Spring Schedule 2013

The Pilots beat the Thorns today on a goal from Amanda Frisbie and Dani Foxhoven..I think.

Wait. I know this much. Amanda torched Kat Williamson on a run to the right side of the box and chipped Roxanne Barker about midway through the first half.

The Pilots second goal came when Dani Foxhoven cleaned up a rebound shot off a great save and got it past Nicole, who was UP's second half keeper. ( wait, that doesn't sound quite right)

The third goal came on a nice strike from distance by the Thorns Ali Long.

Williamson had trouble with Pilots all night the last time being in the 88th minute where Micaela beat the defender and the keeper, but struck the shot into the side netting from a tough angle.


Final score, Pilots 2, thorns 1

Or thorns 2, pilots 1, depending on how you keep score.

Geez,

You truly are one of a kind!! Loved the game and loved your post!

What?

You mean Amanda and Dani didn't score?


So confused...

It was a fun night. In all the years I have been a Pilot season ticket holder (and it is a lot of years) I have never seen a line all the way out to Willamette and then down Willamette 10 or so yards back towards Merlo. And this was an hour before kick-off. Great game, the Thorns looked like a team that was playing it's first game together. Angie was as fun to watch as she was as a Pilot.

I thought Amanda coming in as a left back was pretty neat. Her eyes got wide when she was bringing the ball up and saw the keeper was about 5'1" tall - so she shot from about 40.

If she had gotten her shot higher, she just might have gotten a deux.

Pilots held their own against a physical Thorns team. Like the game against Canada U20 the opposition dominated possession but Pilots played with tenacity and looked dangerous on the break.

And the Thorns need to get different shirts. The grey tops look like sweaty warm up t shirts.

Harry Redknapp wrote:And the Thorns need to get different shirts. The grey tops look like sweaty warm up t shirts.

Um, they were their sweaty warm up shirts.

Their obviously new road uniforms will be unveiled on April 13 at KC, and the home kit against Seattle on April 21, I'm told.

A_Fan wrote:It was a fun night. In all the years I have been a Pilot season ticket holder (and it is a lot of years) I have never seen a line all the way out to Willamette and then down Willamette 10 or so yards back towards Merlo. And this was an hour before kick-off.

It WAS a fun night!!! Great atmosphere....but it was a bit unusual to having "visiting" team fans in the stands making noise.....although it's really difficult to call the Thorns "visitors!"

Beat standing in line by showing up at the last minute....and standing the entire game as usual....a holdover from those long ago days living in England....

I loved this game. The stadium was packed and the action was nonstop on the pitch. The Pilots looked strong and fierce against the experienced and talented Thorns. This game bodes well for a strong fall season for the Pilots and gives hope that the Thorns will thrive as well. It would have been awesome to see Sinc and Morgan and the full Thorns roster in action, but the game wouldn't have been as competitive.

As a bonus I got to meet Indigo Kid at halftime.

Looking at the box score, it just dawned on me that it was the same ref from the UNC match last year.

Must have changed her hair style or something.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Harry Redknapp wrote:And the Thorns need to get different shirts. The grey tops look like sweaty warm up t shirts.

Um, they were their sweaty warm up shirts.

Their obviously new road uniforms will be unveiled on April 13 at KC, and the home kit against Seattle on April 21, I'm told.

That's a relief. We thought that must be the case. Not that unis are the most important quality in a team but these looked nasty.

Impressed with the Pilots in these two games. Played with heart.

Interesting to see how the Thorns develop. Morgan and Sinc would have made for a very different evening methinks.

Morgan and Sinc will not solve their defensive issues, methinks.

If college kids can test their back line imagine what the international players will do. DeVanna must be licking her chops.

Does anybody know if the Thorns play any other friendlies before the season starts?

Buehler will.

I've been looking around the internet for impressions on the game last night (I'm a little sorry I had to miss it). A lot of fans who were seeing the Pilots for probably the first time were impressed by them, which to me it's a very good sign for the fall.

After attending this match and reading results of other NWSL teams I think the Thorns will have some defensive issues. Some other clubs are putting up good goal scoring against some higher level college teams. The Thorns were exposed a number of times versus the Pilots. This looks great for the Pilots next fall, but the Thorns may need to match their opponents goal for goal. Was also nice to meet Purple Haze at the half. The PilotNation shirt helped us to pick out each other among all the other Pilot fans.

Since we have the Home schedule, does anyone have a line on the away matches yet?

OldePilot wrote:Since we have the Home schedule,

We do? I dont see it posted.

It came on a season ticket ad card that came in the mail today. The men's schedule says dates are not yet final, but the women's schedule doesn't say that. Yours should be in today's mail or tomorrow's.

Also, it was on the back of the roster sheet handed out at the Portland/Portland game Saturday evening.

Umm... Post it? Please? Thanks!

PPT posted awhile ago in this thread:
Re: Spring Schedule 2013
by PurplePrideTrumpet on Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:00 pm

.I was told Canada was a mix of U17s and 20s, which would explain the second half. Capelle had a brace, Parker was very good, and the defense looks improved.

I also got a tentative copy of the home fixtures at the game:

8/16 Portland St. (exhibition)
8/23 Marquette
9/6 Central Michigan (Nike Invitational)
9/8 Wake Forest (Nike Invitational)
9/13 Nevada
9/15 Missouri
9/27 Wyoming
10/20 Gonzaga
10/24 San Diego
10/26 BYU
11/7 Santa Clara
11/9 San Francisco

Wake will probably be the biggest non-conference home game. Marquette and CMU are pretty good too from what I recall.
.

Thank you! Some days it is hard to keep up.

Marquette was 16-2-2. They were Big east regular season and tournament champs ahead of Georgetorn and Notre Dame. They will be very tough.

And their final RPI was 13. Wake's was 16.

Mizzou will also be tough.

Back to my original question: anyone know anything about road games?

I know nothing about the road games but I trust it will include some Pac-12 clubs. I'll echo the concerns about the Thorns defense. The Pilots were able to counterattack and put real pressure on the back line. It seemed the Pilots had calculated that their chances would come off the counterattack because their outside backs did not move up as they usually do against most college teams. The Pilots midfield didn't have much success possessing the ball and advancing the attack through patient buildup as we are accustomed to seeing. Some nice passes did let Frisbie and Capelle break loose for some excellent chances -- not many, but they were dangerous. The Pilots have not recently had the combo of superstar speed and skill up front to really scare opponents, but they looked fast enough against the Thorns. Getting Rachel Buehler back on D will help the Thorns, no doubt, but the entire team will have to step up to defend.

I really enjoyed watching Angie play again. She has very smooth style and efficient way with dribbling and ball management. Great touch and adeft passing. I was sitting across the pitch with the drum squad...when Angie put together a very quick maneuver to free herself from being pinned to the sidelines by a Pilot defender. It happened right in front of the Pilot bench.... schooled!!! The drum squad's reaction was priceless!! What just happened! But most of the Pilot Nation elders have seen something like that from her many times. I was sure the current drum squad had not! Man, I miss her.


Good to catch a flash of Angie's brilliance that night. But, it made me wonder why she wasn't called up for national team duty with a couple of fellow Thorns? I think she can certainly add some dynamic offensive movement to the US Team's attack. Megan would think so!



GO PILOTS!!!