2017 Season

2017 women's soccer schedule is out! This looks pretty challenging. It will be a good way to see if the women's team will be able to compete with some of the big schools again. I love getting all of the Oregon schools at home. I also love the games against NC State, Florida, and Baylor. I am also thankful to see the Santa Clara and BYU games are at home.

I'm thrilled that the schedule creates only one conflict for me. Last year there were four. Now I can try to learn the skill levels of players I barely got to see last season.

Roster has been updated.

http://portlandpilots.com/roster.aspx?path=wsoc

We used to have a lot more discussion on here.

All White Kit coaches rank: http://www.allwhitekit.com/?p=15370

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:We used to have a lot more discussion on here.

All White Kit coaches rank: http://www.allwhitekit.com/?p=15370

You'd have to think that a substantial number of the 82 coaches ranked ahead of the incumbent would jump at a chance to move to the Bluff. New blood on the bench seems to have benefited the men's program just a wee bit.

Seems we have replaced Angela Harrison as an assistant coach with alumnus Miguel Guante.

Clickbaity article from the Oregonian about which Oregon athlete wore numbers 00-99 best.

Just sharing here because it's somewhat soccer related and the forum has been in a lull lately. Kasey Keller got honorable mention at No. 1. Megan Rapinoe wins No. 3 (over Cliff Robinson, Clive Charles, Joey Harrington, CJ McCollum and others!). Christine Sinclair wins as a Thorns player at No. 12 (over LaMarcus Aldridge). Terry Porter, of course, gets No. 30.

Is it soccer season yet?

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:
Is it soccer season yet?

Women start official practices. Men next week!

Can anyone tell me why Sara Jones is not on the roster?

I think it was mentioned earlier that she transferred.

That's a shame...I liked her work ethic.

2017 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Santa Clara (5 first place votes), 76 points
2. BYU (5), 75
3. Pepperdine, 68
4. Loyola Marymount, 57
5. Portland, 46
6. San Francisco, 38
7. San Diego, 33
8. Gonzaga, 24
8. Saint Mary's, 24
10. Pacific, 9

Really interested to see what Chris Henderson thinks the upcoming season will look like for the WCC. I think he believes Santa Clara and BYU will be too tough to beat. They are definitely both top 25 teams.

We can certainly hope for a good season and maybe make the playoffs, right?

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Really interested to see what Chris Henderson thinks the upcoming season will look like for the WCC. I think he believes Santa Clara and BYU will be too tough to beat. They are definitely both top 25 teams.

We can certainly hope for a good season and maybe make the playoffs, right?

We can *hope* for anything. What can we *expect*? I'll be very surprised (but delighted) if they achieve a spot in the NCAA tournament. I expect more of what we saw last year: struggling to win against the bottom half of the league and getting dominated by the best teams.

Ariel Viera shows up on the roster this year. Isn't she the really quick player who gave up soccer last year to concentrate on running? If so, she should help us this year. She brought pace off the bench as opponents were tiring.

SoreKnees wrote:Ariel Viera shows up on the roster this year. Isn't she the really quick player who gave up soccer last year to concentrate on running? If so, she should help us this year. She brought pace off the bench as opponents were tiring.

I believe you are thinking of Parkes Kendrick, who graduated (as valedictorian!) in 2017. She helped the women's XC team make nationals for the first time in the fall of 2016, but was forced to miss the NCAA championships because her Rhodes Scholarship interview was on the same day and they wouldn't reschedule. Still pretty annoyed about that.

Ariel was a mainstay in the starting lineup her first three seasons but took a medical redshirt last year. She is back for her senior year.

Stonehouse wrote:
I believe you are thinking of Parkes Kendrick, who graduated (as valedictorian!) in 2017. She helped the women's XC team make nationals for the first time in the fall of 2016, but was forced to miss the NCAA championships because her Rhodes Scholarship interview was on the same day and they wouldn't reschedule. Still pretty annoyed about that.

Ariel was a mainstay in the starting lineup her first three seasons but took a medical redshirt last year. She is back for her senior year.

Right. Thanks for setting me straight. Too bad Parkes isn't available, but I do remember Viera as a quick and effective fullback.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Really interested to see what Chris Henderson thinks the upcoming season will look like for the WCC. I think he believes Santa Clara and BYU will be too tough to beat. They are definitely both top 25 teams.

We can certainly hope for a good season and maybe make the playoffs, right?

My pre-season simulation has the Pilots ending the season at #57 in the ARPI rankings and coming in tied for 3rd in the WCC. And, it has them getting an at large selection to the NCAA Tournament, by the skins of their teeth.

