Pilots vs. UCLA, Sat. 11/28, 5pm, Los Angeles

That must be our boy Shipstad. He's been up early (in Italian time) these last three days following Pilot hoops and soccer and he probably will do the same for the basketball game tomorrow. He deserves a ton of props.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:
Come on D. You know better than to read OregonLive comments.

Haha indeed... Why do you think we got this whole message board thing rolling to begin with?? It's one thing to have an opposing opinion, or some playful trash talking, but really you can do it while actually maintaining some semblance of class.

That said, ugh, the end of the season is ALWAYS too soon... Heck even when we do win the title is it wrong that I wanted a victory tour? Anyway, thank you seniors for your years of dedication on the Bluff, and for the rest of the squad, can't wait to see you back on the pitch in 9 short months... SHORT months...

wyeast wrote: I am lucky to be a fan.

True. We are all so lucky. There is nothing like Pilot soccer.

Thank you to Kelsey, Michelle, Janelle, and Megan for the time you spent here. You all carried on the tradition of Pilot soccer on and off the field. You have made us proud and your names will be mentioned for years to come. Once a Pilot, always a Pilot.

Thank you to Garrett, Bill, and the coaching staff for continuing the beautiful, high class game Clive started. The players had fun and enjoyed themselves, as Clive would have wanted them to, and it showed on the field. He has not left the Bluff yet.

Thank you to the fans who came and made Merlo a magical place, the best stadium in college soccer, and those who watch and listen from Portland and beyond. Also thanks to everyone here. Whether you just got here today or have been here from the beginning you are making this the nicest message board you will ever find. We are the best fans in college soccer and everyone here has done a fantastic job helping us keep that title.

Some of you will be around over the winter and spring following Pilot basketball (and if you don't already, you really should because this season is going to be special) and some of you we won't hear from until the summer or fall. Either way, best wishes this holiday season, happy new year, and have a safe and restful offseason. Next year, 2010, is the year we go to Cary and win Cup #3.

Poopdeck Pappy wrote:I wish I was the one who was listening to the game from Italy. It may have made the loss a little less painful if I could go down to the piazza afterwards to get a big scoop of gelato.

I don't know how he does it, it's hard for me to get up here in France...

AMAZING SEASON WOMEN! I LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT FALL!!!

Poopdeck Pappy wrote:I wish I was the one who was listening to the game from Italy. It may have made the loss a little less painful if I could go down to the piazza afterwards to get a big scoop of gelato.

There isn't much gelato to be had at 4am (when the game ended) but bed was much better than gelato could have been. I might grab some consolation gelato today though, now that you mention it

letsgopilots11 wrote:I don't know how he does it, it's hard for me to get up here in France...

I slept from 1-2 and from 4-12. that's 9 hours. I figured that I couldn't have slept knowing that the game was going on, anyway.

Oh to still be in college and be able to survive on a random sleep schedule....

That was me out here in DC. Didn't have gelato after the game, but had some of the best ice cream on the East Coast before the game. It didn't help. What a very tough end to the season, but good for the players for their onslaught at the end of the game.

Go men, today -- both soccer v Virginia and b'ball against W Virginia.

PILOTS!

Geezaldinho wrote:Here's some screen shots of where PilotNation was during the game.

How many of the places with PN viewers are home towns of players?

Who was over there in Russia?

Thanks Geez for the map. Very cool to see everyone all over the world is so dedicated. Tough end to the season but hopefully we can learn from this and come back more physical.

Agreed, Geezer that was pretty cool.

Another season now complete and despite an ending we all abhor, it was a great season for the Pilot Women, the staff and for us the fans. I have no doubt that the team will come out next season ready for another run at the College Cup.

Thanks to everyone involved for a very entertaining season and especially to the Seniors who will be moving on to the next phase of their lives. They will always be Pilots and I'm sure will be highly spoken of in this forum for years to come.

Huge bummer, of course. I feel personally responsible... UCLA scored both their goals during the four minutes I was in the chatroom. A true jinx... I can't believe it.

I think this is the game where we really felt the absense of Michelle. No offense to our earlier opponents, but none of them were on the level of the Bruins. Similar to last season, the Pilots didn't necessarily have a lot of speed outside of Elli and Michelle. When we lost them for the playoffs in 2008, the difference in team speed was glaring. So without Michelle this year, we saw it again... not as pronounced early on, but definitely against a big, fast team like UCLA.

Which brings up another thing... in the history of Portland soccer, when have we ever played well against fast, physical opponents? Well, clearly we played well against everyone in 2005, but that team was capable of delivering as much punishment as it took (thank you, Kelsey Hollenbeck!). I don't want to fall into the old "finesse vs. physical" thing, but it is worth pointing out that when we come up against a team that is both very speedy and very physical (like Texas A&M and UCLA this year), we had a tough time coping.

But I wouldn't ever want to trade in our beautiful game for what UCLA does... they can smash their way into the College Cup all they want... I'd like to watch good passing and good team soccer!

Big thanks to the departing seniors and the coaches... what a ride it's been. You know a fanbase is spoiled when a trip to the Elight Eight is seen as something of a disappointment.

