What do you know?

Fifa tweaks the eligibility rules for different competitions from time to time. For instance, one year for the Men they allowed only u23 players from COMNEBOL (South America) and UEFA (Europe) but allowed full national teams for the rest of the world. Other years they have allowed a couple overage players on what is basically a u23 competition for men. Casey Keller was an overage player in 1996.


In 2000 for the Sidney Games FIFA alllowed 22 players on the roster for the women's side and 18 players for the men's side. The result was the largest Pilot contingent in history (or to paraphrase Mohammed Ali -- "OF ALL TIME.....")

On the Men's side was Conor Casey. On the Women"s side was Shannon, Tiff, Frenchie, and one more....

That was Host Nation Australia's and our own Lisa Casagrande.

Lisa also played in the 1995 and 1999 World Cups for Australia. Her 1995 World Cup appearance at age 17 made her the second youngest football player in the games. (a Japanese player was 16)

One other player came close to making this list, at least she thought so....

Regina Holan was eligible to play for Greece for the 2004 games and was the leading scorer for their National team in the runup to the games. Greece, as host nation, automatically qualified. At some point Greece decided to go with only players born on Greek soil and decided not to have Reggie certified for the games. They never told her and she didn't find out until a couple weeks before the games. At that point Reggie had finally solved her foot/leg problems through radical surgery and was playing the best Soccer of her life.

Greece played three games that Olympics, loosing all three without scoring a goal in the games. They lost 3-0 to the US, 7-0 to Brasil, and 1-0 to Australia.

Reggie's sister, Canada's Martina Franco, will be in the games for Canada this year.

You just gotta believe me...

I looked up Lisa's name for 2004 and it was not on the Australian roster. Guess I missed checking 2000! I also looked up Susanna Heikari of Finland. She was here in 1999 for one season and then went back home. I thought I remembered one of those two either being on World Cup or Olympic teams. If not one of those two, I thought it either had to be Justi or a men's player.

FANatic wrote:You just gotta believe me...

I looked up Lisa's name for 2004 and it was not on the Australian roster. Guess I missed checking 2000! I also looked up Susanna Heikari of Finland. She was here in 1999 for one season and then went back home. I thought I remembered one of those two either being on World Cup or Olympic teams. If not one of those two, I thought it either had to be Justi or a men's player.

Susanna Heikari was on Finnland's National team, but they have never qualified for the games or the World Cup.

For those of you interested, here's an old Oakland Tribune article on the whole affair.

I guess it all lies in what your definition of "Olympic Team" is, because the UP media lists Xausa, Rhode, Winters as members of the Olympic Team, which by definition is the U-23 men's national teams. Even if the Canadian team didn't qualify, they were still members of the Candadian Olympic Team squad that attempted to qualify. Winters, I believe, was an alternate for Sydney and still traveled down there; his "Olympic" jersey is hanging in the Chiles Center, I think, next to Michelle French's. And I know you probably don't believe me, but Casagrande was an alternate for Sydney as well. She may be listed on the FIFA site, but if you go through and actually click on the match reports, she's not listed as a starter or accredited substitute.

Side note...
I am much more of a Pilot basketball afficianado personally, haha probably played one too many soccer games growing up and it makes me too nervous to actually watch the games, but I absolutely love how in depth and technical all of you soccer fanatics get... Its pretty much fantastic and gets me through the dreary days (well even the sunny days now that i look out the window)

Kudos from a soccer fan to all you soccer fanatics that make every day that much more interesting... on and FANatic... you have the most beautiful posts of anyone on this entire site, way to use all the colors and emoticons there are to offer ....

I've noticed it too, Rochin. I think it's soccer fans in general, since of all the blogs I read the soccer ones (UnProfessional Foul and That's On Point) are the most consistently funny and fanatical. They make me laugh even though I'm usually trying to figure out what they're talking about. One of the best things about soccer is how passionate the fans, especially Pilot fans, are.

KFTC wrote:I guess it all lies in what your definition of "Olympic Team" is, because the UP media lists Xausa, Rhode, Winters as members of the Olympic Team, which by definition is the U-23 men's national teams. Even if the Canadian team didn't qualify, they were still members of the Candadian Olympic Team squad that attempted to qualify. Winters, I believe, was an alternate for Sydney and still traveled down there; his "Olympic" jersey is hanging in the Chiles Center, I think, next to Michelle French's. And I know you probably don't believe me, but Casagrande was an alternate for Sydney as well. She may be listed on the FIFA site, but if you go through and actually click on the match reports, she's not listed as a starter or accredited substitute.

