Spring game vs UW

UP and UW went at it at Merlo field today. UP came away with a 4-0 win on 2 goals from Michelle Enyeart and two from Sophie Schmidt.

The first goal was by Michelle on a nice trough ball over the top from Keelin.

The second was By Sophie on a great post -up turn and shot from the top of the box.

On the third was from a great chip shot over a keeper who was cheating upfield By Michelle from about 35 yards out. the keeper got a hand on it, but momentum carried her and the ball into the cage.

The final one was classic Enyeart. She got the ball at about 10 yards on the defensive side of midfield and had only one defender to beat, so she went right at and past her to a free look at the keeper. rather than just shoot, she passed off to Sophie who put the shot away with aplomb. It was a play that got everyone's attention from Michelle's first touch on the ball, because she was well placed to beat her player.

Pilots had several other chances they didn't put away, and so did UW. Spring ball usually has some pretty rough edges - neither team looked like they were in season form. Both teams are going to have to be a lot sharper against the u23's this week if they don't want to be embarrassed. UP was experimenting a lot with players in different positions, so that may be part of what's going on. Of the UW players, Veronica Perez stood out, Kate Dinas looked OK but was going up against Keelin and MO and not many people look good playing against them.

I notice from the UW site that they will be going to Brasil in June, so they will have a several week jump on the rest of the teams they will play this year. UP is the opening game for UW this fall, we will have played CAL a couple of days before.

UW plays the u23's at the Nike Center in Beaverton at 3:00 PM this Thursday. UP plays the u23's at Merlo on Saturday evening.

All in all, it was a nice day to sit in the stands and enjoy kids having fun.

Here's the simultaneous write-up I did on a different thread, which I just deleted so we can talk about the game on one thread. After reading the Geez's report, I guess I thought the Pilots starters looked better than he thought they looked. A good test will be Saturday against the U23s, which I unfortunately will have to miss:

The Pilots put on a dominating performance today, soundly beating UW 4-0. The Pilots had the run of play for almost the entire game and looked much better than last week against OSU. The game was scoreless for about the first 25 minutes, with UW having their one decent chance of the game. Sophie Schmidt then scored the first goal, followed by two first half goals from Michelle Enyeart. The subs came on in the second half, but late in the half Sophie and Michelle returned. Michelle moments later did one of her patented runs, then dished a long crossing grounder to Sophie who calmly controlled the ball, moved to the right, and drilled a 15-yarder into the back of the net.

When the starting 11 were on the field, the Pilots looked really great, passing the ball in mid-season form. Things were a little choppier when the subs came in, but they still had the run of play most of the time. It was a very encouraging performance against a good UW team.

Starting lineup, from right to left:

Davis

Tsao, Olivier, Sweeney, Reed

Winters

Burk, Enyeart, Chandhoke (but with Burk and Enyeart switching back and forth seemingly at will)

Schmidt, Foxhoven

All the available subs got to play, with Kassie and Emma Nelson not available. Hailee DeYoung played the second half and looked fine, except for one bobble on a grounder shot to the far post.

Of the starters, it's hard to pick a standout as they all looked good and no one had a bad day.

If we assume Cloee Colohan will play in the middle of the defense with Olivier, then I'm guessing that the person of today's starters not in the starting lineup will be Sweeney. Megan, nonetheless, looked really good today. I'll go out on a limb and make a guess that we're going to see some of her in the midfield this year, either as a starter or as a backup to Kendra or Charney.

So- are you saying my addled old mind got the goal order mixed up?

If so, very nice- you managed to do it without actually using those two words.

Actually, I'm not sure whose mind is addled about the order. Another equally aged fan sitting in front of me forgot about Michelle's first goal altogether. In any event, the number was 4 with 2 each for Sophie and Michelle.

Michelle's second goal, the 35 yard "chip" over the keeper (a Jesuit grad, by the way) showed what a smart player she is. A la Christine Sinclair in the NCAA Tournament at Nebraska who, on seeing how far the Cornhuskers' keeper played the ball out in front of herself before kicking it downfield during the first round game, predicted she would steal one of those balls and score a goal. Fast, skilled, and smart -- a pretty good combo.

Thanks for the news and the write-ups. I was coaching a U14 game at the same time so wasn't able to be there.

Next weekend will be interesting. Lastt ime UP played the U23 it was really clear which of the Pilots could play at that higher level and which of them struggled.

I'd like to think that most fo the starting line up can hold their own this time: we'll see.

Didn't speak to them...but I'm pretty sure there was a recruit or recruits(s) there this afternoon. 3 gals...all seemed to be local from WA. They got some attention from whole team after the match....everyone came by to introduce themselves and welcome them. I was thinking they may have been recruits for the 2010 class...they seemed older than 2011 recruits would be.

At first I thought they may have been members of the (incoming) 2009 class. But then again...I haven't seen any of the local Oregon recruits attending the spring games. Are they allowed to be around? I would expect them to be there if they're allowed.

GO PILOTS!!!

well, if they were 2010 recruits, only one is local (Sara Bridges)

here's the current list of 2010 recruits
Ellen Parker AZ
Amanda Frisbie TX
Nichole Dowling CA
Erin Dees IL
Michelle Cruz CA
Sarah Bridges OR - Jesuit?

We do have 3 local recruits for the fall, so those may have been who you saw.
Elinor Priest - St. Mary's
Kendall Johnson - Lincoln
Taylor Brooke - West Linn

They all have good size.

Molly Klier and Cloee Colohan probably DIDN't make it.

There isn't a limit on informal campus visits for recruits as long as they pay their own way. they are some restrictions on how much they can talk to coaches.

Since the 2009 recruits have signed their LOI's, I also think that there really aren't any restrictions even on how much they can talk to coaches, etc.

We are pretty much recruiting for 2011 now, so the kids should look younger, unless they have Greg Oden type genes.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on the match. I couldn't make it to the game, so your thoughts are of great value to me!

Thanks again, my very soccer knowledgeable friends!

Purplegeezer wrote:We are pretty much recruiting for 2011 now, so the kids should look younger, unless they have Greg Oden type genes.

Then they'd look like a female Geezer!

I'll throw in my two cents.

The Pilot women played much better than they did last week, when they seemed out of synch most of the game. This week, there were a lot of pretty passing combinations, particularly when the starters were in.

We won the possession battle, but not by as great a margin as the final score indicated. UW had some good possession, and several good scoring chances.

Michelle's chip was very pretty, but the play of the day had to be the last goal, where she ran by her defender, and got enough attention from Sophie's defender that when she passed the ball to Sophie, Sophie was able to bury it. An unselfish play by Michelle that paid off.

Kristen Kelly played the second half in middle defense, and had a very nice game--probably the best I've seen her play.

Danielle had a great chance to score in the first half--a shot from near the top of the 18 and with plenty of open net, but missed. I've become accustomed to her hitting those.

Charney was more active today than last week (when she was playing sick), and had a couple of chances that I'm sure she'd like to have back.

I am looking forward to next week's game. It should be a good test.