Next year!

in 2002 and 1995 we were slower than most other contenders , and all though those 6 runs to the semi's in a row were were always slower and smaller

I think we can be more physical without sinking to UCLA's level. They can also maintain the finesse. It seems that if we ever want to beat UCLA we will need to learn how to take it. According to the broadcast our girls were on the ground all over the field. Hate... suddenly I feel hate again. lol.

ShipstadPilot11 wrote:

letsgopilots11 wrote:I don't know how he does it, it's hard for me to get up here in France...

I slept from 1-2 and from 4-12. that's 9 hours. I figured that I couldn't have slept knowing that the game was going on, anyway.

Very true all the same... but I still did not manage it. I still have to try to be a good student sometime this semester...

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:Who was over there in Russia?

And who is that fan from China?!

Well, the Geez figured out Vladimir Putin is a huge fan, he must have been logging on at the Forbidden City too...

I want to thank the Pilot Nation, as an outsider for having the opportunity to share some thoughts throughout this season. As this will be my last post, I would like to share some thoughts about this game and the season as a whole. First, I have always admired the Portland women's soccer team, its coach and of course, the fans. I have attended one game at Merlo filed vs. UCLA (last year) and the atmosphere was very exciting. I know the fans take pride in their team and tradition.

I can imagine that it is very frustrating to have to play UCLA in a quarter final venue. I, personally, believe that Portland is and was deserving of a #1 seeding but unlike most of the Pilot Nation's vehement objection over UCLA's #1 seeding, I think both were deserving. I still maintain that FSU was given the special treatment by the committee when they were awarded the #1. It may, now, look like I was right based upon the outcome of their loss to ND but in any event we all have to play our given hand. UCLA can boast, which I don't believe they do, that they have a much better win/loss vs. Porland but the one thing they haven't been able to boast about is a national championship. The bottom line, there, is coaching, and like Forest Gump says, "that's all I have to say about that."

Re: the game itself, I have to say that I was a little surprised that, by in large, UCLA was able to control most of the game. As it has been pointed out, Portland plays a prettier game and, in my opinion, has always been able to control the tempo based upon their passing ability. Ugly or not, UCLA seem to disrupt Portland's tempo. I don't think it was just because of physicality as both teams can be physical. I thought our weakness would be our middle and while Portland seemed to get to the ball first, they were not able to convert or they got dispossed. UCLA does have a tendancy to lose their poise and Portland was able to put the pressue on especially during the last 10 minutes of the game. I was sure the game was going the way of overtime but, alas it was not to be.

Anyway, next year. UCLA will not be as srong. By the way, where were the drums? Good luck to your team next year.

thanks, 'chiefer'! come back any time!

http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ucla&media=156217

In the previous video, courtesy of ohhh_yeah:

Nice comments about Pilots by Lauren Cheney. Great player with class.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. Lauren Cheney has to be the dirtiest player I've ever seen play, and I've had 4 opportunities to catch her act during in the last 2 years. At the game yesterday, she routinely sent bodies flying, but when Kassi marked her tight, the big baby responded by hitting Kassi with a wildly thrown elbow. At least she got a yellow card for her viscious attack.

A great player with class - hardly.

I did not see the game so what follows is speculation and conjecture, based upon watching all the home games and two games in Seattle.

Pilots were missing two starters: Cloee and MichE. The loss of MichE was especially hard to deal with - not only becuase she is so damn good - but also because it happended so late in the season. There was little time to adjust or to try out alternatives in games as opposed to practice. Sophie went back to forward, which was fine but disrupted the midfield that had been so successful. Maybe with more time they could have tried Kendall up front or other alternatives.

Cloee and MichO had started to form a really resolute central d. Then both got hurt. Cloee never made it back, and I don't think MichO was 100% either. To understand what we lost here - think back to the Cal game. Alex Morgan comes in off a great summer with the U20s and Cloee and MichO just shut her down. To make matters worse, Kassie was hurt and after Kristen Kelly stepped up then she got sick and was gone. So UP went from a rock solid center d to a series of constantly changing and somewhat makeshift pairings.

I have gone on record as raising some concerns about Megan Sweeney - her detemination and commitment are unquestionable. She cannot be any taller than she is, which is a disadvantage at center d, and she has been caught out for speed sometines. Having said that she did an amazing job of covering this position with a whole array of partners - all of whom are different. But the loss of Cloee and the less than fully recovered MichO hurt us - and in the late stages of the playoffs it could have been the difference. Any struggle there causes Keelin to play deeper and more cautious, which impacts the team's ability to get forward consistently.

Then we get the shaft on the seedintgs and have to lay on the road in QF. I think that's the difference between winning 2-1 and losing 2-1.

Whether it was UCLA or FSU who were favored - the fact is both were. UP was #3 in RPI and that should have been that.

Many great moments to remember from this season. Sad to end on a disappointing note.

'78 Alum wrote: Lauren Cheney has to be the dirtiest player I've ever seen play.

I've never seen her play...but I would guess she is second dirtiest at most.