SCU @ Pilots - 11/02/2008

Last home match of regular season. Dangerous rival that has struggled this season in the Santa Clara Broncos. Never a team to take lightly!

It's after 1:30pm now and the match has begun!

GOAL!!! PILOTS 1 - 0, 13 minutes into match.

Tsao great move into the box, 1v1 with the GK, passes off to Schmidt for the solid finish into the net!

GOAL #2!!!!! PILOTS 2 - 0.

About 18th minute in, Tsao leading Megan Rapinoe into the box and Megan strikes!

FANatic, thanks for the updates! It sure helps to have a FAN such as you!!

HALFTIME SCORE: Pilots 2 - Broncos 0.

mikemac65 - Thanks fellow Pilots' fan. I don't have much goin' today, so I thought I'd just try to update Pilot Nation a little. It's very slow on here because most fans are either at the game or watching it on ESPNU. I don't get that channel, so I'm just messin' around in between watching Bonanza.

Go Pilots!

GOAL #3!!! PILOTS 3 - 0!!!

Michelle Enyeart wonderful run up through the defense, past the keeper and a relatively easy finish for the GOAL! Assist Michelle Olivier. 75th minute.

Plenty of great opportunities to score for the Pilots in the 2nd half. SCU keeper Bianca Henninger has been terrific in goal with several great saves.

GOAL #4!!! PILOTS 4 - 0!!! 84TH MINUTE.

Beautiful (Can't wait to see the video replay) Header Goal by Sophie Schmidt! 2nd goal in the match. 3rd Assist today for Jessica Tsao on her birthday!

The penalty kick call was totally bogus. The keeper came out for the ball, Sophie jumped over her, and the ref whistled to the spot. I wonder if Megan kicked it up the middle on purpose for the sake of justice.

Our Jessica really let her star shine today. 3 assists what great assists they were. She was making runs up the field all day long exploiting SCU's 3 back line. Sophie on her first goal was her usual self being positioned perfectly to bury the back door cross from Jessica who dribbled so fast around her defender that Michelle O. got a part of the assist after sending it to Jessica breaking wide. Sophie's second goal came of a perfect centering ball from Jessica off the goaline right to a charging Sophie for the header past the keeper.

Megan's goal was vintage Megan R. , one timing the cross over the diving SCU keeper, also assisted by Jessica, was one for the alltime highlight reel. Cat Whitehill commented that it was a world class strike and one the best goals she has seen in a long time.

Michelle Enyeart's goal really took the SCU keeper to school who had a good game over all. She showed the speed and finishing that we will be missing come playoff time.

Defensive treat of the day was Korie Nicolson absolutely sticking a tackle on a breakaway in the middle of the field just outside the 18. If you wondered whether she can play there, question answered. Kelsey made a good save but was constantly unfavorablely compared to the SCU keeper by the ESPNU commentator who was keeping a running account of a stat I never head of before. Which keeper touched the ball more. Crazy. Cat Whitehill set her straight about what makes the better keeper.

Anyway Garrett let Racheal on the field for the last minute as a tribute which drove the fans nuts. Nice sign in the Purple section thanking the parents of the Rapinoes. In Megan's interview after the game she commented that she thought today was the Pilot's best game of the year specifically mentioning intensity level.

This bodes well to carry us into the San Diego game and the Playoffs.
Also noteworthy was an ESPNU special during the half with members of the Purple pride who got to make their case on national TV why we deserve a playoff at home. Probably the best statement made about the game all day.

Replay of the foul leading up to the PK shows the foul was unwarranted but I doubt Megan tried anything other than to get the ball in the back of the net. The announcers said there was some communicating between Jerry Smith and their keeper about which way Megan would go and they had scouted her right. It was a nice save by the keeper but the Pilots were relentess and made sure the call did not affect the outcome of the game.

This was a great effort by the Pilots. I worried that they might come out flat, but that didn't happen. They were fired up to play today against their perrenial rival. I especially liked the duel of the #3's. Megan R. vs. Jenny Laponte. They were attacking each other all day long all over the pitch.

Megan got the better of that exchange after Laponte took a clearance ball to the face. Non intentional by Megan but it really rocked Laponte. She should be watched for a concusion or broken jaw.

The 3 back lineup surprised me, because I don't think they have the personnel for it. You have to have really good defenders who are quick and good 1v1 , and you have to have mids who can support really well. Jerry may be having them play with the personnel he would like to have, not who's left.

Maybe he was thinking what is the point of switching the defensive system in the second to last game of the year. On a good note for SCU the announcer mentioned that Brandi Chastain, Jerry's wife completed the New York Marathon.