past favorite pilots

past favorite pilots not named milbrett, macmillian or sinclair.

i thoiught this might be fun, especially for us old timers.

i'll start with when i first started watching the girls. my first fav was melissa ribaudo. she was an outside back that had great speed an i loved watching her use it.

kristen eaton, aka eater. so strong defensively, but very under rated offensively. she was shut down, nobody could get around her!

anyone remember lindsay smart? i don't think i ever saw her mis-strike a ball. she was so solid.
dd
how about brooke o'hanley anyone? so unassumining, so quiet, but so dangerous for all of the above reasons. a friend called her 'ernest'. i think that fits her well.

on the offensive side of the ball, kylie barton. she was the #2 recruit coming out of high school. very talented offensively, but very physical. i always called her 'a bull in a china shop', an i think she enjoyed that.

an last, but not least, an i think in credibly under rated because of her injuries, cheryl loveless; goalkeeper. angela harrison received all the accolades thst were cheryl's. if cheryl had not been hurt, no one in pilot nation would even know who angela is.

ok, those are my fav's. what does pilot nation think??

p.s.
a player i forgot, regina holan. does any one remember the crowd shouting 'reggie, reggie'? she scored one of the most spectacular goals i have ever scene during u of p's first trip to the college cup final. it was, i think, the second goal an reggie layed out horizontally for a header

Hmmm....I'd go with Christina Harsaghy--more because I remember her being a really nice person. Also, Rachel Mackey, who had blazing speed. They both played on the '92 team that made the NCAA playoffs for the first time.

Closer to this era, Lindsey Huie was always a favorite of mine. All business on the field.

Fuzzywozie...YOU my friend...are the TRUE Pilot Soccer FAN!! I do not know any of the girls you mentioned. Only Angela Harrison sounded familiar to me!

You must've been there at the start of it all...when Clive was just putting the program together. My interest started a little later. I started following the team closely only "recently". My past favorite Pilots were Imani Dorsey, Erin Misaki, Kristen Moore and Lindsey Huie!

Kristen was the one who actually started it all for me. My daughter was 10 and had just started her first year playing in Rec soccer. Being an alumni...I thought...hey...I heard there's a "pretty good soccer program" on campus now...let's see a game? I say that sacastically of course! But it was a chance to introduce her to my alma mater and its renowned soccer team.

I remember it like it was yesterday. We saw our first game together sitting in the front row of H section...just on the other side of the Students. We saw a lot of Kristen from there...we were blown away....mesmerized!! Sitting in the front row...changed everything for us. This was NOT Rec soccer!

That's why I love Merlo...it gives you a chance to see the game up close....its a totally different game up front! ...the speed...the athleticism... the techical skills...are things I've come to appreciate! It was world-class soccer right before my very eyes...I was hooked! Never seen anything like that!

After the game...we went to get autographs. It was an informal thing before....not the assembly line sessions that it is now. Back then...you would just ask the players as they were leaving the Chiles Center...or as they were talking to their friends or family members in the lobby area.

My daughter was very very shy and would not approach the girls on her own. Instead, she would just hoover around other autograph seekers and hope a player would notice her. She wasn't the type to verbalize and ask for one!

That's where Kristen came in...she recognized my daughter's hesistation in stepping up and instead...approached her. After Kristen signed...she asked if she wanted more autographs? When my daughter nodded..yes...she held her hand and took her into the locker room!!

I remember before reaching the locker toom....she stopped Lindsey in the hallway....and told her not to leave until she signed for my daughter. My daughter was bug-eyed! This gal was actually "stopping" Lindsey Huie for an autograph....OMG!!?? Needless to say...my daughter had the best time and came back from the locker room with the most treasured autographs anyone can have. On top of that....Kristen's mom took a picture of them together! Then....Her mom sought me out in the next home game and...gave me a copy of the picture! How awesome is that?

That (small?) gesture closed the deal for me! How can you not be a Pilot Soccer fan after that?

I read Kristen was a teacher with the Lake Oswego School district now. That figures, huh? It would be nice to see her again though. I haven't seen her in attendance at any recent games...as I have with other Pilot alumni. I haven't seen that she's played in any of the alumni vs current Pilot preseason scrimmages either.

Anyway...Thanks Kristen! Here's wishing you well!

all those mentioned brought smiles to my face, but if you are going to mention Kristens -- no list is complete without Rogers.

My favorites tend to be players who left it all on the field. Two of my faves were Wynn Mckintosh and Michelle French --two players with attitude. Mckintosh was a live wire on and off the field. Her dancing on the scorers table at a basketball game the year we went to the tournament still makes me laugh. There are a couple stories, too--not sure if they were true, but they are part of the lore.

