Is it just me or is our team flopping more this year?

Actually, the most obvious flop that I felt I saw was at mid-field in the UW game, and I'm not sure if the ref did call it as a free kick. I was sitting pretty close to mid-field at the game with other UP fans, and I felt I had a good vantage point.

I'm not sure if there was diving in the GU game as much as 1-2 times when players probably could have kept their balance and stayed on their feet and possibly would have if they weren't in the penalty box. So, it's pretty similar to a dive. Again, that's not to say that the GU players were necessarily playing the ball.

I think that the foul that Geezaldhino showed the photos of was clearly the most obvious one of the match, and it definitely deserved a PK. Others were more questionable, and we could have still had an easy 5-0 win without them.

I watched the video a number of times on the first PK call in the Gonzaga game. Unfortunately, the keeper's and Dani's legs were shielded from the camera by the rest of Dani's [correction: the keeper's] body. As I watched it the third or fourth time, the one thing I noticed was that the keeper seemed to be raising one of her knees as she slid. I couldn't tell from the video whether there was contact, but the raised knee could have been interpreted by the ref as intending to take out the player. If that one was a generous call, I think it was a ref problem, not a player problem. I confess, however, that I have no idea what proper sliding technique is for a keeper.

I don't remember the call from the UW game, but as I said, it wasn't something I was looking for. This does bring up, however, a question I'd like opinions on, and the UW game provides a good context. It was a rough game, both ways in my opinion. There were a number of yellow cards, more to UW I think than to Portland (although I think UW ended up hurting more physically after the game). But there also was a lot that wasn't called. (If I'm remembering right, not the best ref'd game ever.) Suppose players think they're getting mugged a lot, but the ref isn't calling it. Is it legit, in that case, for a player to end up on the ground more easily than she might usually, in order to make a point to the ref?

As a player, when the game is rough and the ref is letting us play, i usually get rougher, not go down easier, because I don't trust the ref to give calls.

BigBro wrote:As a player, when the game is rough and the ref is letting us play, i usually get rougher, not go down easier, because I don't trust the ref to give calls.

seconded

wow! ive thought about this post for several days since it was first posted. in my opinion, i think i have never seen one of our gals take a dive or flop. looks can be deceiving. as for the play in the box vs the zags an kendall, i am perfectly good with the call. i dont believe the zag player was going after kendall. while she may have not played the ball first, that is only because kendall got her foot down before the zag player could get to it. i highly doubt that that play would have been called a foul at mid field, let alone in the box. ref's tend to make calls in the box even more conservative.

The Pilots are a foremost a finesse team, but this season they have shown the guts and cussedness to match physical play with their own physical play. Not in a dirty way --just to show the opponent that hard tackles won't go unpunished.