Enyeart WCC Player of the Year; Smith Coach of the Year!

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:I think Elli has sacrificed a lot for the team, adapting and limiting some of the things she otherwise could do that are her strengths, because it's what the team has needed. It's subtle, but I hope people recognize it.

I couldn't agree with you more.

I imagine that if Hallie were reading these blogs, she would feel bad. How many second-half bench players have scored a hat trick and multiple two-goal games? She may not have the speed that Michelle had, but she's proved she can score. I suspect that Garrett will experiment with different solutions in the next couple of games, but Hallie has to be one of the options.

an how many second-half bench players make the all conference team regardless of rank? i would hope halley doesnt read these blogs, she doesnt need them to validate her value to this team. all she needs are her teammates.
personally, wouldn't be surprised to see halley starting because of her strength an chemistry she has with sophie. but i also wouldnt be surprised to see someone else start either. that's whats so engaging about this forumn. the speculation, bouncing ideas off each other, etc. like geez said, we could start 'pilot for the day' an win these game....knock on wood.

fozziewozzie wrote:like geez said, we could start 'pilot for the day' an win these game....knock on wood.

I think the geez had quaffed many a Pliny's when he said that. This is the year in which UNC can paddle UCLA and Notre Dame hard on the behind and then tie Auburn. Ain't nobody can take anything for granted.

PS - that last Pliny's was really good. I wonder if there are more in the fridge.

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:

fozziewozzie wrote:like geez said, we could start 'pilot for the day' an win these game....knock on wood.

I think the geez had quaffed many a Pliny's when he said that. This is the year in which UNC can paddle UCLA and Notre Dame hard on the behind and then tie Auburn and get beaten by Miami Ain't nobody can take anything for granted.

PS - that last Pliny's was really good. I wonder if there are more in the fridge.

fixed your post - and stay out of my fridge.

harryb wrote:I imagine that if Hallie were reading these blogs, she would feel bad. How many second-half bench players have scored a hat trick and multiple two-goal games? She may not have the speed that Michelle had, but she's proved she can score. I suspect that Garrett will experiment with different solutions in the next couple of games, but Hallie has to be one of the options.

This raises an interesting point. I've often thought that I hope none of the athletes read these forums, for multiple reasons. First of all, none of them need 50 more coaches telling them what to do (not that there aren't very good points raised, but I have confidence in our coaches) and also because they don't need to see (potential) criticisms of themselves (again, if a player has an issue, it's coaches role to point that out). Hallie needn't feel validated nor bad if she were to read what anyone is saying. As someone has mentioned above, she needs only to look around at her team for validation: she's playing on one of the Top 4 (yes, I'm still a little bitter) teams in D1 soccer and she is contributing. Any girl on this team should feel incredible about herself, whether she is a starter, a backup or otherwise. I have a strong feeling that even the players whose on-field contributions are currently limited are great sources of support, help to push everyone to be better in practice and will probably see their field-time in the future (how many seniors do we have, typically, that don't contribue?).

In the end, Garrett is going to field the most competitive team that he possibly can and I don't think any of the girls would have it any other way. Besides, by the time all is said and done, we'll need contributions from everyone.

Relax. They probably think we're all a hoot if they ever read what we say....

I think the question of who replaces Michelle's position is more of a role question as opposed to a skill question. Halley is obviously a fantastic player, but at least in the games we've seen her in, she seems to play a role similar to Foxhoven. That is, she puts the ball in the net.
That's not to say that she couldn't play other roles. Maybe finishing is her most natural role, or maybe that's just what she's asked to do when she subs on for Foxhoven. But if she goes in up top with Foxhoven, it would seem that one of them (or both of them, for that matter) would need to play more of a setting-up-the-play role. Hence the speculation of which combinations of players would work best.
I don't think anyone is doubting Halley's skill and contribution to the team.

Absolutely agree with Runner Girl. I think Kendall is the most likely suspect in regards to an ability to beat the defense with speed and get the ball to the touchline. But that is why Garrett is over there on the bench and not me.

I agree as well. However, I'd put Kendra up with Kendall as a one-on-one creative player.

