Santa Clara match

SoreKnees wrote:I can't believe the lack of support! Maybe it's a break week for their students or something, but even still they should get more than 700 for this rivalry. Merlo would be full for SC in worse weather than that...

According to Santa Clara's website, they do not have a break either last week or this week.

Jessica Tsao (My and wife's favorite player) made TopDrawer Team of the week.
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-soccer-archives/nid-18037/Cardinal-still-#1%20after%20more%20wins

slick wrote:This year's sloppy ugly hard-fought 1-0 win on the SC pitch is greeted with ecstasy by everyone .......... in contrast to last year's "ugly" 1-0 victory .. on the same pitch .. over the same tough conference opponent .... ??

Go Pilots! Good job Ladies!!

Any win over SCU is a good win. People get too caught up the score.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:

slick wrote:This year's sloppy ugly hard-fought 1-0 win on the SC pitch is greeted with ecstasy by everyone .......... in contrast to last year's "ugly" 1-0 victory .. on the same pitch .. over the same tough conference opponent .... ??

Go Pilots! Good job Ladies!!

Any win over SCU is a good win. People get too caught up the score.

The score means absolutely nothing. Traditionally, a road win in this rivalry has been very hard to come by.

This senior class won two straight on the road. Never been done before.

Further, SCU will graduate a class of seniors who have never seen their team score on UP. Next year is at home. I fully expect SCU will see a second class have the same experience.

I think Kassie had her best every game as a Pilot.

Speaking of Jessica. I believe I posted after the final game last year that I felt Jessica should have been used as a offensive weapon. The chips were down for the Pilots and here is Jessica who scored a ton of goals in highschool and usually creates a chance on goal when she goes forward, hanging out playing back. My armchair coaching wanted her to be stuck in at forward for the last few minutes. She is a great weapon that is underused. She should be used for more offensive strikes. She is sturdy and gets stuck in against defenders. Jessica's a senior, she needs to be cut loose to help the Pilots win the title. I've seen her score one of the finest goals at Merlo I have ever seen. Wicked shot from about 20 yards. Big time goals scorer.
Has smith ever given her a run up front before? That would be fun to see. Could it be the change-up we just might need to pop in a goal in crunch time?
Trenchcoat

Trenchcoat Wally: From your post to Garrett Smith's ears! I hope the message gets through. It would be awesome from this fan's Section B seat to see Jessica up front or even at right mid with more chances to go upfield. And if she didn't score she would likely set up someone else to score as she is an exceptional passer. Odds of this lineup change are slim -- Pilots are unkikely to make a field experiment at this stage. But ... it's worth more than a "dream on" moment for thsoe of us in the peanut gallery.

I agree that Kassi has done really well, coming on strong at the right time. But did Kassi's long minutes last weekend mean that Michelle O. is not fully healthy? Usually the Pilots share the time more evenly for fresh legs when there are two tough games close together.

purple haze wrote:I agree that Kassi has done really well, coming on strong at the right time. But did Kassi's long minutes last weekend mean that Michelle O. is not fully healthy? Usually the Pilots share the time more evenly for fresh legs when there are two tough games close together.

I think I remember a comment on this board last year to the effect the Michelle has some kind of chronic medical condition that sometimes limits her activity, but I don't remember any details. Am I making this up? Does anyone have more information?

You aren't making it up. If you recall last year, she was wearing a portable heart monitor while she sat out and even after she came back for a while. That indicates she has a chronic problem, and is probably on some medication which can limit how much activity you can have sometimes. they can be hard to regulate, and if the doses aren't right, you can feel sluggish.

She probably has to go with how she feels. When she feels good, it's great for the team.

That and Kassi recovering from back surgeries is probably why that position has been by committee this year. Kristen Kelly is is the wings, too.

Thanks for the clarification. I can't see the bench from my seats, so I didn't know about the monitor.

We are blessed with great depth at that position this year, which makes it easier to survive with such an excellent player out of the lineup.

SoreKnees wrote:Thanks for the clarification. I can't see the bench from my seats, so I didn't know about the monitor.

We are blessed with great depth at that position this year, which makes it easier to survive with such an excellent player out of the lineup.

I'm not sure you could see the monitor, it was reportedly smaller than the size of an iPod. I just remember a report of her showing it off to her team mates.

Cross Conference has one more thing to add.

http://bit.ly/a3RDsN