Pepperdine & LMU

Coming off two nice road wins last week, the Pilots have a couple of very tough games that could be “must win" games for the Pilots if they are to have a decent seeding in the post-season.

Tonight at 7, UP (8-4-3/2-1-1) battles #18 Pepperdine (12-4-0/3-1-0) and on Sunday at 1, LMU ((9-5-2/3-2-0) is at Merlo Field

Remember, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and former UP standout Megan Rapinoe will attend Sunday’s game against LMU, and the midfielder will be honored with a halftime ceremony before taking part in a post-game autograph zone.

Megan and two wins would make for the perfect UP Women’s Soccer weekend!

Gonzaga beats Loyola Marymount this afternoon 2-0.

Terrific result Tonight!

This was a great game for the pilots playing pretty football and dominating Pepperdine.

They made a mistake in the first half, but came out gangbusters for three straight in the second.

Cruz, Frisbie, Cruz.

UP's unadjusted RPI just jumped to 18 with the other results. Pepperdine drops to 22. we are in striking range of a seed, folks!

In another WCC match, USF came from behind to tie Santa Clara get their first result of aqny kind against the Broncos.that series is now at 26-0-1

It was a terrific game against a ranked opponent. Emily Sipple and Nolelle LaProvette deserve recognition for their tireless hustle and physicality.

yeah, and a buch of other folks stepped up besides the usual stalwarts. I thought DJ also player a very tough game and was strong on both sides of the game.

and actually, when we got the lead, I thougt they played a very nice combination of keeping the ball and still being very dangerous if Pepperdine tried to push forward.

except for the slip by Sarah, I also thought the defense was very strong, and the whole team closed down space well. Sippple's hustle was outstanding.

This is going to be one of our best results of the regular season. To me the Pilots were the better side the first half but absolutely dominated the second.

Jeter and the other wide mids and backs were very good tonight. Also Kurle has settled into the DM role nicely.

After the third I saw it like Geezer, they played a classic Portland possession game to kill it off.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cruz! Frisbie! Cruz!

After a tactical, give and take chess match in the first half, the Pilots, down 0-1, came out in the second half more aggressive than I recall seeing them this year.

On a cold and damp evening, and playing on a slippery surface, it appeared our center backs, Bridges and McCluskie, were either too tentative or not communicating well when PU scored its only goal….but in the end it didn’t matter.

I really enjoyed the play of Rebekah Kurle tonight. She played wonderful defense while making good decisions and distributions….she’s going to be a star.

If last week’s two road wins gave the Pilots confidence; this game should give them even more heading into the game against LMU on Sunday.

DoubleDipper wrote:
On a cold and damp evening, and playing on a slippery surface, it appeared our center backs, Bridges and McCluskie, were either too tentative or not communicating well when PU scored its only goal….but in the end it didn’t matter.

She wanted to either trap it or pass it hard back to the keeper. Just a poor touch at a bad time.

well, this is looking better.

I liked the OK Go warmup music, BTW.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=5933733973682128992

Great performance last night. The girls started pretty well but lost their way a little about midway throught the first half: passes were going astray or underhit and they were a step slow to close people down. The goal was unfortunate.

But they came out in the second half fired up and were just quicker and sharper. Both of Michelle Cruz's goals were follow ups from close in to lasers from Kendall. When KJ hits it hard she really hits it! Great credit to MC for doing what all of us coaches exhort our players to do: "follow your kicks!". She was in the right place at the far post to make the most of the chances. Amanda F's goal was a really nice combination move and in our section we were all relieved to see the flag stay down because she timed her run so well it looked like she might have been offside.

As others have said, after the goals the Pilots played with great confidence, and patience, and were very aggressive still in high pressure defense to win the ball back early. Pepperdine was tired by the end, UP had cleared the bench, and was passing the ball around with great assurance.

About six games ago I thought this season was over as far as a compettive outcome was concerned because they were not playing well and with Ellen P and Micaela hurt it looked grim. Then they played really tough at home v. BYU and San Diego - both losses but very competitive performances and both opponenets very relieved to escape with the win. Then a couple of great road wins and a huge, gutsy game last night. Not the most talented team we've seen at Merlo but no lack of heart. Proud to be a fan of a team that shows the fight they have.

And I've gotta believe that coaching plays a part in this too. Kudos to Garrett and the assistants.

It was a wonderful match, despite the worrisome minutes after we carried the early play but entered the half down 1-nil.

