Final Score: Stanford 1, Portland 0

Figured I'd start a new thread for post-game thoughts.

Stanford scored with under five minutes to go...

Great effort by the Pilots. To make it this far without 4-5 starters and to take an excellent team like Stanford down to the wire... nothing to hang our heads about.

Three cheers to Megan Rapinoe, Korie Nicholson, and Rachael Rapinoe for all their hard work while wearing the purple.

GO PILOTS!

Nice season Pilots. You ran into an older more experienced Stanford team and battled them well. If the shot off the crossbar goes in, you may have been on to the final four but it wasn't to be. Enjoy your accomplishments and look forward to seeing you back on the pitch in purple next season.

I agree .I listened to the game on the net,that's soccer.

I traditionally take season-ending losses very hard. I am generally in a funk for the rest of the year and upon occasion, mildly insufferable. I'm deciding not to be that this year.

Megan Rapinoe has been hands-down my favorite player since the U-19 World Cup in 2004. I was thrilled she was going to Portland. I'll admit I didn't know what Rachael could do until 2006, but it was a delightful surprise. Their injuries broke my heart two years in a row. I'm not convinced we ever saw Megan at even 70% this season, but I have faith that she'll get there for the WPS.

I'm from the midwest and we don't get to see great soccer very often, let alone favorite teams. (I've driven 1,500 miles round trip to see the USMNT in Chicago. I drove over 1,000 miles round trip in the summer of 2006 to see the USWNT play. Megan was on the bench for that game, but a true class act signing autographs afterwards.) Seeing the Pilots twice in one weekend was something very special for me. Seeing them win both times was maybe just icing on the cake.

So I'm not going to be down this year. I really have nothing to be sad about. I saw my favorite player and my favorite team play and win twice.

Thanks to Megan, Rachael and Korie for their sacrifice and passion for the game. And thanks to the rest of the Pilots for an exciting season.

I can't wait for next year.

Looking forward to Sundays USA Under 20's game with England.Three Pilots representing our country. :)There is a nice picture of them on ussoccer.com.

Way to look on the bright side, Ninja!

Yeah, it's tough to be too disappointed about this results. Honestly, I would have been surprised if we won. But boy was I proud to see us keep on battling, even though it became pretty apparent in the last 15 minutes that Stanford had the edge. Tough luck on that goal, but the way I look at it we were playing on borrowed time after that earlier Stanford goal got called back.

Like I already said... how many teams in the country could have made it to the quarterfinals and nearly the Final Four while missing three (3!) US National Team caliber players as well as two other All-WCC caliber players? I mean really... the depth and guts of this under-manned Pilot team was something to behold. It's disappointing, of course, but it's also pretty awesome they made it as far as they did.

And if you are still feeling down in the dumps, just think about next season. Wow. If everyone is healthy, we could be in store for something very, very special.

Well, the season didn't end the way we wanted, but it was still fun. I hadn't been to see the Pilot soccer teams since I graduated 5 years ago, but I decided one Friday night that I might as well give it a shot. I kept seeing some TA guys in the student section, and when I sat there one day I talked to them.

That worked out pretty well for me. Watching matches with ohhh_yeah and his buddies is some of the most fun I've had at a sporting event. Every one of the Timbers fans I met this season seems really cool, so on the whole I'm pretty satisfied with this season.

Truly a great season for the Pilots. Obviously disappointing to lose tonight but no shame in the performance.

Already looking forward to next season!

Stonehouse wrote:
Like I already said... how many teams in the country could have made it to the quarterfinals and nearly the Final Four while missing three (3!) US National Team caliber players as well as two other All-WCC caliber players? I mean really... the depth and guts of this under-manned Pilot team was something to behold. It's disappointing, of course, but it's also pretty awesome they made it as far as they did.

This short-handed Pilot team ended up scoring 69 goals while conceding 9 to 8 different teams in 22 matches. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

Gonna miss the Rapinoes. They were a great asset to the program and the University.

Yes, it was a really unique season with all the combinations that Garrett experimented with.

We had a very potent offense that regularly scored mutiple goals in games. Our defense was really strong at times during the season, and then just real solid later when Keelin was put on the bench with the other Amigas, and then they left completely come playoff time.

Even with the Amigas coming off the bench in the 2nd half of games during the WCC part of the season, we were much stronger because we had tremendously talented depth. During the playoffs, they left and the team was still very good, yet very, very lean.

We did amazingly well to make it to the quarters for the 3rd straight year. Stanford, however, was just too deep and talented. I thought the last 30 minutes or so they started to really wear us down, and only Kelsey's brilliant goalkeeping for the 2nd straight year in the Quarters kept us from losing 2 or 3 goals to 0. (They did, afterall, outshoot us in the 2nd half 15-4! Usually, we are on the other end of that stat. It reminded me somewhat of the UCLA Quarterfinal game last year in the 2nd half, when they really outshot us, and Kelsey continually saved our bacon until the end.)

