Credit Due For Kelsey

This may have been previously discussed, but I don't recall seeing it. I believe much credit is due Kelsey Davis, not just for the outstanding work she displayed against Tennessee and other teams, but for her vocal leadership of the defensive unit that she exhibits every moment of every match. (Not to mention every moment of every training session!)

Kelsey is naturally a very outgoing person. She doesn't seem fazed or intimidated by anyone or anything. (Kind of like Megan Rapinoe, except with a booming voice!) Being a sometimes starter on the U-20 National Team gives you an indication of her talent level. She's quick as a cat (as we saw with her world-class save on the
Tennessee corner/header that was definitely headed for the goal if not for a last 1/1000th second poke on the ball over and above the crossbar.) She has a strong kick, often starting our offensive attack with her shots into the middle of farther into our offensive end of the pitch.

But what really caught my attention when I first saw her play was her barking instructions to her defenders (and I mean that in a very positive way.) She is ALWAYS talking to her teammates and giving them quick snapshots of what is happening on the pitch that they may not see. This is great communication! And what is more important than communication on a soccer pitch? It is no coincidence that we have nine consecutive shutouts, and ten in our last 11 games. Hailee may have one or two of those - I can't remember. Also, it's no coincidence that this streak started with the return of the calming brilliance of Stephanie Lopez.

It is a TEAM thing. But Kelsey really is the one that demands excellence. And she is not afraid to address anyone who is out of position or has just made a dangerous mistake. Her vocal leadership skills rate an A+++ as far as I'm concerned.

Question for you Pilot old-timers out there: Has there EVER been a Pilot keeper with such tremendous vocal leadership skills?

Great point... we have not given Kelsey due credit for her communication skills... something that I think is often overlooked. The goal keepers commands are critical for the defense.

T minus 33 hours, 38 minutes to go....

Question for you Pilot old-timers out there: Has there EVER been a Pilot keeper with such tremendous vocal leadership skills?

That's one of the marks of a good keeper. They've got the best view on the field.

I don't think anybody ever accused Angela Harrison, Erin Fahey, Michelle Voilland, Cheryl Loveless, Lauren Arase, or Cory Alexander, (did I miss anyone?) of being shy. Angela scared everyone around her.

If you recall, that's one of the things the coaches said at the start of the season they wanted more of from Hailee, and she's getting more comfortable at it.

Another thing about Kelsey, she's developed a drop-kick this year. At the beginning of the year she was punting everything, which got great distance, but was essentially a 50-50 ball, coming down from such a height. The drop kick, which she's been using in the last few games, is low and far more accurate. It gets the offense into the game right away, and it's difficult enough to develop that only the best keepers use it. It also seems like she had an assist on a kick with one of the national teams this summer.

Geezer,
Cristin Shea and Darci Carruthers played a lion's share of the games in 2001, with Lauren getting a handful of starts that season before she took over (nearly) full time in 2002, when Shea got a handful of starts and Carruthers transferred to Texas.

Geezer - I do recall Angela Harrison as being quite intimidating. Sometimes I think at any moment she's going to jump out of the bushes when I come out of my house, just to whack me a few with that big pipe of hers!

KFTC,
I knew there was a gap, I was just too lazy to look it up. Well, those two were also pretty vocal, too.

Caruthers let her whereabouts be known on and off the field, if I recall. She shared time the next year in Texas, then didn't play much her last year. Big and strong, she could have been a great one.

FANatic,

Angela was pretty scary, I know first hand. I tried to sneak a peek at the halftime box score once at a basketball game when she worked in the athletic dept. after her playing days.

She let me know in no uncertain terms I was out of position.

It is nice to get shutouts and very few shots on goal by opposing teams. At Merlo the fans don't get to witness very much Pilot keeper save skills. I'm pretty sure there is a ton of action at Pilots practice for the keepers though. Can you imagine having all of those pilot forwards at practice, hammering shots at you? Sort of like the 3rd goal vs Tennessee. Now that's a shot any keeper dreams of stopping.

Having been at my fair share of Pilot training sessions, the keepers do get hammered pretty good by the players and GK coaches. I don't think anyone feels sorry for them about getting no action on the weekends, knowing the kind of work they put in during the week.

Geezer, not sure if you mean Cristin Shea who was the bigger and taller of the two; both had pretty bright futures in front of them either way. I was at a practice watching them train and Sinc was going one way at the top of the box, stopped on a dime, turned and cut back across and fired a shot to the upper corner far post. Darci Carruthers, going one way, froze, took two steps and swiped this ball up and over the bar; it is, to date, one of the top three saves I've ever seen a college keeper make (Cori Alexander's diving save against Penn St., and a save Anna Picarelli of Pepperdine made against against a team I can't remember, being the other two).

could'a been Cristin. At this point, I can't remember which was which. Which one got suspended?

It was Cristin, unfortunately.

FANatic,
i have to agree with you about kelsey's communication skills. i just rewatched the ut v u of p game on my dvr an you can clearly hear kelsey directing traffic. annnd she is so positive even when there are slip ups. i have never heard a keeper for us so loud an positive. i trust her instincts and reactiveness more then any keeper we have had. i didnt feel that way about corie til her senior year, i use to see her 'thinking' out there. an while i know keepers have to think, i dont want to 'see' it.