UP v U-23 National Team at Merlo, 4/18, 7PM

as soon as michelle went out kelsey began hovering around 16 yards out... she seemed like she was having a few trust issues with her backline...

i will upload some photos and video later...

Did anybody notice if the hurt players were ambulatory at the end of the game during warm-downs?

I forgot to check.

Olivier was wearing a boot when she returned from half-time, although she did not seem too upset. On the other side, there was the starting goalkeeper injury. Which keeper was that? And then, Cristen Press of Stanford went down with what looked to be a pretty serious injury, near the end of the game. She was not happy.

allyssa naeher is the keeper who had to be carted off... at the end of the match she was on crutches and seemed to be in pain...

good news of the night: the girl (fan) who was nailed in the face is all fine and dandy now... she lost a lot of blood... she also got a great talk from garrett and a shiny new nike ball...

Yeah, it was Naeher who was carted off. I didn't see that Press was hurt - too bad. I thought she left the game earlier.

It seemed like the game was played at an intensity you don't see at most Spring games... or even games during the season.

Any evaluation of the Pilots performance has to start with consideration of the opposition. The U23 team was strong, very physical, had no weak links, and is essentially an all star team of current and recently graduated college players. Now the very best of the recent grads are playing WPS but this was still a strong team.

Pilots played very well. Those that have experience at this kind of level: Elli, Keelin, Sophie, Michelle E showed that with good performances from all of them. Keelin got knocked around all game but just kept getting up and getting after it. Elli was quieter in the second half: I think she had to stay back more because Michelle O was out and she need to be there for the defense. Sophie held the ball up and chased everything down. I had the father of one of the players on the team I coach with me and he commented that he now understood what he'd heard me saying to the girls: that everyone plays defense when the other team has the ball. Sophie is the perfect example of how much difference this makes. Michelle E got more involved in the second half and her pace on the ball is always a threat.

Kelsey had a sound game: she might be a little disappointed not to have got more of the ball on the first goal when she came out on Bosio, but she made a magnificent diving save in the second half when the score was still 1-1.

Last time UP played the U23s I came away thinking that there were several players on the UP team who had looked very much off the pace and unable to play at the level of the national team. That did not happen last night. In the second half the Pilots had a center defense of Megan Sweeney and Kristen Kelly.

Meaning no offense to either player but that's not a pairing you'd think of first to hold a national team offense but they both played well and did not look out of place.

Michelle O had looked very capable until she got hurt. She was wearing a boot and smiling when she came out to sit on the bench in the second half. I hope it's not serious.

Kendra is back and healthy. She had a great chance to put UP up 2-1 which she couldn't get enough power on, but appears to back at full speed and looks like she could have a big role out wide in the fall.

Danielle took her goal well: no surprise there, she's the "fox in the box" and has a great sense for the goal.

Overall, a good showing by the Pilots and another example of why we are so pumped up for the fall season.

Purplegeezer wrote:

It seemed like the game was played at an intensity you don't see at most Spring games... or even games during the season.

I agree. The U23s were veery physical. Lots of sliding tackles, diving in, pushing, and more Pilots left on the ground after a challenge than most games we'll see. Players who held the ball up with a defender on their back paid a price for doing so.

There's a fine line between hard and dirty. U23s came very close to the line. Pilots did not back down.

Purplegeezer wrote:Yeah, it was Naeher who was carted off. I didn't see that Press was hurt - too bad. I thought she left the game earlier.

It seemed like the game was played at an intensity you don't see at most Spring games... or even games during the season.

Despite the injuries which I hate to see, that's a good sign. Our national championship teams took more fouls and were generally more physical teams. Sinclair was one of the toughest players to ever play on the Bluff...

Foxhoven seems a little bit underrated in my opinion. She might be our most consistent player next year. Of course, it's tough to call a player underrated if she already has a lot of national team experience...

Yes. I agree with all. What a fantatic team we'll have this season 2009! The match did not NOT play like a spring exhibition game at all. The level of play was very high...and the Pilots looked sharp..considering who they were playing!

I didn't look at possession time....but...I bet we won most of those minutes. I'm giddy at seeing that the Pilots dominated offensive possesion and play. Its seemed to me....that most of the game we were threatening and spending a lot of time on their side of the pitch.

One word to say about Midfield play...."KEELIN"! Damn...she's really good folks! She's tough as nails defensively but yet a ballerina with her dribbling and passing skills! And then having Michelle O behind her (before she got injured)...we were solid down the middle!

