Polls and news

purplerose wrote:How and when do they determine the venue for the various rounds of the playoffs. I was under the impression that if you got a number #1 seed, that you would be playing at your home field but I found out this weekend that that is not necessarily the case.

When would we find out when the first/second and third rounds of the playoffs will be held. Can someone please tell me. I would love to book tickets early!

NCAA Women's Soccer Championship

11/13-15/2009 NCAA First/Second Rounds
11/20-22/2009 NCAA Third Rounds
11/27-29/2009 NCAA Quarterfinals
12/4-6/2009 NCAACollege Cup (Semi's and Finals) College Station, Texas

The first two games are largely determined by geography and travel expenses.

If you are seeded and in an area that doesn't have one team within 400 miles that is also in the tournament, not seeded, and doesn't have an out-of-conference team, you will travel

This year we are fortunate. Out of the 8 teams within 400 miles (not 500) that are tournament eligible, 4 or possibly 5 will make it. None are in our conference. One might be seeded.
At this point, WSU, UW, UofO, and OSU are in. PSU will join the club if they win their conference. Of these, only WSU looks to be in the top 16 and thus seeded. (UofO probably needs to win another game)

So it looks like we will get at least the first 3 rounds at home. If we make it to a #1 seed, we will be home untii the College Cup.

SoreKnees wrote:Hard to see us not getting a #1 seed with a win on Friday.

Do they seed the #2s by rank so that the lowest-ranked #1 gets the highest-ranked #2? Seems like that happened last year when Stanford drew us in the same bracket. If we are overall #3 (or maybe even #2), then we would avoid FSU and UCLA until the Final Four. I'd sure like to not play UCLA or Stanford in the quarterfinals this year!

The answer is, we don't know. I asked the NCAA this question and the response was that it is a question they will not comment on. Based on the last couple of years, it looks like they try to rank the four #1 seeds and place them in the bracket accordingly. I'm thinking they probably try to rank the four #2 seeds also. I think the farther down on the seeding list they get, the less effort goes into trying to rank the teams within the #3 and #4 seeding pods. So, my best guess is that they take a hybrid approach.

Also, if I recall correctly, they do not get into the travel considerations until after they have placed the seeds in the bracket. Then, they start trying to figure out how to place the remaining 48 teams, using their travel software as an aide. The travel software, however, is not determinative. For one thing, I believe they make at least some attempt to balance the first weekend foursomes, although that can get pretty hard to do. I've written about this some on the RPI website either on the tournament criteria, tournament procedures, or actual tournament practices page.

Thank you all for the information regarding tournament site. I really appreciate it. All seriousness aside......My only question is.... Why doesn't the NCAA take into consideration the fact that Southest airfare is only cheap if I can book my tickets way in advance. Because of thier lack of ability to make a decision I have to financial suffer and not eat for two more weeks!
Don't they realize that the Pilot's playing at MerloField is just the way things should be for the playoffs! The atmosphere would be incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
especially for a 1st timer!

purplerose wrote:Thank you all for the information regarding tournament site. I really appreciate it. All seriousness aside......My only question is.... Why doesn't the NCAA take into consideration the fact that Southest airfare is only cheap if I can book my tickets way in advance. Because of thier lack of ability to make a decision I have to financial suffer and not eat for two more weeks!
Don't they realize that the Pilot's playing at MerloField is just the way things should be for the playoffs! The atmosphere would be incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
especially for a 1st timer!

The NCAA has a contract with a travel service for all their tournaments. I think they get a deal you can't. I think that's a case of every man for himself.



You haven't booked your tickets to Texas?

I can't afford it.... but rest assured I will be watching and cheering where everyone within a 3 mile radius of my house will hear me!!!

Another quick question for the Pilot Nation.

I am trying to do my day job and be a travel agent in my spare time. Assuming the Pilots play at home in the third round (which I am), would the games be on Friday and Sunday?

If so, would the Friday game be at night and the Sunday game be early afternoon, late afternoon???

This is what was on the order form for playoff tickets I was sent a few weeks back:

https://www.pilotnation.net/women-s-soccer-f7/playoffs-save-the-dates-t2570.htm

First round: Friday, November 13, 4 and 7 pm (Pilots play the late game)

Second round: Sunday, November 15, noon

Third round: Friday, November 20, 7 pm

Quarterfinal: Friday November 27, 7 pm
The first two rounds are over one weekend. The third round and quarterfinals are on separate weekends. If you're a Pilot basketball fan you already know (or should know) Nov. 21 is the Duck game, so that's really not an option. There is a women's basketball game the afternoon of the 22nd, so Friday night it is.

purplerose wrote:Another quick question for the Pilot Nation.

I am trying to do my day job and be a travel agent in my spare time. Assuming the Pilots play at home in the third round (which I am), would the games be on Friday and Sunday?

If so, would the Friday game be at night and the Sunday game be early afternoon, late afternoon???