Absolutely there are all sorts of different ways to look at it-- that's why I asked the question the way I did, which was:

Can you name all the Pilot soccer players (men and women) who have been in the Olympic games?

That would seem to leave out the Canadians, because Canada was never in the games during the careers in question. fifa.com shows 16 teams in the games for the men, and Canada wasn't one of them. I'm pretty sure the only way Canadians got to the venues was as tourists.

As to Casagrande, French, and Winters... well, Rats fifa isn't very consistent, is it?


I'm perfectly willing to include Brian, though, if the definition includes the alternates. If FIFA can't keep it straight, what hope do we have?
Some years they don't list the alternates at all.

If you want to include players who have been on teams trying to qualify, that opens things up to a whole lot more people.

Holly Pierce (Ireland)- Reggie, as I said- The Canadians, including Christine, Sophie, Wanda, Elsa, The men aready mentioned.....
Susanna Heikari as FANatic mentioned....tons more, too there was even another Finn who signed a letter of intent and left when Susanna did without having played a game.

I don't know how you'd track them all down......


Actually.. that might be question #3


NAH! too hard.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:I've noticed it too, Rochin. I think it's soccer fans in general, since of all the blogs I read the soccer ones (UnProfessional Foul and That's On Point) are the most consistently funny and fanatical. They make me laugh even though I'm usually trying to figure out what they're talking about. One of the best things about soccer is how passionate the fans, especially Pilot fans, are.

Well, soccer isn't the only sport. I first got into sports when New York still had the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants in town. Baseball was king. All anybody ever did was talk about the teams like this. Except those discussions include the millions of stats that fanatic baseball guys remember.

Can you remember the very first regular season lineup for the Mets? Who had the best batting average that year (such as it was)? Who hit the first home run ever for them? Who was on base when he did it? Who got their first triple play?

I can, and I haven't really watched baseball much in 40 years.

Now, where did I put my keys? drat!

Why thank you, DaTruRochin ! It's nice to be recognized in this way.

I can say one thing: I do take a lot of time with my posts. Sometimes too much time. Just kind of a perfectionist, I guess.

Thanks again for the mention.

I think I can take a stab at why the UP Soccer Fan is soooo passionate....especially the usual suspects blogging here on Women's Soccer.

The reason is quite simple and obvious to me.... 2 National Championships!!

Let's face it....the soccer program has been the marquee sport on campus ...and the lynch pin to putting UP on the map! Success breeds success. It fuels the program. No doubt the program has become renowned nationwide. The Pilots can attract and recruit the best young...up and coming talent. Its no longer unusual to see the rosters full of world-class players. When you have a program that can field quality soccer teams year after year....the passionate fans will follow and fill the stands....OR state their opinions and pour their hearts out about futbol on Pilot Nation!

I guarantee...if the Basketball program takes off and starts making its own mark on the National stage....there'll be sooo many basketball fans coming out from the woodwork! You'll see more and more hits on this website and the Rose Garden will have to be seriously considered for home games. Chiles will no longer be large enough to accommodate the masses of "passionate" UP B-Ball fans!

GO PILOTS!!!

it's not just the championships. That's just the icing.

There were fans 15 years ago that were this passionate. All those heartbreakers in the playoffs in the '90's made us MORE passionate. I've been sitting next to the same crazies since Tiff roamed the bluff. everyone is pretty much in the same seats, too. There weren't as many as now, but they were there.

Basketball could do the same thing. Lord knows - they've got the heartbreaker part out of the way....

Is there going to be a 3rd challenge, geezer? (Not that I have a chance in holy {bleep} at getting the answers correct. But it's good brain exercise, which is healthy for old {Bleeps} like us).

OK, FANatic. Here's an easy one.

In 2005 the pilots were only the second NCAA team in history to get through an entire season without a loss (N. Carolina has done it a bunch of times.) . Before that, regular season undefeated Pilot teams lost some heartbreaker games in the playoffs.

Can you name the Pilot teams that made it through the regular season without a loss? (men and women)

Bonus points if you can tell us who they lost to in the playoffs. double bonus for the scores.

Finally...one I have a chance at!

For the women - that's easy. 1995 & 1996. (The '95 loss happened because of one of the biggest referee gaffs in the history of sport! I'm sure glad I wasn't following the team then. That had to have been one of the most painful AND infuriating "losses" of all time. I can't even imagine how it must have felt to the team to get beaten by the referee in the national title game. There should be an asterisk by Notre Dame's name on the historical list!)

Then to lose to Notre Dame again by one goal in the semi's in '96? Including '94, that's 3 straight seasons you make the college cup semi's, only to lose to the same team by one goal? With the bogus title game loss sandwiched in the middle in '95? Going unbeaten in '95 and '96 before those losses to the same team?