We'll know in a few hours at least what the initial plan is...

As someone else said, it will be fun to see what Garrett and the team decide the correct answer is - and, it will be the correct answer.

harryb wrote:
I imagine that if Hallie were reading these blogs, she would feel bad. How many second-half bench players have scored a hat trick and multiple two-goal games? She may not have the speed that Michelle had, but she's proved she can score. I suspect that Garrett will experiment with different solutions in the next couple of games, but Hallie has to be one of the options.

I've only read positive things about Hallie on this forum. My impression is she's highly regarded by the fans here. If she did read something negative, I don't think she'd spend a lot of time worrying about it. Instead... if she's the player we all know she is...she'll be eager to step up...and be ulta-motivated to have her opportunity to shine! I think we're all confident Hallie willl do that! Any and all of our reserves are very capable of doing that. And I'm sure Michelle would back her and cheer on her on as a replacement 100%. I'm very sad for Michelle...especially with the timing of her loss. But, its still a team game...and from the beginning...we're loaded with talent this year. The consensus of this 2009 team has always been...finding the a position and PT (playing time) for everyone. Garrett's advantage is having many interchangable players. Good thing we're not the one's who have to decide that.

GO PILOTS....BEAT DENVER!!!

Will also be interesting to see who plays tonight at center back.

Depending on injuries, I think it could be MO and Megan. Kristen is another option.

IMHO - If we don't see Kassi or Cloee, I believe both are eligible to apply for medical redshirts. That is certainly not a horrible thing looking forward. But it definitely is not what I expected at the start of the season.

Anyhoot, the back line has done a bang-up job all year, and Kelsey has been the first to give them their due.

FANatic,
i think we may have seen kristen for the year. i cant remember where i read it, but kristen has been diagnosed with pneumonia. that is not something you get over an then go run five miles in a soccer game the next week.

They said that on the ESPN broadcast, which I finally got around to watching today.

"Did you know the Pilots lead the nation in attendance, despite only having an enrollment of about 3300?" Yeah, I caught that the first five times you said it.

A_Fan wrote:They haven't done the "Go" "Pilots" cheer for several games now. Any idea why?

How did you like tonight?

Excellent. Thanks and please keep it up!

And the Pilots scored after about three rounds of Go Pilots! Pretty good return on our efforts!

FANatic: Kassi herself told my daughter after the Denver game that she will not take a redshirt season. (She said she had already played too many minutes -- which surprises me since she has played so sparingly.) The good news is that she still has two more years to go, and the Pilots can use her vibrant energy on the field rather than just on the bench leading cheers.

Cheers to Michelle E. for her well-deserved honor, and for all the great moments she has created before our eyes over her 4 years. In a few more seasons I hope we link her name to MSL rather than ACL (hey, I'm trying to find some kind of humor in an unfortunate situation.) Michelle looked to be in good spirits even on crutches after the Denver game -- smiling and laughing and rasing a crutch in the air in the postgame huddle. Her presence shows that this is a REAL TEAM in which everyone counts, and shows that the Pilots have the combined strength and character to march on through the tournament.

purple haze wrote:FANatic: Kassi herself told my daughter after the Denver game that she will not take a redshirt season. (She said she had already played too many minutes -- which surprises me since she has played so sparingly.)

It's not just minutes, it's when you play them. If she played in more than 30% of the games or one minute in the second half of the season, she is ineligible for a redshirt. She burned her redshirt when she came in during the Gonzaga game. It was the 13th game of the season, and even if we win the College Cup we won't have played 26 games.

Sometimes the loss of a key player causes everyone else to get better. The UP men's team this year may be an example. This is the first men's team in many years that did not have a marquee forward and, perhaps as a result, it's one of the most successful teams. When I've seen them this year, they seem to just look for the open man rather than trying to look to set up the star.

The women certainly have always had lots of weapons other than Michelle this season, but she was often the go-to player to whom they would look in order to get things going. Now each player will have to take on some of the creative responsibility and it could bring out the best in some of the others. I thought that both Kendall and Taylor were exceptional last night, and some of that could be them feeling like they had to penetrate more on their own rather than looking to play the ball in to the senior superstar.