NSCAA Sept 9, 2008 poll

The latest polls are out, well at least the regional ones.

UP is now second in the West, leapfrogging USC and Stanford. Apparently the goal fest this weekend raised some eyebrows.

NSCAA West poll

Next week some of our rivals will be going head to head, so if we keep piling up the wins, the cream will rise to the top by the time the RPI's have some meaning.

The full poll, when it is tabulated, will be HERE

Well the full poll has been tabulated. (See Geezer's post above for link.)

We jumped from 9th to 6th. Only problem is: USC IS 3RD.

So we beat USC, and they remain 3 spots ahead of us.

I'm speechless. Anyone care to comment?

(KFTC: Got a feeling you're not surprised. Am I right?)

(Geezer: Which of our rivals will be going head to head next week?)

National Polls are fairly weak, the accuracy is only as good as the attention of the folks that are voting. If people out east aren't paying attention, they may only see oh the records are the same, so since USC was champs last year we will put them here behind the 2 undefeated teams that have a lot of buzz.

Also, our win over USC was two weeks ago and didn't factor into the poll last time.

We're talking about coaches here--- a lot of those guys don't have a very good attention span....

Alternatively, they have discounted our win since Rodriguez wasn't playing. I think that's the more likely explanation.

Purplegeezer wrote:

The latest polls are out, well at least the regional ones. UP is now second in the West, leapfrogging USC and Stanford. Apparently the goal fest this weekend raised some eyebrows.

Question: Do they use different coaches for the regional poll than the coaches they use for the national poll?

Why?: Because we trail only UCLA in the regional poll, being ahead of both USC and Stanford. Yet, in the national poll, WE TRAIL ALL THREE!

This is totally irrational to me, unless they used different coaches.

Addendum to above post: It just dawned on me that they probably use regional coaches for the regional poll, and coaches from all over the country for the national poll.

But if the national coaches are uncertain how to vote for teams in a region other than their own, shouldn't they use the regional polls as a guide? I would....

It is the nature of coaches to believe they understand more than they actually do. A coach on the east coast might very well think he/she has a good grasp on what is happening out west when in fact their opinion may be shaped more by a school's prominence in national reputation. Add into the mix that we get players from Canada they become more ignorant without realizing it.

I would venture that based upon recruiting trends, coaches tend to be lemming like in their behaviour. There are very few true evaluators of individual talent in the coaching game today. I think Garrett and Mark Krikorian of Florida State are two coaches who really are able to evaluate talent on their own and are not completely reliant on player rankings to decide who is "good and who is great".

It is because of this phenomena that we consistently have recruiting classes that perform better than what they are rated coming in. Chronic underachievers that have usually great recruiting classes include our very own SCU and more recently UNC across the country. I also have an opinion though it is just a feeling that there is some bias of schools with a men's football program against schools without a football program as with the latter being perceived as somewhat lesser in stature across the spectrum of all sports at the school. What UP has in the Women's soccer program is unique and not all coaches across the country have received "the memo". Unfortunately, when it comes to our program you will find coaches who are not familiar with UP write off weekends like we just had as anomalys or ignore them altogether.

It is this kind of thinking that has people like UPSoccerfanatic up at nights formulating computer models to lend a bit of transparency in the ranking process so we don't get screwed in the tournament seeding year after year. And so we fight the good fight for the reputation of UP. Inviting all comers to see the special thing that Clive dreamed and Bill and Garrett steward these few years later. Until we are able to host a playoff series including semi and finals, I don't think the program will ever gain the national recognition by all the backwater NCAA coaches that vote on the national rankings. Until then we play on the road and win, and gain respect one Kennesaw and Colgate at a time.

Auto Pilot wrote:There are very few true evaluators of individual talent in the coaching game today. I think Garrett and Mark Krikorian of Florida State are two coaches who really are able to evaluate talent on their own and are not completely reliant on player rankings to decide who is "good and who is great".

It is because of this phenomena that we consistently have recruiting classes that perform better than what they are rated coming in.

I agree completely, but I think there also is another factor. A lot of other coaches care only about winning. At Portland, the players come first. That includes doing everything possible to help them become better players over their time at UP. One of the things I have been most impressed with is how much our players improve over their four years on the Bluff. I bet that the UP players, on average, improve more over their four years than just about any other team's players. This too is part of Clive's legacy.

Thanks UP, I was thinking along those lines when I was posting but forgot to include it you are right on. Garrett not only improves them after they arrive but they are prescreened to make sure they are "great kids" (spell good students and team players). To expand further on your insigtful comment not only do the improve as players but individuals as well. Garrett helps them grow as people. He counsels them if there are troubles at home. He provides career counseling tells them how to get their masters degrees after their time at Portland by working at other schools. In short he cares not only about the players well being while playing at UP but also how they are positioned for life after college soccer.

That is above and beyond the call of duty for a college coach and I think thats one of the reasons the ladies love him so much.

Auto,

Let me say, you have gone from being a new poster, to an essential part of the board in a very short time, thank you for all of your insight, as it is clear that you understand more than just the game.

It wont be long before you knock me down the total post totem pole, and rightly so.

Perhaps, aleppiek. Auto is posting like a man possessed!

But you, aleppiek, have really cranked up your posting in recent months. I don't recall that you posted at this clip for the first several months you were on the board.

Anyhoot - keep up the good work, boys!

Aleppiek and FANatic, I am pretty reved up because we are in the thick of the soccer season so I will probably be pretty active until Nov/Dec. After that I hope to learn more and comment on the other programs similar to what you two and others do on this Board.

In all respects I remain the wide-eyed recruit listening to Jimi's purple haze and realizing for the first time in my life what he meant. After all he was born in Seattle and the Dawgs wear purple too. (do ya think?)

Did someone say Purple Haze? That's my cue! We saw a purple W flag flying from someone's sun roof in the Merlo parking lot tonight, held by someone shouting "U Dub! U Dub!" and in response my loyal Pilot daughter muttered, "Ugh!"

And when Jimi sang "What ever it is, that girl put a spell on me" -- he was predicting Ellie Reed's hat trick against Northern Arizona.

Yeah, Ellie should have dropped to her knees, poured lighter fluid on the game ball and lit it up.

purple haze wrote:Did someone say Purple Haze? That's my cue! We saw a purple W flag flying from someone's sun roof in the Merlo parking lot tonight, held by someone shouting "U Dub! U Dub!" and in response my loyal Pilot daughter muttered, "Ugh!"

*Ahem*

"What's it like to, what's it like to, what's it liiiike to be alone?"

And after:
"This is our house! (clap clap clap-clap-clap)"

Drummer and I were betting on the Villans if something went down tonight.
At least they can go home and watch a great football game tomorr...oh. Never mind.

Auto Pilot wrote:Yeah, Ellie should have dropped to her knees, poured lighter fluid on the game ball and lit it up.

Great quote. I was right in line with her first shot. It was a wicked outswinger that was almost a knuckler right up into the far top corner.... just beautiful.

Charney took a couple of great shots, too, though she hit one, as Christine once said about an attempt in the Penn State playoff in 2005 "with her purse".


It's nice to once more see shots coming from everywhere, just like last weekend. And its nice to be able to do it with players trying all sorts f new positions and playing them well. This is really going to come in handy come playoff time.

I have one question. Does Garrett do anything? I mean, it make no difference where he puts people, we still hand out drubbings. I fully expect Kelsey to start lobbying for time in the field, like she said she wanted.

Elli's goal was just shown on KATU's sports segment of the news. It was nice the second time.