2009 Recruits

As of today, I show we have five verbal commits for the class of 2009:

Taylor Brooke, forward, Oregon, West Linn H.S.. My notes say she is a "speedster" and a "great finisher", as well as a "great person".

Cloee Colohan, center back/midfield, Utah, 5'8". Has a long, big-time resume. National recruit!

Kendall Johnson, attacking midfield, Oregon, Lincoln High School. 2007 Oregon Big School Player of the Year.

Molly Klier, midfield/defender, California, 5'8".

Elinor Priest, Oregon, St. Mary's Academy. Very accomplished sprinter. Was on the 4x100 squad that won first place in this year's 6A State Track and Field Championships. Elinor was the anchor and came from behind against Lincoln's Tiarra Pittman on the final stretch to push past her rival for the team victory. This was a huge result for St. Mary's as they finished third in the championships, one point ahead of Lincoln! To say that Elinor is a "speedster and a clutch athletic performer", would probably be an understatement!

Those are the five "current" 2009 verbal recruits. I am having difficulty finding soccer info on our newest recruit, Elinor of St. Mary's. If anyone has seen her play, I don't believe it would be an NCAA violation to describe her in action.

I have deleted Lindsi Lisonbee's name from the class, as she has decided to attend BYU instead of UP.

FANatic wrote:
Kendall Brown, attacking midfield, Oregon, Lincoln High School. 2007 Oregon Big School Player of the Year.

Kendall Johnson.

From the first time I met Kendall at the September 1st opener last season, I always think her last name is Brown. I remember that night, as I drooled over Courtney Verloo, who was sitting next to her, I asked Kendall her full name at least 3 or 4 times. She would say Johnson each time, and I would say "Okay. Courtney Verloo and Kendall Brown." The last time I did it, I think she'd had enough by her reaction, "Johnson!!!".

(Don't worry, when Coach Rob saw me talking to their "guests", I think he ran about as fast as a cheetah over to the area to monitor what I was saying. He said nothing to me so I figure I didn't break any rules.)

Anyhow, I really didn't even know who they were. I just thought they had a certain look, and were sitting in a certain place, so I made a guess and it turned out right.

This 2009 class is still strong. I appreciate that the Pilots recruit and showcase the best local talent in our state. Except for Courtney...who everyone is still waiting on...seems to me that Garrett and staff swept the state. I love how the team will be infused with the top young players in Oregon.

Still...learning about Lindsi's commitment change this morning was devastating. It's a big oooowie! No doubt it hurts to lose someone of her caliber and credentials....National Youth Team Member and a Junior Parade-All American. She was the Blue-Chip recruit of the Class. I'm pretty sure she would've come in and laid claim to a starting spot. So, I'm not buying the PT reasoning. Any insights to her change of heart? I don't know for sure...but my first thoughts for her retracted commitment was more than likely a strong religious association to BYU. Not passing judgement. Just noting the same reasoning for the best catholic football players having to consider Notre Dame.

Still....I will place myself in the "front row" if BYU happens to play at Merlo/Chiles in the near future. By then, most folks may probably not know or remember the inside story of how close she came to wearing Pilot Purple... but I will! It will be very interesting to watch Lindsi battle her "almost" teammates on the pitch...don't you think?

GO PILOTS!!!

The u17's are in camp in Trinidad getting ready for the CONCACAF championships and a trip to their world cup in New Zealand.

USSoccer

Cloee Colohan is with the team.

Local players to watch — Courtney Verloo (Tualatin. OR) and Kate Bennet (Clyde Hill, Wash).

I was checking out the "future recruits" website some of us have been referring to and decided to do a sort by soccer club, just for the fun of it. Here are where the verbally committed FC Portland players are going, as reported on that site. FC Portland is the Club Clive started and the one that has lots of former Pilots (as well as current Pilots coaches) as coaches. This doesn't come out perfectly as a cut-and-paste, but I think it's good enough. This is a great record for a club and something for Portland, Oregon soccer fans to be proud of!

