Pilots Defeat OSU 1-0 (with last minute goal)

What looked like a for certain OT match ended after 90 minutes, with Keelin heading in the winning goal, off a free kick by Sophie with 42 seconds left in regulation.

Senior leadership really cut to the chase at the end of this match!

Don't want anybody filing out early....

This was a match between ten Pilots playing very well and a worldclass GK, Adrianna Franch.

Another match where the shots were soooo close to going in. It is just a matter of time before the goals start hitting net

I was pleased to see coach use alot of his new people but it made me nervous with Cassie in the back....until she warmed to the task after a while!!! I sure do like the girl from Barlow.....Meicalla(sp)...lol

Amanda Frisbie got her first touches as a Pilot. Nice to see players getting healthy. Now we need Parker back, too. word is she is close.

When did we start playing a 2-2-6 formation? I don't remember Garrett saying anything about abandoning the 4-4-2

More of the same from the Pilots. With opposition playing one person up front and getting people back behind the ball. In the first half Portland did a better job of playing the ball forward. There's fine line between patient build up and looking for the opening, and not being aggressive enough in forcing the opening. We saw some of both today but I thought the balance was better in the first half.

Erin Dees played well, with perhaps more confidence than in prior games. Not surprising if that is true because it has to take time for a freshman to get comfortable and over the jitters. And it's especially hard as a GK for this team because you don't see a lot of action. She made one very important block save early the the second half when it was still 0-0.

I think the defense is strongest with Cloee and Michelle in there. Cloee appears to be nursing a wrist injury and did not play in the second half. Elli had one superb shot in the second half which the OSU GK did well to push over.

Keelin scored a fine goal and had a couple of penetrating runs into the box in the first half. She was unlucky with the one shot that hit the post, having picked her spot and placed it past the GK.

Sophie is awesome: she makes the game look simple and is strong and all over the field. Her first touch is among the best in the team (Michelle O is up there too). It was perhaps significant that she ended the game playing up front.

Kendall had a fine game - aggressive and purposeful - until she got a knock early in the second half. She was in tears or very close to it when she came off and the trainer spent a long time checking out her knee. She was jogging on it by the end of the game so hopefully it is not too bad.

Dani had her best game of the season IMHO and created several chances for others in the first half. Her game with her back to the goal has improved substantially since her FR season.

Amanda F and Sarah B also saw time today, as did Michelle C and Micaela C: so the FRs are getting time. This is a good thing because it takes some time for most new players to adjust to this level of play. It's the exception when a FR can step right in and play like a starter. Kendall took time to settle last year so no surprise that all of this year's new faces are taking some time to hit the pace.

My guess is that Garrett was not happy at the end of the game: too often in the second half we saw the ball movement being a step or two too slow and players missing or opting out of the more forward pass and settling for lateral or backwards. Defensively I think some fo the players switched off one occasion. For example, at one point one of the Pilots did not close down the player with the ball - and in addition to three or four teammates calling her out Garrett got up and had words, which is almost unheard of.

It's not that they played badly overall, because OSU was playing it safe, and but for the OSU GK UP would have been ahead by one or two goals by middle of the second half, but the patience-positive forward movement balance was a little off for some players, and the crispness of some passing and movement of the ball was not quite to the standard we've come to expect.

4-0 is a solid start. Word is that Ellen Parker should be training this week and might be ready to play next weekend.

I thought that the first half was the best that the Pilots have looked in their three home matches. The passing was crisp and not totally predictable. There were lots of direct balls through the middle from the defensive line to the front rather than always running outside through the fullbacks to the midfielders. They created multiple excellent scoring chances, but were either unlucky (hitting the post or missing an open goal) or denied by an exceptional performance by the OSU keeper.

The Pilots have yet to score a first-half goal at home despite 36 shots at the goal nearer the parking lot. They have 4 goals on just 25 second-half shots at the other goal. Maybe they should pick the other end next time they win the coin toss?

Wow, what a game!!
First off, let's give credit where credit is due!! That OK St keep was phenomenal. I noticed afterwards that Kendall an she had a pretty warm moment so that made me check. The OSU keep played with Kendall on this past years U-20 team in Germany, I guess that explains that. As was stated previously, the score could have very easily been 5-0, lots of great strikes an chances if not for that keep.
Liking Erin Dees more an more. She is much more decisive an aggressive! Se made a couple or three great plays/saves..an for the first time I actually heard her yelling at her teammates. Of course, no one will ever be the loud mouth Kelsey was, but on the other hand, Hailee is like a mouse...no offense intended.
Was very excited to see Frisbie enter the game, she looks like a player!! Im hoping her performance was another case of 'frosh jitters'. She got knocked off the ball easily an made far too many turnovers. Like Sarah B the previous game, I'll reserve my ..oh ugly word...judgment.
Loved, loved, loved the way we looked in the first half of the game, not so much in the second half. I noticed a couple of our younger and more inexperienced players getting pretty winded.
Agree with the statemnet that Cassie was pretty shakey when she first entered the game but came on strong!
I hate to sound like a 'homer', but the more an more I see of Micheala the more an more I love her game!!
Over all, I like very much where our girls are!!