I'll have to admit, though that all 5'1", 105 lbs of Mellissa Ribaudo stalking the center of the defense put fear in many opponents.

Kelsey Hollenbeck decided she had to be tougher her senior year and proceeded to sweep her side of the field clear.

Tara Koleski tried several times every season to connect on a bicycle kick. Though she piped a couple, she never scored with one, but it was fun to watch her try. If you want a shortcut onto my list----hit one.

Barr and Sari have to be two of my recent faves. Cleaned up all the messes.

I gotta dispute your assessment of Harrison. There was NOBODY tougher than she was in that 4 overtime game against N Carolina. She kept an overmatched UP team in the game. I think the shot count was around 35-5 against. I think that was also a year where UP was even more injury stricken than this year. She played the field sometimes, and did it well.

Voilland, Fahey, and Arase deserve mention on any Keeper list.

I'll have to say, though,-- there are several players currently on the team that will hit this list in the future.

This one's a no brainer... Rozwadowska... And perhaps Holly Pierce.

Ha! I love all of these players. There have been some pretty amazing people to wear the purple and, ahem, white jersey. I won't dispute anything fuzzywozie said except for the follow-up post about Reggie. ACTUALLY, the college cup game you are referring to against Notre Dame was a semi-final (they previously made it to the final the year before when they lost on an egregious referee error), and she scored two tremendous goals, neither of which were headers: the first on a set piece that had failed to produce a goal all year, and then in that game, Justi and Reg nailed it perfectly and she smashed the ball over Jen Renola's head from about 7 yards out on the angle. The second was a screamer (again, over Renola's head) from about 20 yards out, off of a blocked effort from Koleski. Two of the best goals of the '96 season.

P.S. Geezer--the Pilots, unfortunately for us, registered only one shot in that game: the free-kick in the 4th overtime. They didn't even count Kylee's breakaway effort as a shot...stupid UNC bias. Haha.

Last thing, I promise. Many are forgetting Tia Sharpe. Talk about an underrated player. Her contributions to the Pilot backline were many, and she always gave everything she had, every game, without question. One of the best defenders in the program.

It's so great to see all these names! Got to give props to Erin Misaki as a playmaker in the middle... she was awesome.

Talk of that 4OT games against UNC really makes me smile. I remember watching it in BC Aud and how intense it was. The story I heard second- or third-hand about that game was that when Clive asked the team who wanted to take a PK if it came to that, everyone on the team said yes. When Anson Dorrance asked the same question on his bench, no one volunteered. They just couldn't believe that this team was hanging with them and were scared to lose. The Pilots, on the other hand, were ready to go for the win. To this day, I'm convinced we would have won that PK shootout no problem.

Another fond memory of mine was riding on a rooter bus down to Stanford... maybe in 1993 or 1994? Not sure of the year, but UP got screwed by the NCAA seeding (some stories never change, huh?) and had to travel down to face Stanford, who at the time had Julie Foudy. A huge bus of UP students, faculty, staff, fans, etc. drove all night to Stanford, all wearing purple pins saying "Veritas vos Liberat" (the truth will set you free), which was some kind of high-brow slap at the NCAA and how we would win the game despite being screwed over so royally. I still have that pin to this day. Anyway, from what I remember (I was 10 or 11 at the time), UP jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but then Stanford ended up winning 5-2.

Also, who could forget hosting the Final Four in 1994 (stupid Notre Dame beat us in the semis 1-0) or the infamous 1995 title game against Notre Dame? I watched it again in BC Aud and no one could really understand what had happened. I heard a story from a friend of mine who was taking a soccer referee class, and they showed a video of what happened at the end and used it as an example of how NOT to handle a situation like that. Ugh... bad memories.

But the happiest of all was the first title... I still can see the play that one the game, Kristin Moore making the long run, sending it in to Sinclair, Christine doing what she does best... then utter pandemonium with all the rest of the Pilot fans. And getting to see Clive finally achieve what he had striven for all those years... it was just awesome.

I could go on, but I'll just suffice it to say that I always loved Wynne McIntosh's game.

purplegeezer,
i didnt mention frenchy because she was on the hermann watch list. i absolutely loved her. i was looking for past pilots who flew under the radar. frenchy was not under the radar. i think she may have even got call ups to the natioinal team.
also, as much as i respect your opinion from what i have read on this forum, i really have to dispute your assessment of angela harrison. i truly believe that cheryl loveles was a superior talent in the goal than angela was. angela may have preformed amirably, i have not doubt that cheryl would have performed better.

fuzzywozie,
Yeah, maybe Frenchie deserves to be in the pantheon with the BIG THREE. But I thought your original post omitted only those players. I figured she HAD to be mentioned.

