Spring Schedule

I posted yesterday the men's spring schedule,
I found out the girls spring schedule today.
Here it is:

April 2nd, 12:00 Noon, vs. UW (Double Header with the guys playing at 2)
April 10th, 1:00PM vs. Trinity Western
April 16th, 11:00AM vs. WSU (Double header again with the guys playing at 1)
April 23rd, vs. OSU Time TBD but I would assume it to be around 1

I happened to be on campus yesterday and was lucky enough to be there as the team was started practice. Very cool to see them ALL again. Cloee, Dani, Halley, Kendall, MOlivier, MCruz, Taylor, Amanda, Micaela etc. Everyone was on the turf field working out....except Ellen Parker and I (think?) Kassi McCluskie on the sidelines? Nothing obvious as far as injuries but they did not participate. I'm excited to see how they'll look during the upcoming Spring matches. And then also excited to see where the new recruits fit in during the fall.

It was odd not seeing Sophie, Keelin, Ellie, Jessica and Kendra on the pitch. Boy, I'm gonna miss that crew. They provided a lot of stability for our young Pilots!

GO PILOTS!!!

Ooh, good news to have the spring scrimmage schedule with some choice contests. The Huskies rematch will stir some memories (and maybe erase some) of fall's final game. Nice to see the Beavers on the spring slate again, with no road trip this time. And even though Trinity Western may be lesser-known, the Canadians gave the Pilots a good game last spring.

Looking for a good lunch spot near U of P for before or after the match this Saturday. Any suggestions?

Try the NOPO food carts at Killingsworth and Greely.

Dont forget it's a double header with the men.

The official Spring schedule is up at PortlandPilots.com.

3/31/2011 10:40:08 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland soccer program has announced its 2010 spring schedule, which features four women’s games and four men’s games and kicks off this Saturday. The Portland women will host Washington at noon, followed by the Pilot men versus the Huskies at 2 p.m.

All games are open to the public and admission is free, but fans are encouraged to make donations for the men’s soccer team’s St. Baldrick’s Fundraising Campaign at the scheduled doubleheaders on April 2 and April 16.

2010 Portland Spring Soccer Schedule
*All games played at Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex unless otherwise noted

Saturday, April 2
Women vs. Washington, noon
Men vs. Washington, 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 9
Men vs. Seattle Pacific, 2 p.m.

Sunday, April 10
Women vs. Trinity, 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 16
Women vs. Washington State, 11 a.m.
Men vs. Oregon State, 1 p.m.

Saturday, April 23
Men vs. USA Under-18 National Team, 10 a.m. (at Nike Campus)
Women vs. Oregon State, 1 p.m.

Don't be a cheapskates. Make a donation when you come.

I just learned online that St. Baldrick isn't a character from Rowan Atkinson's "Blackadder" -- it's a cancer cure group that gets folks to shave their heads to raise money for the cause.

Snow, mixed with rain, coming over Germantown followed by sunshine, then cold, windy showers, followed by verrrryyyy nice sunshine...ah, yes...it's Spring in Portland and there's soccer afoot.
Fourteen of our ladies put on a show for about 50 Huskies fans and about 75 Pilots fans at Merlo today. With Kassi and Ellen not dressed to play, Portland put Hallie and Micaela up front...Frisbie, Taylor, Dani, and Cloee in the middle...Kendall, Emma, MichO, and MichC defending with Nicole in goal.
Sarah and Molly played in the second half with Dees in goal.

Kudos to the training staff...these ladies were ready. MichO is much faster than last year, Dees leg is stronger, and Emma is showing more assertiveness.

The unofficial "score" was 2-0 Pilots, but it was very well played for this early in the spring season.

Also in attendance (in the stands) were four of next year's team...Malloy, Rebekah, and Emily I recognized, but I didn't know the other by face.

Other commitments kept me from staying for the men's game, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the ladies today.

The final score was 2-1, Pilots. Washington scored first followed by Micaela's tying goal in the first half and then Dani's penalty kick in the second half.