By the way, have we ever seen Keelin so offensive minded? Nat'l Team here we come, do dah, do dah



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First game I made it to live because of other early season commitments although I did catch the last 30 minutes of SMU via video. I thought the first half was excellent and I was thinking that the team looked pretty exciting. Then the 2nd half and the young subs came on and I began to think that maybe this year's team wasn't going to be so good. Luckily I came here and read the game recap by Redknapp and fozzie and put a little perspective on it all. Some of the new players gave the ball up way too easily and dribbled right into defenders. I like the suggestion of "frosh jitters" and I too will reserve judgement till they have a few more games to get their legs under them. Oh, and Sophie and Keelin decided to win it and did.

To state the obvious, it was most appropriate over the four game stretch so far that the winning goal was Sophie to Keelin.

The winning goal was a beaut. Keelin is getting into the box more this year, and taking shots from outside too. I think that's a good thing. Last year there were many occasions when I thought she had a chance to take shot from 18-20 yards and passed it up: this year she's having a go some times. I'm not talking about shoot on sight, but having that as an option.

Last year she had 16 shots in 23 games: this year she has 11 in 4! The winner v PSU was off a rebound from her shot; she hit the post last night in addition to the winning header, and - truth be told - the best chance of the game was one where she was played in and hit it straight at the keeper.

One thing that has been consistent over the years is that freshman who were superior players in high school have a set of moves they used effectively against their high school opponents. The good ones quickly learn that at the college level those moves are anticipated and countered by their opponents. The good ones adjust accordingly and become superior players at the collegiate level. It often takes a few games for them to begin to retool their moves. We are seeing that once again this year. Both MC's have a few games under their belts now and it shows. AF had her first action yesterday and it showed. After the games in Seattle next weekend, I suspect we will see a more effective AF against Rutgers.

I'm very glad to see the seniors step up - they did it in the first game of the season, and they did it Sunday. They're big, dominant players, and they can produce when the team needs it. I can't wait for the rest of the season. With all those chances in the first half, if we can start finishing some goals, its going to be pretty brutal for our opponents.

Did anyone else feel like the team was dragging a little bit in the waning minutes?

BigBro,

I did notice the team got a little pooped at the end of the game.

I wonder if it was because of the tremendous effort they expended in the first half.

It seemed the whole team was working triple time trying to figure out a way to crack the defensive puzzle OS had devised.

From where I sat, it looked like OS had at least 18 players jammed in their half of the field !

(Not to mention their amazing goalie making save after save.)

It must have been frustrating for our girls.

The team that looked tired to me was OSU -- which didn't possess the ball except for a few seconds at a time. OSU is no slouch with its national ranking, and yet the Pilots choked OSU off with stifling defense and a patient, persistent attack. The first half was a thing of beauty, as others have noted. Although the 2nd half wasn't as dominant for the Pilots, it was still a start-to-finish clinic on not giving the visitors a chance.

I did think that some of the Pilots looked a little off the pace by the end of the Sunday game. Some of them had palyed all of both games. No surprise if they are not ready for that much yet.

For example, Jess and Elli cover a lot of ground and not a surprise if they are running on fumes by end of game 2 at this stage of the season.

They are also in the middle of their lifting training, which can slow them down a bit. it won't ease up until conference. The goal is the tournament, remember?

Conditioning has always been an issue for the Pilots in the post-season. I'm hoping that by playing tough teams early in the year they will be ready for the demands of overtime during the tourney.

Hmmm. I've always thought of the Pilots as one of the fittest teams playing today, especially at tournament time. They are pretty will known for their conditioning program. Last season was unusual because several starters were feeling the effects of colds and the flu at tournament time.

Uncle John wrote:BigBro,

I did notice the team got a little pooped at the end of the game.

I wonder if it was because of the tremendous effort they expended in the first half.

It seemed the whole team was working triple time trying to figure out a way to crack the defensive puzzle OS had devised.

From where I sat, it looked like OS had at least 18 players jammed in their half of the field !

(Not to mention their amazing goalie making save after save.)

It must have been frustrating for our girls.

I agree that there was a period of lapse about 30 minutes into the second half. It looks like the Pilots just didn't have the oomph to keep marking tightly in the mid-field and were content to give OSU some room, for the first time all day. Right about the time Sophie appeared to move up to forward, it stopped and the Pilots were re-energized. I'm betting it was more mental fatigue, as you've suggested, than conditioning.

I also confess that it caused me some concern, because it was part of what I'd seen the last few years. I am very confident that this was addressed after the game in clear terms. I know how hard it is to maintain full concentration throughout an athletic event, but in soccer it's a must. I bet the players are very clear on that this week.

GO PILOTS

Makes sense - and, mental fatigue probably becomes more pronounced in a frustrating game when you are doing everything except score. I wonder if that maybe speaks to a benefit of getting a player out of the game for even 5-10 minutes. I would imagine she would go back in pretty energized.

The UP way is that you get match fit by playing, and you learn the ability to concentrate and play through the doldrums. Sunday Garrett left some players out there, made the switch of Sophie up front and Hallie in midfield, and let it play out.