It's a testament to Kelsey that she can produce a performance like that when she has only had two or three games all year that call for that level of activity and concentration - this year, UCLA, USC and Stanford.

Lots and lots of practice.

Trenchcoat report-

Back from Stanford -as of Sat AM.

Sorry to disappoint those who were looking forward to my streaking. I was a little concerned about the size of my waistline after eating all of that turkey and trimmings.

Great Pilot crowd on hand. Great to see! Pilot/ Villa drummers helped to show that the Pilot fans are #1 in the USA. I'm pretty sure that Stanford hired their pep band (Drums and horns) to play at the game. They sounded good. I found it interesting that there were picnic tables adjacent to the field that are used for lots of Pre-game activities. Lots of food and many adult beverages flowing. Must not be an issue at Stanford/ California.

The game was sold out. As we walked up, lots of people were looking for tickets. Also noted- there is a very strange tree right next to and almost above the field. It creates a strange shadow on a section of the field. Must be a 800 year old tree that they cant cut down; hmmm. Kettle corn was brought in from off site. Churros were offered by roving vendors. Nice touch. Cotton candy was also offered. I presume the Stanford fans need more stuff like that to help them enjoy the event more. I kept waiting for an espresso cart to roll by. No luck.

Ok, so thats a bit of the evenings atmosphere review.

As for the game, for the most part it's all been said by all of you amazing Pilot Nation folks.

My quick notes-

I believe Rapinoe could have been moved back to center mid. Stanford controlled the center. Rapinoe was the top player on the field and possibly may have made a greater impact in the center of the field. Stanford was fast fast fast! Tall center back was tough! I don't think she lost one header. Great game played by Stanford. Pilot defense made some crushing tackles to thwart some of the fast breakaways. The soccer spirits chose the goalpost for us and the net for them.

Tough loss, great season! Time to digest....

Trenchcoat out....

Great reviews! I have little to add except to note that Stanford's front line is as young as ours. Their key players up front were Press (SO), Noyola (FR), O'Hara (JR), and Taylor (FR), so they'll all be back for at least one more year, plus they add Courtney Verloo. They do lose their two central defenders. Seems like the Pac 10 tide might be moving northward after UCLA/USC have dominated for a few years.

What a game if we could get Stanford on the schedule in the next couple of years!

It would be great to play them at Merlo with a full team. I expect them to go all the way this year.

Press, the eventual goal-scorer, was terrific. I'm scared to think of what she and Verloo can do together up front.

And agreed... we should definitely arrange a home-and-home with Stanford!

The game last night was only the third game I got to see all season. It looked to me like the Pilots ran into a better team, it was a dissapointing loss, but I feel Stanford deserved to win the game.

To be honest, when I saw them play NAU and Texas, I was not really excited about their National Championship chances for this season. But for a young team, they did pretty well making it this far and I certainly am proud to be a fan of this team.

Just got back from Stanford. It was a little deja vu as I thought Stanford did to us what we usually do to most other teams shots, pressure and more shots. Along with our chance in the beginning of the first half Megan also had the keeper beat in the first half when she shot a ball inches wide of the far post.

Stanford answered all of my questions about their team last night. The threats of O'Hara, Press and Taylor with their spectacular in speed in the attack and counter attack. Of the three I thought Press was the most dangerous. The amount of separation from her defender she was able to achieve in the first three steps was unlike anything I have seen at any level. Noyola was a factor early but generall a dissapointment. Our pilots were brilliantly fast with their feet and last second tackles to save one on one opportunities. The Stanford back line was exceptional and never looked disorganized except for the secquence following Sophie's header off the bar. Jury is still out on Maker. she was not impressive but did not need to be.

Kelsey was focused and playing as well as usual in the big games. Just one save short of a shut out. I was really hoping for OT and PKs and for Stanford to slow down from fatigue but they never did. Honestly, it was the best game of college soccer I have ever seen. I was proud to wear my purple even AFTER the game.

Stanford's seating capacity is an embarassment for the university. The campus is so large it seems like it is surrounded by national forests on all sides. They have so much room it is sick. Their band was cute. The bandleader was dressed as Santa. Once of the Stanford fans told me they had been banned from many stadiums for misconduct which made me like them all the more. They were having a great time in contrast to the fans who only made noise after the goal. Surprising lack of wit or soccer savy in the comments I heard. Maybe their fans are just starting to grow up with the program.

Well the future looks bright I hope we are bringing in some reall fast players. It looks as though technical, tactical and well coached only won't get it done going forward. We will need a well coached tremendously technical, tactical AND fast team to get past the quarters in the years to come.