PPT is probably right, bu there are factors that could change those dates. (not likely)

On Thanksgiving weekend, It will almost certainly be on Friday, since the NCAA doesn't allow tournament travel the day before Thanksgiving or the following Sunday - no travel deals those days.


But the first weekend is not guaranteed. If we get a school like BYU who won't play on Sunday for religious or other reasons, they will have to be accommodated. But that's not likely, BYU seems to be central to a lot of places and might host for travel reasons.

The Sunday game will be in the afternoon early enough that whoever comes can fly back home and not stay the night. That's probably a big deal for the NCAA.
So the goal is the listed 2:00 PM time, but that could change for travel or to accommodate TV.

The men have their last regular season game scheduled for 3:00 on November 15, so the noon start time for the playoff game is probably pretty well set, unless we get a team like BYU.

I would guess the Friday games would be why the men's game with Seattle was moved to a Thursday night. Perhaps the marketing department could take a cue from PGE Park..?

Geezaldinho wrote:
If we get a school like BYU who won't play on Sunday for religious or other reasons, they will have to be accommodated.

BYU could be accomodated simply by being scheduled against the Pilots on Friday. No Sunday game. No Problem.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:The men have their last regular season game scheduled for 3:00 on November 15, so the noon start time for the playoff game is probably pretty well set, unless we get a team like BYU.

I would guess the Friday games would be why the men's game with Seattle was moved to a Thursday night. Perhaps the marketing department could take a cue from PGE Park..?

I suspect the Thurday start with Seattle had more to do with Playing USF on Sunday, who don't have a Friday game.

Basketball? Men's? Women's?

Geezaldinho wrote:You haven't booked your tickets to Texas?

This reminds me. If some of you are thinking about going to College Station, I suggest you hunt down hotels now and make reservations. You always can cancel them. In 2005, it was almost impossible to find a place to stay. I can tell you that right now, most of the major places to stay are either booked or holding their rooms for specific groups of sports teams. There are the NCAA teams, plus the accompanying club soccer showcase teams. In 2005, there also was the state or regional high school swim meet. Plus who knows what else.

U of P did "sponsor" people staying at a resort outside of College Station, about 30 minutes away. If any of you stayed there, you might comment on that. I don't know if U of P will do that again. They also had a "barbecue" event before each game at a pavilion about a block from the soccer stadium. They were really, really great events.

It will be fantastic to have a ton of U of P fans there (I'm planning on the team being there, too), so it's definitely worth it. We have a Visa Mileage Plus credit card and charge everything on it with the main purpose of accumulating miles for trips like this. But really, don't wait until the last minute to book hotel reservations.

I've checked, and all the teams are staying at the same hotel this year. That hotel will not book rooms for "outsiders" right now, which is too bad since it's really fun to stay at the same hotel as the team. Maybe they'll open up some rooms later, but based on past experience it's unlikely.

Anyway, it's all in the far future, and the near future reaches its apex on Friday night under the lights at 8:00 pm at Merlo.

GO PILOTS!

I tried recently to book a room and found all the hotels and motels in the area are completely booked. However if you call them directly you can get on their waiting lists. We did this in 2005 and after the final 4 was determined, rooms began to become available. Our experience was the same as UPSF's we had a great time and recommend it to everyone.

I called the Comfort Inn Aggieland today and asked to get on the waiting list for the Final Four weekend. The person on the other end of the line said, they didn't have a waiting list and besides if there were any cancellations, they had people who wanted the rooms. I replied that you do have a waiting list then. He said no, they don't have a waiting list. I said, you just told me that if there are cancellations that you have people who want the rooms, that means you have a waiting list. His response was can I help you with anything else? Apparently you have to know someone to get on the non-existant waiting list at the Comfort Inn.

Welcome to Texas, boy!

If worse comes to worse, you could book a room in the northwest part of Houston which is about an hour and a half from College Station. It's a somewhat scenic drive through prairie and farm fields.

Still rooms at Howard Johnson Express for 77(not a great review). May book direct or go through link at TAMU to Chamber of Commerced.

"not a great review" is an understatement, they were all negative!

no sacrifice is too great for our team

A_Fan wrote:I called the Comfort Inn Aggieland today and asked to get on the waiting list for the Final Four weekend. The person on the other end of the line said, they didn't have a waiting list and besides if there were any cancellations, they had people who wanted the rooms. I replied that you do have a waiting list then. He said no, they don't have a waiting list. I said, you just told me that if there are cancellations that you have people who want the rooms, that means you have a waiting list. His response was can I help you with anything else? Apparently you have to know someone to get on the non-existant waiting list at the Comfort Inn.

Sounds like the time Jerry Seinfeld tried to pick up the rental car he reserved.

Yes, a very Seinfeld moment indeed...the place that doesn't hold a reservation or the waiting list that doesn't exist...

Here's an article about the USD game and DaFox's scoring from Aaron Fentress in the O

http://www.oregonlive.com/pilots/index.ssf/2009/11/pilots_forward_danielle_foxhov.html