Felt so good to be back in the pitch watching the game. Go pilots!!!

Actually the score was 2-1, the Huskies scored first. Also it appeared that Frisbee was at forward, they seemed to be playing a 4-3-3. It was an interesting game. The Pilots did not look comfortable initially with people in new positions and not used to being on the field together. Washington controlled the game for much of the first half. The second half the Pilots seemed to gain confidence and were more aware of each others' location on the field. They controlled the action for most of the second half. It was fun to be at Merlo for a game especially as PP said when the sun came out in the second half.

Sometime we see what we are used to seeing. UP has played the 4-4-2 since the mid 90-s, but not today. The lineup was clearly a 4-3-3 with Cloee as the HM, and Taylor and Dani as the other two mids. Amanda, Micaela, and Hallie were all playing forward, with Halli usually having post-up duties.

I agree that it took a while for UP to get comfortable with the 4-3-3 - Even in the second half, some of the forwards didn't track back when they should have, and i think that exposed the defense to stuff they would't normally have to deal with. In a 4-3-3, Forwards have to convert to midfield responsibilities more - especially on the outside.

It was nice to see Molly back playing in the second half after such a long layoff. she looked pretty good, too, playing one of the CD spots.


It will be interesting to see if the 4-3-3 is a new twist in the formation or will just be used from time to time. I know it was a concern when we played Stanford last year and didn't match up well in the first half. I think in that game, Garrett taught the 4-3-3 to the team at halftime, and we did better.

Whatever we do, I think we will see Cloee as the holding Mid and Cruz and Johnson outside. the team will build around that, I think.

The fourth 2011 recruit was Kassie's sister, Lorielle -- there's quite a family resemblance -- says my daughter, who recognized her from Facebook.

Also of note is someone who was not there -- Elinor Priest. Is she still with the team after no game time last season?

Huskies vs. Pilots is a great rivalry and this scrimmage kept it alive.

The new look of Merlo, with more sightlines into the campus due to tree removal, is still gorgeous when soccer balls are flying.

Elinor transfered, I think for more playing time and scholarship money. We'll miss her, but her chances were limited here I think.

I think it may have been Northern Arizona, but I'm not really sure of that. No announcement there yet, anyway.

Thanks, Geezer. Best wishes to Elinor -- may she fulfill her sports dream.

Interesting game. Horrible weather.

Formation was almost a 4-1-2-3. Only 12 outfield players available (with 4 of them strikers: Hallie K, Dani F, Micaela C, Amanda F) so whether this was a new strategy or just necessity as the mother of invention time will tell.

I would venture that more of us would have expected Michelle O as the holding mid as opposed to Cloee, for example. Kendall playing outside d not so much of a surprise given her national team experience.

Will be fun to see what the other spring games show us.

The play actually was higher level than the past few years for a Spring game. No doubt due to last Fall.

I came in after UW scored their goal, and for a good part of the first half time I was there, I thought the Pilots had the better of the game. It was definitely a 4-3-3, but almost a 4-4-3 (I know that's too many) because Kendall covered so much territory on the left side that she was almost two players.

It's looking to me like we may see Cruz at right defender, although she did not look 100% comfortable there. Cloee at holding mid looks very likely, and Dani at attacking mid looks likely to me, too. At the end of last year, I thought that would be a good spot for Dani.

The players I thought were outstanding today were Michelle O, Cloee, Dani, and Kendall. Nicole Downing is quite good with her feet; and Erin Dees looked good to me.

Micaela's score on the first goal was a great left footed shot from about 18 yards out to the left of the goal, top shelf right with the keeper having no chance. She received the ball at the top right of the box, dribbled left, and let it rip. Pretty much a solo effort.

Dani's PK was after Amanda Frisbie trapped the ball and quick stepped it into the box, about to leave her defender in the dust before the defender knocked her feet out from under her. A clear PK, credit to Amanda for earning it. Dani sank it v the keeper who did us in last Fall.