As to the two keepers, there's really not anything to dispute between them. They were both great players, and their careers overlapped, but injuries and redshirting usually insured that there really wasn't much choice in who played.

Cheryl set a school record in 1996 with a .42 GAA in 1996, and Angela bettered that in 1998 (the 4 overtime year) with a .30 GAA, ( a record I believe still stands) leading me to think the choice between them is more emotional than factual.

But my preference for Angela has more to do with her style of play than any statistical difference.
When she went after a ball in the box, you felt like you were watching the Marines storm the beaches at Guadalcanal. bodies flew everywhere.

Stoney,
The first Championship certainly ties together all the memories, sweet and bittersweet. I have one Pilot picture on the wall- Clive holding the trophy in one arm and Tiffeny in the other.

KFTC,
Who do you trust more on the shot count, me or some Commie NC scorekeeper?


Here's a question I'll throw out for those of you who think you know Pilot soccer-- What Pilot great went on to play for the National team of Ireland?

geezer.
the first name that popped into my head was holly pierce for no particular reason. but the more i thought about it the more it sounded reasonable.
forgive my stereotype, but holly looks irish an i think i remember her playing pro soccer over there.
am i right??

Seems like the Irish international was Holly Pierce, whom PointPilots mentioned earlier.

yup, it was Holly

Good job, guys!

She played in 2003 , which I believe was the first year Ireland had a team and were looking all over the word for players.
Then they went for home-grown players.

She played in at least 2 games, 1 at UP (possibly against UP, but that's foggy), and 1 in Mass against the US nat team. Tif scored 2 in that game, Shannon scored 1. I'm not sure that she ever went overseas for Ireland.

i wasnt a big fan of holly's initially, but she grew on me, much like betsy barr. i have to admit that i'm pretty hard on incoming freshmen. for our current team, my fav's are, in order, keelin winters, jessica tsao [i really dont understand the critism of her], and elli reed. whle elli probably has the most potential of the three, i am the most 'in love' with keelin. i am blown away by her!

funny, I remember wondering if Betsy would live up to the standard she set (answer was yup)

Oh yeah, she played for ireland in 1999, not 2003, and shannon didn't score that game.

Gotta go- dinner bell just rang here at the home for pilots with dementia---

Fuzzywozie, I think it is interesting you think Cheryl was under-rated. She actually played in 2 out the 3 Final Fours (1996, 2000) the Pilots made it to in her era, and was an All-American in both of those years, too (2nd or 3rd team on both counts, I think), as well as an All-WCC pick multiple times. So why do you think she was under-rated? I think she was very much rated, but suffered some unfortunate injuries, which allowed someone else to step up and fill the space between the posts. I have no qualms with your opinion, but I'm just curious as to why you would think someone who collected that many accolades for her outstanding play would be under-rated?

Heh, Geezer, the scorekeepers in Carolina ARE ridiculous! I remember the whole crowd cheering when the free-kick sailed over the crossbar and the scorekeepers FINALLY put a shot on the board for Portland. It was funny.

kftc,
i think the reason she was underated in my opinion was because of that. because her injuries occured at the most unfortunate times the attention shifted from how good she was to her back up, angela harrision. at that time the pilots had i think the best defensive line they've ever had.
i honestly believe that if cheryl had not had the injuries she had that angela wud have been another ruth gilliam. an while i appreciate ruth, an angela for the most part, i just believe that cheryl was the superior keeper an i believe that clive confirmed that by starting cheryl over angela when healthy.
were equals.

On this thread of Cheryl & Angela, and the recent mention of Ruth Gilliam (and by implication Cori Alexander), I think it's interesting that Garrett has not hesitated to hold Kelsey Davis out of games this year and to play Hailee De Young. Having to GK who can play and ensuring that the second of the two has plenty of experience is very smart. The last thing you need is for the first choice GK to get hurt in a play off game and have an untried back up have to play in a major game.

World Cup 1970. Gordon Banks gets sick: Peter Bonetti, who had zip international experience, is called in to face Gernay in the semi final (maybe the QF) and stinks it up. English fans were known to refer to him as Peter Bonetti-lost-the world-cup form that day on.

Hailee De Young has already played 400+ minutes this year, compared to 150 for Ruth Gilliam all last season.

My vote goes to Barbara Lang. Not only a great soccer player in her day but someone that will win every alumni award the University offers (she already has 2 of the 4).

go Pilots!