A word on the Stanford band. They have even been banned from their own stadium because of--shall we say--tasteless attempts at humor. They range between cleverly obnoxious and truly disgusting.

Their best prank was in the 1972 Rose Bowl halftime show. They were playing Ohio State and, in honor of their opponents, the band spelled out

OHIO
STATE

on the field. As the network TV director got lulled into boredom halfway through the song, the A, the E, and the second O left the formation, the I dropped down into the lower word, and the first T morphed into an H. For a good thirty seconds NBC beamed that formation nationwide. Needless to say, the networks haven't broadcast their halftime shows since.

Auto Pilot wrote:... in contrast to the fans who only made noise after the goal. Surprising lack of wit or soccer savy in the comments I heard. Maybe their fans are just starting to grow up with the program.

The main quote heard over the open internet TV mic seemed to be, "C'mon ref!" They seemed to yell it every time we won a tackle.

Not as cool as both the Grambling as Southen bands spelling out "Obama" during the battle of the bands. Yes, I watched the Bayou Classic.

I watched the Stanford video feed. It was shakey & jerky at times, and I found it hard to follow the ball, especially when the camera moved in the wrong direction. I did think that I saw the tree that someone who was there in person mentioned. And I noticed some shadowed areas on the field. It looked like the lighting on the field was a bit uneven.

I was glad to see Kristen Kelly playing a bit more. I thought she showed some spark on both sides of the ball. And Kassi played her never-give-up style, and unfortunately was tested many times by the Stanford forwards.

Near the end of the game our players must have been pretty tired. There was little passing, primarily just kicking it away to get some relief from the relentless Stanford attack.

I thought we were lucky the Stanford didn’t score more frequently. It appeared they had shots on an open net numerous times and just blew the shot. These were in addition to the ones that Kelsey stopped or deflected. The extreme angle of the camera near the corner may have skewed the view, but it appeared to me that their forwards had several uncontested shots that went astray.

Stanford won the majority of the headers. Our goal kicks were consistently short (which seemed to be the case in the last several games), and with Stanford winning most of the headers, they were often right back down in front of our net. The speed of the team was mentioned elsewhere. It certainly was evident. They were able to turn the corner several times, and outrun us to the lead kicks at other times.

Last year there were some posts regarding the WNT after they lost to Brazil. The comments focused on the difference between the fast, quick Brazilian players versus the larger, slower, more technically proficient Americans. The suggestion was that it might be wise to recruit FAST athletes rather than just the technically proficient young soccer players. The thought was that you can teach a FAST player soccer skills, but you can’t make a soccer player run any faster. It looks like Stanford has been recruiting along that mind set. They have talented players and they have SPEED. (Yes, I am well aware that our two talented speed merchants were not on the field.)

So now begins the oh-so-long wait for next fall when our favorite team takes center stage once again. Along the way we’ll look forward to the official signing of our 2009 class, our spring training scrimmages, the release of the 2009 schedule, and the endless conjecturing on who will play where and how they will do. We all agree that we should have a very strong & talented team next year.

Will there be any age group events that we would be affected by next year? U23 seems like the only one that could affect us. Is Sophie likely to have any CNT commitments next year?

mattywizz wrote:Not as cool as both the Grambling as Southen bands spelling out "Obama" during the battle of the bands. Yes, I watched the Bayou Classic.

I would have watched that halftime show, too. I'll put in perspective for you: When I played in the Oregon Alumni Band this year, we spelled out OREGON on the field before the Washington game. We spent about half of a four-hour pregame rehearsal on that and getting into a block for the anthem and halftime. And we weren't even moving--just standing and playing.

I have no idea how schools like Grambling and Southern pull off halftime shows like that.

UPWomenSoccerRookie wrote:Last year there were some posts regarding the WNT after they lost to Brazil. The comments focused on the difference between the fast, quick Brazilian players versus the larger, slower, more technically proficient Americans. The suggestion was that it might be wise to recruit FAST athletes rather than just the technically proficient young soccer players. The thought was that you can teach a FAST player soccer skills, but you can’t make a soccer player run any faster. It looks like Stanford has been recruiting along that mind set. They have talented players and they have SPEED. (Yes, I am well aware that our two talented speed merchants were not on the field.)

Yes, I agree that Stanford was FAST. They weren't only fast, they were technically strong. While I think a team needs to have some FAST players on the team, I don't think that a player who's main strength is SPEED can always develop strong soccer skills.

Stanford had the whole package. Heart, big speed, techincal skill and movement. I expect them to take the final.

Portland had yet another outstanding year. I am lucky to be a local fan.

I read the news Saturday ... just made it back to the land of Internet connections today ... sorry to see the Pilots' season has ended. I will say that the team's run this summer and fall has brought major fun and excitement to my daughter and me. We have enjoyed the whole experience from begining to end. Wait till next year!