Again, this was a pretty good performance for first time out in the Spring.

Harry Redknapp wrote:Interesting game. Horrible weather.

Formation was almost a 4-1-2-3. Only 12 outfield players available (with 4 of them strikers: Hallie K, Dani F, Micaela C, Amanda F) so whether this was a new strategy or just necessity as the mother of invention time will tell.

I would venture that more of us would have expected Michelle O as the holding mid as opposed to Cloee, for example. Kendall playing outside d not so much of a surprise given her national team experience.

Will be fun to see what the other spring games show us.

Haha.

Well, the winter on the couch may have softened you, or you forgot to bring the "late fall fan kit"

I thought the second half was pretty pleasant. I even have a little sun glow (OK, maybe it's wind burn)

Michelle C. has been playing outside back for the u20 Nats of late, so we have two outside defenders with Nat team experience. we still seem to have a vision that we need strength out there.

Cloee did some nice distributing from the mid spot, and she was the one who got forward a bit last year, so while I think MO could play the holding spot, she is also a heck of an asset at central defender. She beat some pretty quick forwards to the ball when UW tried to punch the ball downfield.

At any rate, it's a long season, and last year we had issues with players being able to play back to back weekend games with a tough schedule, which it looks like we will have again this year.. My guess is MO is the #1 sub at the holding spot.

Purplegeezer wrote:

Haha.

Well, the winter on the couch may have softened you, or you forgot to bring the "late fall fan kit"

I believe Harry is what my friend from Yorkshire would call "Southern Soft."

OK enough already. I'd also been on the sidelines for my daughters 8:30 game yesterday morning so had not thawed out from that experience. 5 minutes sunshine in the second half was not enough to offset the residual chill from the early morning game at Delta Park.

Loved that highlight clip of Megan's goal versus England that was just posted.

Yesterday...Dani had a couple of shots straight on...close but they went a little high! Chloe even took a blast from 30 yards out! She didn't hit it as well as she would've liked...but I'd love to see more shots like that from the outside. And if anyone on the team has the strength to blast one in from that far out, it's Chloe. She hands down... the strongest on the team.

I know it's just Spring soccer and the team is not as disciplined yet. But, having more of those types of shots will certainly keep opponents honest and not crowd the box.

GO PILOTS!!!

I agree Phantom. The outside shooting from Dani and Clooe looked promising: if nothing else it keeps the other team honest and means that they can't just drop off and pack the box to smother forwards (Hallie and Micaela and Amanda yesterday).

There were a number of good things to see yesterday: even if this is spring and only a vague indication of what we might expect in the fall.

The two biggest questions given who graduates this year are who will play outside defence and who will form the backbone in midfield (assuming we stay with the four player diamond)? And if we don't, then what shape will they play (which becomes the third big question)?

MCruz and KJohnson were the starters at outside d, although TBrooke and ENelson both put in time on the right.

Fewer direct clues in midfield because they didn't play the same formation: but CColohan was a formidable defensive midfield presence. Hints that DFoxhoven might get called upon to play in midfield since she did yesterday.

There will obviously be some freshmen looking to enter the consideration. And if CColohan is in midfield someone has to fill her place in the center of the defence. KMcCluskie and freshmen candidates seem most likely, although both ENelson and MKlier put in time there yesterday.

Tune in next Sunday for the next installment.

Fun to see the girls in action again. Wonder about Cruz's injury - anyone heard? Not the greatest soccer but it is the first match of spring. 2nd half looked a lot better. Kendall was spectacular. Bridges did a nice job in midfield with aggressive marking. Chloee is a natural at def mid. Should be fun. New formation will cause me to learn what to look for.

I'll mention also that UW looked pretty decent. They had some nice runs off the ball with connecting passes. On the other hand, they didn't do much around the box.

I thought Cruz came back in late in the second half.

A_Fan wrote:I thought Cruz came back in late in the second half.

That's what I remember, too.