2009

.
Beaudoin, Kate M Beaverton, OR SANTA CLARA

.
Brooke, Taylor D West Linn, OR PORTLAND

.
Johnson, Kendall M Portland, OR PORTLAND

.
Kennedy, Annah M Tualatin, OR OREGON

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Kreuz, Caroline F Portland, OR ST. MARY'S 2007 adidas ESP Camp
2007 Nike Premier 50 Camp

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Libke, Christina M Portland, OR OREGON 2007 Region IV ODP
2008 Region IV ODP Invitational Camp (1991s)

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Martin, Carlie D Oregon City, OR PORTLAND STATE

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Martin, Megan F Oregon City, OR PORTLAND STATE

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Priest, Elinor F Portland, OR PORTLAND

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Schilling, Leah M Portland, OR ST. MARY'S

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Thayer, Erin D Portland, OR PENN

.
2010

.
Bridges, Sarah M Portland, OR PORTLAND 2007 Nike Premier 50 Camp
2008 Region IV ODP Invitational Camp (1992s)

Interesting that your list shows Taylor Brooke as a defender. She won her POY award as a scoring machine at forward/mid.

West Linn Tidings

I wonder if that means that's where we can expect to see her....

Perhaps her play this fall will indicate.

Steve Duin weighs in on Courtney Verloo-

And manages to not tell us anything we don't already know....
Oregonian

I think we might have to start steeling ourselves for Verloo opting to go down to California for college. I think we discussed this before, but for some reason (spider sense?) I just don't get the feeling that she's going to come to UP. If she hasn't committed by now... I don't know.

Maybe that's pessimistic. Nothing wrong with postponing the decision. But you also can't blame a kid for wanting to leave home and experience something new for college.

But she sure would look good in purple, right? Everybody looks good in purple!

Stonehouse wrote:I think we might have to start steeling ourselves for Verloo opting to go down to California for college. I think we discussed this before, but for some reason (spider sense?) I just don't get the feeling that she's going to come to UP. If she hasn't committed by now... I don't know.

Maybe that's pessimistic. Nothing wrong with postponing the decision. But you also can't blame a kid for wanting to leave home and experience something new for college.

But she sure would look good in purple, right? Everybody looks good in purple!

Well, It's (semi) official.

Courtney is listed on the BigSoccer database today as a Stanford verbal. We've all accepted that as a reliable source, right?

Too bad, I, like Stoney, think she would have looked good in Purple, but sometimes kids want to go away.

Right geezer. The guy that manages the BigSoccer Database has seemingly proven to many of us that he gets confirmation before he publishes a verbal. Personally, I have really believed UP might only be a "fall back" situation for Courtney, should she be unable to get into an academic powerhouse like Stanford, as she apparently wanted to.

If she wants to "get away" from home I certainly don't blame her. My kids have both chosen to get away from me - (can to blame them?).

Courtney has shown this summer on the U20 WNT, that's headed to its own World Cup this fall, that she is an international-caliber player capable of becoming a scoring machine. I wish her well. I'm sure she'll be a worthy opponent of the Pilots the next time we play Stanford.

I had the good fortune to coach Elinor Priest in her recreational soccer days back in grade school. She was a standout then, physically strong and the fastest player on the field. Since then, whenever I have seen her she has been on a training run. She is a winner as a player and a person, say the girls who played with her and know her as a classmate and friend. This looks like the season to see St. Marys in action.

My daughter being an alum of St. Marys Academy, I was happy to see the Pilots recruit Elinor.

I haven't seen her play, nor do I know much about her, but I do know that St. Marys has a reputation for graduating leaders with good character.

I'm confident that Elinor will come to UP as a student-athlete and succeed in all areas.

If anyone else is knowledgeable about her, please tell us. And if anyone out there sees St. Marys play soccer this coming fall, please tell us what you think.

If anyone wants to see Elinor Priest play, use this link to get to the St. Mary's Academy soccer schedule:

http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultcal.cfm?ct=s&schoolid=OR9720118193&spt=7&lvl=1&division=2

The Trib has a nice article on prep soccer that includes mention of Elinor Priest and even a picture.

Tribune

The article mentions that she's coming to Portland and talks a little about her track success.

Only one problem. She's wearing #9 in the photo. Danielle has a pretty good grip on the striker' number at UP.

The number ten is also a striker # of prestige and unfortunately it will be available next year.

Nah, 10 is a playmaker number.

On second thought, it was Maradona's number and he did OK.

(he'll be the next Argentina coach, BTW)

Maradona "the hand of God goal" Maradona?

Some people call him that, but he scored a second goal in that game, and some call it the greatest goal of all time.




That goal made him a National hero.

and here's why people in Argentina get excited about Messi

Yeah there was that era, too.

He looked like this today.