Santa Clara game

by PurplePrideTrumpet Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:04 am

It's the 78th minute and the brave souls at Merlo are witnessing a 4-1 thrashing of Santa Clara. Two for Brian Irwin, one each for Knapp and Frankie.

Now I kind of wish I'd gone tonight. Embarassed

by **PilotNut** Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:13 am

Pilots took over in the 2nd half to crush the Broncos 4-1, final.

Way to go Pilots!

by Basepin Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:25 am

the webcast was quite good, especially on such a rainy night

by Geezaldinho Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:18 am

Just back from the men's game. soaked completely. time for new Gore-tex, I think. I guess we know who the diehards are. I took names.

Kind of a neat scene at the Pilot Club tent. and OOmpah band and some pretty lively folks - sort of a mini Oktoberfest.

UP handled SCU pretty well, showing superior passing, faster runs, and won most of the balls in the midfield (again)

The first goal was a run down the left side. Brayton Knapp cut back to the top left corner of the box that skipped low and past some legs and past the keeper. there might have been a deflection.

Santa Clara got their goal on two right to left diagonal passes that put a forward 1v1 against Austin. He had no chance on a rocket shot.

UP's second goal just before the half was on a cross from (I think) Leland wright, low, hard and at the top of the six yard near corner. a bunch of body's had a chance at it, including Irwin, but it was called an Own goal as a SCU player tried to clear it.

The Third goal was on a breakaway by Brian Irwin who spit the defense on a perfect pass from Leland at about midfield-right.

Frankie scored on the last one from his spot on the left wing. usual Frankie stuff. Faked past defenders, cut inside and blasted it from just inside the box.

A good game, SCU seemed out of sorts badly. from what I saw, it's really hard to see why they were named #1 at the start of the season. Special accolades to Leland, Brian Irwin, Frankie, Collen and the defenders, especially Kuwalok. Collen owned the midfield again. Man! I like his game.

If the Pilots keep up the kind of intensity they had tonight, they'll be very hard to beat this season.

by Auto Pilot Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:12 am

I don't get to see much of the men but my video feed clicked in during the second half. Collen Warner is a monster of a player. I have heard a lot of press about Frankie Lopez but Warner looked to me like a pro out there. So composed and talented. I predict his size and ability will transfer easily to the next level. This may seem naive but is Bryan Irwin Bill's son?

If so it was fathers day tonight.

by Geezaldinho Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:22 am

Auto Pilot wrote:is Bryan Irwin Bill's son?

If so it was fathers day tonight.

Yup, he is. Happy father's day, dad.

by VillaGorilla Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:41 am

We've got the rain-soaked blankets in the drier right now, but I think my hair is still wet. Even after stopping for a beer and pretzel on the way home (having been inspired by that Ompah band), I'm a little damp. It was great to see us dominate SC on the scoreboard after the last few seasons. Especially since I sit next to many of the opposing fans. While we might not have looked superb statistically (they had many more shots), we converted on the scoring opportunities we had, which is something which we have not done too well in the past. This game was closer than the scoreboard indicated, IMO. Even though SC is having a terrible year by any standard, it was nice to pick up a conference win after that Zag game.