milbrett.)

Though she didn't have much opportunity to threaten offensively last night...Ellie's minutes on the pitch last night was very eventful. She had quite a physical battle going on with the LMU defenders who marked her....one in particular...I think #12...seemed to be on a mission to take her down whenever Ellie had the ball. There were 2 or 3 occasions when their encounters were very physical. I thought one of them would be eventually carded. It seemed to me that the defender was doing what ever she could to intimidate Ellie...and get under her skin....but it never happened.

I was obsured by bystanders....but there was one play when Ellie's legs was taken out from under her while she was at full speed? From the crowd's reaction...it seemed to be a very bad collision? Was it a slide tackle? I think she got flipped too? Anyway...she bounced right up and continued playing....

GO PILOTS!!!

FANatic wrote:Adam Linnman on the Audiocast was talking up Sara Jackman a whole lot. Said she was attacking and all over the place. She and Megan R. especially. (Mostly in the first half, I think.)

You just made Adam's life with the Pilot Nation shout out!

GU I remember the play when Ellie got her legs swept. I was watching on video and Adam Linnman made a comment regarding the referees ignoring such a blatant foul after he had been talking to players all night about rough play. He seemed to favor calling time outs and lecturing the players rather than carding. It was weird almost coach like behaviour from the referee.

Just another referee sweating all the small stuff at midfield and interrupting play and letting the fouls that count in the defensive and attacking third go uncalled.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Christine walked by the student section last night ("We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"), and she has an entourage now. (Okay, it was just Tiffeny Milbrett.)

i wonder who started that???

photos from last night can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/41639453@N00/sets/72157608149355902/

Oh yea,
The fullsize of Foxhoven's second goal is Sports Photo of the Year quality. Really nice work.

Check it out people

Full size Foxhoven here

Oh Yeah,
Thanks for the pictures, helps when we can't make it to the games.

For those of you watching the recruits this weekend, Cloee Colohan is also there and will be at the game tomorrow with the other 2009's that are on their official visits.

Another thought about Sophie that occurred to me during the game: What's it like to be a defender trying to possess the ball on the other team when the opposing forward is a world-class defender in her other soccer job?

i think what makes sophie so good up top is how STRONG she is!! she is so very hard to knock off the ball an has more than adequate on ball skills. an least, but not last, she is such a complete team player! anything for the TEAM!

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:
Another thought about Sophie that occurred to me during the game: What's it like to be a defender trying to possess the ball on the other team when the opposing forward is a world-class defender in her other soccer job?

Great thought, UPSF!!! I would think very frustrating. And a unique weapon for the Pilots' attack.

Okay, so we're 2-0 in WCC play and we haven't played any teams in the class of UCLA. But listening to ADAM LINNMAN, (how's that for a shoutout, Stonehouse), last night and reading all your really intelligent and varying reports on the match leaves me starting to feel extremely pumped about this new playoff team.

After the 12 non-conf games, it was obvious we had a very elite team with a second brilliant freshman class in as many years, plus the 3 Amigas, who are all going to be big time all-Americans, etc.. I just couldn't see how Garrett could keep the U20's happy during the WCC conference season and prepare a title contender at the same time.

But of course Garrett has done it again!!! He has relegated his U20's to 2nd half bench players and assembled a special group of focused, not to be denied playoff players that so many of you had told me before was going to happen.

In fairness to old FANatic, he hasn't seen any games since the 11 game winning streak began. (And, incredibly, we have allowed only 1 goal in those 11 straight wins - the mark of a true title contender.)

If I could have seen a few of these games, I would have known what was happening out there other than just numbers and basic details and random quotes. But I get a real sense from all of you who saw the game last night that something special is truly happening with this Pilots team, and it's happening now!!!

Hey, great pics ohhh_yeah!

Gives me a feeling of actually being there. Also, much closer looks than I get as a spectator. Great shots of faces grimacing, groaning, sweating and generally having a swell time.

Great shots of Korie. I haven't seen her play too often. Nice to hear she is a solid, physical presence out there. She certainly has waited long enough for her turn to kick buzz!!!

Let's post again - this is fun!

Found some video of last night's match on the "details" link in the Pilots season schedule:

Pilots vs LMU 2008 Video Highlights

It has been a bone of contention as to who coined the quote. If you google it, you just as often get other answers.

Quoteworld.com and Worldofquotes.com

"Be ready when opportunity comes...Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet."

-- Roy D. Chapin, Jr.

Roy Dykeman Chapin (1915-2001) was the founder of American Motors (now part of Chrysler)


But today I pick Charney. It's a great quote to use as incentive. Now when you Google it, her name will turn up. Who knows? with enough hits, she'll be at the top of the list.

for tomorrow she might want this:

"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door."
-- Kyle Chandler

come to think of it, it describes the own goal pretty well.

"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door."
-- Kyle Chandler

Actually, I think the first person to say that was FANatic. I think the full quote is:

"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door. And once you've beaten it down, remember, great teams NEVER lift their foot off an opponent's throat."

At least, it sounds like FANatic, doesn't it?

perfect