I suspect that's pretty optimistic.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:
Really interested to see what Chris Henderson thinks the upcoming season will look like for the WCC. I think he believes Santa Clara and BYU will be too tough to beat. They are definitely both top 25 teams.

We can certainly hope for a good season and maybe make the playoffs, right?

Chris Henderson says:
These are harrowing times for Portland soccer, as the Pilots are enduring what might be the worst period in the history of one of women’s college soccer’s most storied programs. The Pilots may have broken a string of losing seasons last year, but they also finished out of the RPI Top 100 for the third straight season, meaning three straight NCAA Tournament absences as well. A win over Washington last season definitely raised hopes, but there were far too many non-conference warning signs such as a draw with Cal Poly and loss to Oregon State that raised concerns. The Pilots’ league form was erratic. Portland was a side that could draw with Pepperdine but also lose to Saint Mary’s (CA), though they posed few problems for most of the WCC’s contenders. The end result was a sixth place finish in the WCC and perhaps a growing sense of agitation at the Pilots’ declining stature in the landscape of women’s college soccer.

It’s hard to be optimistic about Portland’s hopes of rekindling past glories given the talent drain that’s hit this roster over the past half-decade. Once a recruiting powerhouse, Portland is arguably saying farewell to it’s last “big” recruit, graduated midfielder Allison Wetherington. Wetherington never developed into a star, but she was still the club’s best player in the attack, netting four goals and adding five assists last year. Scoring was a massive issue with the club in league play last year, as Portland netted just seven goals in the league. Kimberly Hazlett showed much potential as a rookie but scored just two goals on thirty-one shots, while senior Hannah Griffiths Boston started quick but scored just one of her eight goals in WCC action. Rookie Taryn Ries isn’t a “superstar” recruit, but the local product is still the ace of this class and may need to be a big hitter early considering the potential scoring problems here.

Defensively, Portland was average in WCC, which wasn’t enough to compensate for the lackadaisical attack. This year, the group has to do without full-back Ellie Boon, the club’s best overall player last year and generally a criminally underrated player. Someone will have to step up to lead on the backline, while in goal, Rachel Lusby looks likely as the full-time starter after splitting time with Hanna de Haan last year. The last three years have hurt, but worse could be yet to come. The Pilots look short on talent all over the pitch, meaning a finish closer to the bottom of the league than the top feels likely.

This year, I'm betting against Chris.

Chris’ WCC Projections

1. BYU
2. Pepperdine
3. Santa Clara
4. Loyola Marymount
5. Saint Mary’s (CA)
6. Pacific
7. San Francisco
8. San Diego
9. Portland
10. Gonzaga

Did anyone attend last night's game against PSU?

I was told it was the Vikings best performance ever against the Pilots who had beaten them in all previous matches by a combined score of 31-0.

Or was it the Pilots worst performance ever against PSU?

That preview from All White Kit is incredibly disheartening.

We were there and I would say the first half was as predicted, disheartening. The Vikings were clearly the aggressors with more speed and more precision. They scored on a beautifully executed free kick to the head of a crossing player from the local area. The Pilots continued the sloppy passing from past seasons, were slow to react to the ball and seemed to be unaware of the beauty of the triangle passing game. I would call it unintelligent at best. They seemed to come out more focused in the second half, showing real intensity. They were still very fortunate to win the game as the Vikings missed a point-blank shot at an open goal late. The winner came on a clear takedown in the box, right in front of the goal. For us, the highlight player of the game was the freshman replacement for Ellie Boon, another Ellie named Walker, also from Vancouver. She is the real deal. Now if the rest of the team can learn to connect with Pilots on their passes and play with intensity from the start, maybe they can beat the prognosticators. Tomorrow night's game with NC State might tell us something.

I was also there, and would agree with what ejjqb said above. We were fortunate to win the game. PSU overall had more/better scoring chances; the Pilots has trouble putting three passes together for large parts of the match. Around 80', Muth received a second yellow, so the Pilots were playing a player down in a 1-1 game--very fortunate to be fouled in the box and come away with a 2-1 win. Rylee Seekins came off the bench and played with a lot of energy. Ellie Boon was there as a fan.

It was surprising Portland State, who we clobbered 6-0 last year and was picked to finish ninth of eleven teams in the recent Big Sky preseason coaches poll, gave our Pilots all it could handle. So, Sunday's match with NC State, who beat Oregon, 4-1, would seem to present an even more formidable test. With a UP win, everything aligns with UPSoccerFanatic's highly optimistic projection of a return to the tournament. A bad loss could give us a preview of yet another very bad, sad year. The Pilots maybe could use some fan support. Friday's home opener attendance was probably the lowest in our recorded history. That makes me feel old and grouchy.