Sipple had her best game in a Pilot uniform and seems to do a little better up front. I am continually amazed with the play of Rebecca Kurle, however. From her beginnings as an eager, but often winded, Frosh on attack, she is maturing into a classic Pilot holding mid. I think I remember one errant pass last night. My early vote goes to Kurle for Most Improved. Lorielle ain't half bad in that department either.

Harry Redknapp wrote:About six games ago I thought this season was over as far as a compettive outcome was concerned because they were not playing well and with Ellen P and Micaela hurt it looked grim. Then they played really tough at home v. BYU and San Diego - both losses but very competitive performances and both opponenets very relieved to escape with the win. Then a couple of great road wins and a huge, gutsy game last night.

And I've gotta believe that coaching plays a part in this too. Kudos to Garrett and the assistants.

I meant to mention last night that the men's team scored the winning goal without Evans on the pitch, and the women can now win without Parker and Capelle.....both teams have to take confidence from that, and the coaching staff have to be both thrilled and proud that others have begun to fill some big shoes/boots!

That bodes well for the future.

Friday's win was huge. Coming back to win going away was awesome -- the Pilots flat-out smoked the Waves and made them look flat, slow and crushed with their amazing attack to open the second half. The team is showing new confidence, new energy and improved skills. As folks have already noted, so much praise is due all around for great effort and resilience. All in all, many reasons to smile on the way out.

GAME DAY!

UP has a chance to continue the great play of the last few games and establish a great position for the tournament.

Let's hope they don't come out flat and don't forget that LMU itself earned a 3-0 Win over Pepperdine.

It'll also be great to finally get out and cheer Megan on her return to Merlo after the Olympics.

GO PILOTS!

Looking forward to it, bring your raincoat!

Well, that was about as dominant a 2-0 match as I have seen in a long time.

On a soggy day at Merlo the pilots played Pilot soccer. The short passing game was everything they have been working hard on all year. It was great to see a great team effort. I'm not sure you can single any players out, because they all played great team ball.

Pilot fans can have a big Pilot grin on after this one.


It was nice also to see Megan, Rachael, and Sophie back for the match.

Elsa Hume was there too, as she often is.

My only complaint is I picked up a set of the player cards from the giveaway table before the game and by the time I got home they were soaked! I think I need to re-spray my Goretex before the next game.

It was a fun game despite or maybe because of the weather. Lots of slipping and sliding with the Pilots popping up from the ground much quicker than LMU.

Anyone see Coach Smith stand up and yell at the officials after that hard tackle on Vaver? Not something that you get to see every day.

Dominant win with many great attacks and lots of pressure on the Lions. Wettest weather at Merlo in a long time. Hard to keep the kettle corn dry. Chalk up another WCC victory.

Might I also point out that the box score on portlandpilots.com reports that the weather was: "liquid sunshine." Also of note, a solid attendance.

http://www.portlandpilots.com/custompages/Soccer-W/2012/porws17.htm

I thought that attendance figure a bit sketchy--3390! As I looked around during the game, I thought to myself, since no one was around me to talk to, there might be 2000 people. So how do they figure the number, by the tickets sold, which includes the dozens of season-ticket holders around me who were missing in action?

The ladies have really pulled things together after some very spotty play a few weeks ago. I thought they played some wonderful stretches in the games before heading south, but just didn't get the wins. I think this is one of Garrett's best coaching accomplishments yet. So many young players, very key injuries, short bench, but still 10-4-3 and scoring several more goals than last year already with at least three games left. Don't count this group out of any game yet.

ejjqb wrote:I thought that attendance figure a bit sketchy--3390! As I looked around during the game, I thought to myself, since no one was around me to talk to, there might be 2000 people. So how do they figure the number, by the tickets sold, which includes the dozens of season-ticket holders around me who were missing in action?

The ladies have really pulled things together after some very spotty play a few weeks ago. I thought they played some wonderful stretches in the games before heading south, but just didn't get the wins. I think this is one of Garrett's best coaching accomplishments yet. So many young players, very key injuries, short bench, but still 10-4-3 and scoring several more goals than last year already with at least three games left. Don't count this group out of any game yet.

The attendance is probably tickets sold, like most teams announce.

I think the slump was down to the team learning to play together after some injuries but they certainly have it figured out now. It's really nice to see they don't have trouble scoring like they did last year.

there were also a pile of people in the Pilot club. when I went in at the half, it was packd, and the folks had rearranged around the big screens. But 3390 wasn't butts in the seats . it is tickets sold, and my guess that saason ticket sales is maybe 2500.

the UP video folks said Hailie DeYoung was there as well. I bet there were a few more. they were kidding that Emily Michaelman wasn't in her usual seat. I bet she went in the Pilot club as well.