Ouch!!! Ooch!!! Each!!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!

Haven't a clue about the men. Don't have a media guide for them!

Calling all fans who were around and followed the team through the mid 90's!!! Love to hear your recollections and how you felt at the time. (Please don't make me cry!!!)

Can you give us some scores?

There is one more Pilot undefeated regular season, and it's on the men's side. It should be easy even if you weren't a UP fan back then. That season woke up the NCAA that UP was someplace special for soccer, and helped define the program for years to come.

Repercussions persist to this day.

Anybody?

1995 was 0-1 in OT. 1996 was 2-3.

For the men, I'll guess 1988.

Care to explain the repercussions?

FANatic wrote:1995 was 0-1 in OT. 1996 was 2-3.

For the men, I'll guess 1988.

Care to explain the repercussions?

!988 is right. The Pilots Men's team shocked the NCAA with an undefeated run through the playoffs until they met Indiana in the semis and lost 1-0. Indiana went on to win the Championship in their next game.

The repercussionss? Well, first off, it was the first time that anybody around thought that the (then) smallest school in NCAA had a real shot at winning it all. It took another 14 years, and it happened to be the Women's team that did it, but the possibility was first revealed that year.

Another repercussion? Clive got Harry Merlo and the administration believing that the way UP could do it again and again was if they went at it in a first class manner. Fans started supporting the program, The construction of Merlo started the next year, and it was In 1990 that both teams started playing at Merlo Field.

The next year was also the first year that Clive coached both the men's and women's programs and set the model for the way both teams are run today.

Lastly, one of the mainstays of the team in that era was none other than Garrett Smith. They also had Scott Benedetti and Rob Baarts. Casey Keller was a frosh Phenom, and others, but Garrett was the rock of the defensive line. His career ran from 1986-89, (he was team MVP in 86) and he was all conference each year. He Came back after a pro career in '92 to help with the Women's team , and the UP women have been to the tournament every year but one since.


That team defined UP soccer.

Hey FANatic,

You don't have to if it upsets you too much, but can you describe what happened in 95 for those of us who weren't watching back then? Sorry if I got you riled up, I just remember hearing something about it a long time ago.

PurplePrideTrumpet - Nothing to be sorry about, brother! You never riled me up.

My post yesterday, (about 5 posts up), was in response to a Pilots history challenge issued to me by Purplegeezer. I actually requested the challenge and he responded by giving me what he termed an
"easy one". (Of course, easy to geezer is like "rocket science"to me)!

I think I got most of the challenge right. But when I spoke of the "difficult" time the mid-90's must have been, I was just guessing because I didn't become a full-fledged Pilot nut until just about the 1999 season. I had seen a few matches in 1997 and 1998, lucky to have seen Pilot greats Justi Baumgart and Angela Harrison, among others. But, I never saw or even knew about '94, '95, and '96. I got that info mainly from reading media guides, and hearing a few comments from fans who did actually "live" the experience.

(Note: PPT, FANatic is often absurd, over-the-top, sarcastic and not always to be taken seriously. I, too, would like to hear from Pilots old-timers like Purplegeezer, KFTC, Stonehouse and others [STOP: WILL SOME OF YOU OTHER OLD-TIMERS PLEASE POST ON QUESTIONS LIKE THESE? - THEY WOULD REALLY BE VALUED!!!!!] as to what it really felt like to experience that period of Pilots soccer history. My comment above about not making me cry is about as serious as Groucho Marx was, during a routine!!!)

This is a piece of UP lore every fan should know.

The 1995 finals against Notre Dame was one of the classic heartbreakers UP suffered through in the 1990's.

It was UP's first finals. (semi's Losses to Notre Dame the years before and after)

UP was ranked #2 in the Nation then, on the strength of a tenacious defense that registered 16 shutouts. (I'd like to say Kristen Eaton was the rock in the middle, but I'm not sure I have the right year) and Notre Dame was #4. ND had just beaten North Carolina in a one goal game where Cindy Parlow scored an own goal trying to clear a header from Cindy Daws.

I'd refer you to the UP archives for some references to that game, but as you know, they are lost to us now.
I'll tell you what I remember, (Whether accurate or not) about that game.

First, I'll quote to you from the Notre Dame archive, which still has their version of that game and the 1996 heartbreaker.

Against Portland, after 90 minutes of regulation, two-15 minute overtime periods and five minutes in sudden death overtime, Daws was again the catalyst. After Michelle McCarthy was fouled outside of the box, Daws quick-kicked the direct kick past the Portland goalkeeper to end the exhausting game and Notre Dame's dreamlike run to the title.