I think our defensive line held their own. No worries there for me. Jessica and Ellie took care of business against Kelley Ohara and Christen Press on the wings. The U-23s strategy seemed to be to keep Ohara up top and play long ball with her. She's ultra-fast. I think we risked her threats pushing up the defensive line so deep. Sometimes we seemed to give her too much open space to chase balls down. Alex Morgan took advantage of that. She didn't play in the first half...but when she came in on the second half...that's when we got stung! It'll be interesting to see how effective she is against us in August when she plays with her CAL teammates.

Did you see the play with Sweeney literally climbing over Ohara to gain possession on a play!? That was sweet!

Add Cloee somewhere back there...Sheesh! "Forget about it!"...

I can't close without mentioning Sophie! She's becoming...if not already...a crowd favorite! Her world-class world-cup skills were evident last night. She showed why she was team MVP last year.

Very good preview of what this 2009 team can do! Something special brewing here everyone...I'm loving it!

GO PILOTS!!!

Ayone who chose the Blazers over the Pilots got a raw deal. I loved the Pilots vs U-23s match -- there were great performances throughout the Pilots lineup against the college all-stars. The Pilots played a solid possession game against a powerful foe, seldom seeming to panic or act hastily. They looked very calm and poised ina high-speed game. The team was definitely playing to win and desrved no worse than a tie. This was hard-fought with many injuries and many ice bags on knees, legs and ankles afterward. Some observations:
Kendra Chandhoke showed what the team missed in her absence last year with strong runs and nice passing as outside mid; she also showed toughness against a riled- up Christen Press of Stanford who appeared to be talking trash. Kendra had a point-blank shot on goal that she no doubt would like to take again. Looks like she is healthy and back to form.

The Pilots let Jessica Tsao or Ellie Reed make attacking runs from the outside back positions -- I like the attacking attitude even if there is a defensive risk. The Pilots were not in awe of the opposition and played their own style. Fall opponents will suffer trying to match their speed up the wings.

Michelle Enyeart really wanted the ball at the end of the game. She was on fire making run after run and darn near broke through. She needs the ball often in crunch time as she is a game-changer. She is the glue holding the offense together in the midfield (but I still hope to see her up top at least some of the time). Sophie Schmidt was phenomenal in controlling the ball and working nonstop. Keelin Winters stands out as a likely captain for fall; she's the one calling the team together during injury breaks and the players gather around her -- a voice of authority.

On D, Kristen Kelly came on for the injured Olivier and played really well, IMHO. Even with subs in the game, and against the extremely deep bench of the opponents, the Pilots were attacking and threatening till the final whistle.

Where the U23s stand out: individual speed and amazing through passes to the front line. Even their longest kicks from the back line can find a player in stride into open space. They can slice open a defense with great efficiency using diagonal passes -- they are a level above college teams in this skill. Seeing these excellent players gathered from across the country reminds me of how the strong the women's game has become, how many schools have powerhouse soccer programs, and how hard it will be for any team to win the Division 1 title.

Even wthout their heralded frosh recruits the Pilots look strong. Lots of competition ahead for those seeking starting roles. Is it August yet?

There were definitely a lot of positive signs in last night's game and better posters than me have already given props to the players who deserve them (Michelle and Sophie particularly stick out in my mind), but what I took away from that game is somewhat nebulous but real enough... I left feeling like we belonged on the pitch with that team. Was it last year that we got blown out 7-1 and it was obvious that we were good but not that good? Well, after last night, I feel like we are that good.

In my book, talk of a third championship officially started on April 18.

http://www.portlandpilots.com/news/2009/4/18/WSOC_0418094556.aspx

Anytime you beat another team in both shots (14-11) and corner kicks (5-2), you have a chance to win. Maybe I'm a glass half full guy, but, there were some great signs in this game. I'm not sure if we've ever had a team with so much national team experience either. Some of the U-23s must have been looking on the other side thinking, we're basically scrimmaging ourselves!

Video highlights are posted here.

The "other Sophie" -- U-23 midfielder Sophie Reiser, who came in as a late sub for Press -- says that the next stop for U-23s is Ireland, but as of Saturday the team roster had not been decided for that trip as far as she knew. BTW, she will be a senior at Columbia in the fall, and says that means it is the big year for her Columbia Lions. See you in Seattle for Pilots vs. Lions in September!

Great video highlights. The moment where the WNT player goes underneath our players' legs is classic. We really held our own.