Pilots win again!

I may have missed it, but I think that Halley Kreminski should be added to the list of subs receiving praise here. She seems to aggressively find scoring opportunities and as she gets more minutes and chances to polish her skills in game situations goals and assists are likely to follow.

Halley was also the energizer bunny.
She reminded me of Natalie.

I watched the handshakes after the game with particular interest. No hugging between Alex Morgan and her three Pilot teammates from the National Team. They didn't even appear to exchange words, just a handshake from each of them.

Trenchcoat Wally wrote: Athletics department suggestion... Have a soccer fan song lyric writing contest! Simple drum beat and easy to learn, like the one posted. Heck, UP is a two time national champion. It is time for a UP soccer song! Any song writers out there? Portland IS soccer city.

Good idea...another good one came to me as I saw the Villa boys singing along to "Don't Stop Believin'" during the fireworks. The Pilots, like all the great teams, need an anthem. Make it happen, boys! This would be awesome! (To explain, an anthem is something like YNWA at Liverpool or Celtic, Bubbles at West Ham, Wise Men at the Timbers--usually a pop song or standard, sometimes with the words changed, but in most cases the supporters sing the original because the supporters find special meaning in it.) Trust me, this is not as ridiculous as it might sound...

Anyway, last night it was clear how much of a difference having Enyeart makes. She kept making those slicing runs down the middle, and if you want to stop the middle, there's options on the outside like Reed, Kendall (who looked very nice last night), etc.

In the back, Cloee did not look like she was playing her second college game. The defensive unit was solid as ever. I also saw Hailee make a nice save or two in the second half.

There ain't much to add, as you all pegged it very well, and very thoroughly.

Wow! I got to see the ladies play for the first time this summer because of the kindness of Geez. He got me to just sit back and enjoy this very special group. What a magical evening it was, and anyone who was there knows exactly what I'm talking about.

A great beginning to a very special season. Pilots Forever!

A question for you all: Were there any Cal fans at the game? My seats are near the visitors bench and there are often visiting fans nearby. It struck me during the second half that I hadn't heard a single cheer for Cal all evening. But then, when I thought about it, I'm not sure that there was ever an occasion on which a Cal fan would have cheered! (Except the occasional good save when both teams were cheering: one the shot and the other the save.)

Were there none present or did the Pilots just do a great job of silencing them?

The Pilots silenced Cal in every way -- including the Cal fans (if any). Pilots ruled with an imposing team win, everyone contributing. They made a well-regarded team look feeble and vulnerable.

I did see 2 people after the game in Cal shirts... they kind of had a glazed look on their face... I think they were a bit shell-shocked.

I did expect UP to win vs Cal but expected a much tougher match. I recall that at one point the scoreboard showed 3 UP goals on 8 shots, and by then Cal was doomed.

Saw one person with a Cal hat coming in. After the third goal, I gave any of them who were there a "You're not singing anymore" just to be safe.

We sat behind and next to about 10 Cal Fans and parents. They were the quietest bunch. But they were also very respectful. Did very little questioning of the refs and had nice things to say about the Pilot Players.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:

Good idea...another good one came to me as I saw the Villa boys singing along to "Don't Stop Believin'" during the fireworks. The Pilots, like all the great teams, need an anthem. Make it happen, boys! This would be awesome! (To explain, an anthem is something like YNWA at Liverpool or Celtic, Bubbles at West Ham, Wise Men at the Timbers--usually a pop song or standard, sometimes with the words changed, but in most cases the supporters sing the original because the supporters find special meaning in it.) Trust me, this is not as ridiculous as it might sound...

It may be more difficult to coordinate and implement a song or anthem that everyone would participate singing to. I think a gimmick that would work is "bubbles"! Last year, 1 guy got a lot of attention at a couple of home games with his bubble gun. Can you imagine how much attention 10, 30 50 people with bubble guns get? I think it would make an awesome impression!! As long as the wind blows up and away from the pitch...I don't see any harm? If there's any question on interrupting a match...it can always be done during warmups, halftime or postgame! I think doing that first may be the catalyst and encourage folks to sing along with an anthem later....just like West Ham's tradition?

GO PILOTS!!!

Penn State/UP Fan wrote:We sat behind and next to about 10 Cal Fans and parents. They were the quietest bunch. But they were also very respectful. Did very little questioning of the refs and had nice things to say about the Pilot Players.

I was there last year for the USC game and remember seeing the same thing - a small group of USC fans in front of me, quiet and respectful - of course, they didn't have much to cheer about. I spoke to them afterwards and mentioned how I was disappointed at not getting to see Rodriguez play, and they did not even come close to using that as an excuse. I think visiting fans at UP are probably awed by the atmosphere, win or lose. I know I was my first time (and, for that matter, subsequently).

GUPhantom wrote:

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:

Good idea...another good one came to me as I saw the Villa boys singing along to "Don't Stop Believin'" during the fireworks. The Pilots, like all the great teams, need an anthem. Make it happen, boys! This would be awesome! (To explain, an anthem is something like YNWA at Liverpool or Celtic, Bubbles at West Ham, Wise Men at the Timbers--usually a pop song or standard, sometimes with the words changed, but in most cases the supporters sing the original because the supporters find special meaning in it.) Trust me, this is not as ridiculous as it might sound...

It may be more difficult to coordinate and implement a song or anthem that everyone would participate singing to. I think a gimmick that would work is "bubbles"! Last year, 1 guy got a lot of attention at a couple of home games with his bubble gun. Can you imagine how much attention 10, 30 50 people with bubble guns get? I think it would make an awesome impression!! As long as the wind blows up and away from the pitch...I don't see any harm? If there's any question on interrupting a match...it can always be done during warmups, halftime or postgame! I think doing that first may be the catalyst and encourage folks to sing along with an anthem later....just like West Ham's tradition?

GO PILOTS!!!

If that's what the students want to do, then that's cool with me. It's their student section that they stand and sing in. The important thing for me is they do whatever they do because they like it and it caught on rather than, "Hey, Club X did this one, we should do it to be cool like them." The songs that last start in the stands and catch on because the fans like them and keep doing them.