Why was that so controversial? well, the ref had whistled the ball dead, people still hadn't cleared the area, Our keeper, Erin Fahey, was in fact still trying to find out from the ref whether she had whistled a direct or indirect kick and the ref hadn't yet whistled the ball back into play.
Erin was on the post lining up the wall when the kick was made.
I've seen that same situation in world cup play, and the kicking team was yellow carded (Ghana, I think)
But the ND bench rushed the field in celebration, the obviously flustered ref ended the game, and we filed out of Buckley Center in disbelief.

To this day, people who saw that game (not just UP fans), will tell you the game was stolen.
Clive didn't dwell on it, he just went over and shook Petruchelli's hand vowing to get good enough that those plays wouldn't matter.

Eventually, UP did. If you recall the 2002 and 2005 seasons, UP made its own chances to win it all.

If you had seen me and the other oldtimers smiling the biggest smile after the 3-1 pasting we gave Notre Dame in the Playoffs in 2005, now you know why.



If you are ever at Notre Dame and have some time to kill, go to the Sports archive and ask to see the game, They still have it available for viewing. ask for :
AWSO 31193 VH : Women's Soccer - Notre Dame vs. Portland, NCAA Tournament Final [TV Broadcast, ok quality] 1995/1203


I'd tell you to go to the UP archive, but we apparently don't have one anymore.

I recall 2002 like it was yesterday. Christine's hat trick against Richmond at Merlo, then watching OT before playing our concert. We knew the game was tied, so we started asking each other where to find a TV with cable. Someone suggested the basement of Christie, so off we went.

When I saw that run down the left side, I thought, "Here we go. We're gonna score." Sorry to whoever it was that made the run, but I do remember the cross, the shot, then Christine putting in the rebound, then us Pilots going nuts.

ESPN showed the reaction from the Pilot bench, and when Clive stood up, smiled, and raised his arms, I said, "Wow, Clive is fired up about this. "

Luckily for us we have that video linked here. Not that I've forgotten what happened.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote: Sorry to whoever it was that made the run, but I do remember the cross, the shot, then Christine putting in the rebound, then us Pilots going nuts.

That was another Kristen. Kristen Moore, this time. That play was just one of the chances the Pilots made for themselves that I was referring to.

That team was also pretty good defensively. I think they only allowed one goal the entire tournament.

Here's one example of when archives don't really do you any good. The Press release that Kristen raced down the sideline after gathering up a long pass from Misaki, then sent it in to Sinc. I remember she stole a lateral/back pass from one Santa Clara player to another.

This time there is a way to tell. You be the judge.




about 3:50 minutes in.


(The main reason I put this up is just to see Clive in Triumph again...)

Thanks for the great story about the 1995 title game, geezer.

You'd think that the NCAA in such a high profile game would have reviewed that "winning goal". It was so obviously a screw up by the ref!

Was there any outrage or challenge issued by UP to the NCAA? If they didn't, I would have been hopping mad at our guys for not at least making a big stink about it to the national media, the WCC and the NCAA.

I'm kinda glad I missed all that. (Oh, I would have loved that season and those players! It's the final ending fiasco that would have been difficult to ever forget. But Clive was right about not putting your team in a position to lose. That's the final peice in the heart of a true champion. My signature belief, as stated below, comes from watching many teams who didn't understand the "never let up, ever" philosophy of the true champion. But it's something to behold when you see a team that's got it! And I really feel the Pilots have that now ingrained in their culture. That's why they have a shot at winning it all every year, in my opinion.)

I've been very pleased with the program overall since I hopped on board!

Oops, looks like I got caught editing-- Have a look at the video above for a smile.

FANatic wrote:

Was there any outrage or challenge issued by UP to the NCAA? If they didn't, I would have been hopping mad at our guys for not at least making a big stink about it to the national media, the WCC and the NCAA.

I'm kinda glad I missed all that.

I'm glad I saw it. Now that it's in the past and the championships are on the shelf, It makes the wins sweeter.


Clive never beefed to the media about any of that stuff. Not if we got screwed in seedings, not if there were bad calls, None of it.

He only focussed on things he could do something about. Like getting getting so good you could win in spite of those things. He just felt it was better to focus ahead.

Losing with a great team didn't seem to bother him like it does some.

Here's a quote from the piece in the CLIVE thread

I am not so much result-oriented as teaching-orientated. If it becomes all about winning, all you get is frustrated when you lose. I can’t say results were secondary, but they were kind of linked up with everything else. I think you always look to the next game – how are we going to make it better, not perfect, but nearer perfect? I get a lot out of getting players to improve their game but also develop as people. I think the two things can be connected.