Re: Pilots vs NAU gameday thread

[PurplePrideTrumpet]

Right, off to the T-Room...NOW!

GO PILOTS!

[DaTruRochin]

Haha see you there!! I'll be the guy there around 6:30 sneaking in the back drinking straight from the pitcher...

[Stonehouse]

MattyWizz and I will be there too... with DTR, of course. Come join us if you're there!

[Trenchcoat Wally]

I would betcha, Arizona coach Luciano is pretty happy about the NCAA cowbell crackdown. That would have made it a much more challenging soccer environment.

[DaTruRochin]

Agreed.... Perhaps we should all sneak in didgeridoos, but disguise them as walking sticks....

[Geezaldinho]

everybody sneaks in a whoppie cushion. then we do the wave....

[DaTruRochin]

And throw handfuls of pokies on the field??

[Auto Pilot]

what about those blow up bonking sticks

[Stonehouse]

Want some good trivia?

I'm pretty sure that those bonking sticks (officially Thunder Sticks) made their initial appearance at a US Men's National Team soccer game at PGE Park. I was in attendance... a 1-0 win over (I think) Costa Rica, with Claudio Reyna (I think) scoring the winner. It was a qualifier or a friendly before the 1998 World Cup.

Obviously I'm a bit hazy on the details, but that was their first appearance. A lot of people credit the Anaheim Angels of 2002 for bringing them mainstream, but it all started at a soccer game in Portland.

Oh what the world hath wrought since then.

[Stonehouse]

OK guys... my last post til after the game.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PILOTS!!!!!!!!!

[DaTruRochin]

Want some good trivia?

I'm pretty sure that those bonking sticks (officially Thunder Sticks) made their initial appearance at a US Men's National Team soccer game at PGE Park. I was in attendance... a 1-0 win over (I think) Costa Rica, with Claudio Reyna (I think) scoring the winner. It was a qualifier or a friendly before the 1998 World Cup.

Obviously I'm a bit hazy on the details, but that was their first appearance. A lot of people credit the Anaheim Angels of 2002 for bringing them mainstream, but it all started at a soccer game in Portland.

Oh what the world hath wrought since then.

..


I pretty distinctly remember them, or something like them being used in Japan during the finest Tom Selleck work this side of Magnum P.I..... Mr. Baseball

[PilotDrummer]

Okay, that was pretty awesome.

[SoreKnees]

And I *think* it was Tab Ramos who scored the goal. The old place was really alive that night!

[PurplePrideTrumpet]

Went to the second half of the early game after the T-Room. Man but Texas-WSU got chippy late. Nice Texas goal though.

Anyone in the top dollar seats know why the Texas coach was shown a red at the end? (answered in the thread about Texas)

The Pilots were pretty good tonight. That's about all I have to say.

[UPSoccerFanatic]

Petrucelli was yelling at the ref every time he made a call Petrucelli didn't like. The ref was stopping the clock at the end while waiting for the ball to be retrieved. The first time, Petrucelli yelled at the ref, and the ref came over to the sideline and essentially told him to shut up. The next time the ref did it, Petrucelli yelled at him again. The sideline ref again told Petrucelli to shut up. Petrucelli continued doing it and the auxiliary ref read him the riot act. Somewhere in there, he got a red card.

I very seldom criticize coaches, and have defended USC's coach, but I have to say that Petrucelli ... well, never mind. I've read elsewhere that this is not his first red card of the year. I've also read that his outbursts have him in trouble with the Texas administration, but I have no idea whether that's really true.

[ohhh_yeah]

as of right now, tonight was my favorite match that i have been to on the bluff...


the play on the field and the student section was incredible tonight...

[fozziewozzie]

i'm curious as to why the specifics of this game are not being discussed as normal. besides the obvious 'stars' of the game, meg r. an soph, what about the rest of this incredble talented an young team?!

how bout halley kreminski? did anyone really expect her to be this good an talented? the more i watch her play since her early season hammy injury, i have been very, very impressed. an the more the season went along, i see her game more an more like soph's! coincidence?? notice when halley scores, she's usually paired with soph an the first person she hugs is soph.

i thought i saw janelle jacka play her best game i have ever seen in a pilot uniform, an i havent missed one in years!! she was great an i would consider replacing sarah with her based on this game.

i recorded the game on my dvr an watched it again when i got home. during the game, i didnt think charney nor m.o. played especially well. but after re-watching the game, they played better then i thought they did.

lastly, was anyone as surprised at the progress emma hansen has made over the season as i was in this game? she had many nice touches an very well played balls.

we are loaded for the next 2+ years at least an im not even counting this year.

[ohhh_yeah]

i am going to bed... i will upload the rest of the photos tomorrow...

[DaTruRochin]

I honestly felt sorry for the girl that had to guard Megan R... I mean she tried really hard but Megan was practically toying with her the entire game...

Honestly top to bottom I thought the team put in a total effort, and even as we substituted in there was very little noticeable chance in pace, skill or quality. (Should have been a shutout, but I'll chalk that one on cold weather, slick ball, etc.) There really wasn't a third of the field the Pilots didn't dominate, and most NAU chances were snuffed out before they really turned into anything substantive. On offense the ability to consistently put in quality crosses and feeds to the middle was rather impressive, the game EASILY could have reached a double digit scoreline (not that I think Garrett would allow that to happen). All in all a quality night of soccer.

[Harry Redknapp]

NAU gets beaten and this is their coach; compare this to the Texas coach after they won!

Head Coach Andre Luciano
“I thought our team played a lot harder and showed a little more fighting spirit then the last time we played here (Sept. 12, 2008). I give Garrett and his players a lot of credit. I’ve said it all along that I think they are the best pure soccer team in the country. My hat’s off to his program and to Megan Rapinoe and I wish them all the luck in the rest of the tournament.”

On playing at Portland for the second time this season
“We definitely knew what to expect so we knew what it was going to be like. We knew the crowd and how
they were going to play. I didn’t think we did a very good job on set pieces. We were unorganized on corner kicks and going down 3-0 at half was tough. They (Portland) scored several of their goals on corner kicks. Portland was just better than us.”

On NAU making its first NCAA Tournament appearance
“It’s a huge milestone for our program but we’re not satisfied with just getting to the NCAA Tournament. We are looking to move forward and create a little tradition of our own. The fact that we only have one
graduating senior is a great sign of things to come.”

“It’s fitting that our senior would score the lone goal tonight. I love my kids, they are really hard workers and we all believe in what we’re trying to do with this program. We aspire to be a program like Portland. It takes time, but we aspire to be something like that.”

[Harry Redknapp]

And when the coach shows class, so do the players
No. 15 Kayla Bauder, M/D, Sr.
On what it was like to play in the NCAA Tournament

“The atmosphere was great. I don’t think that we could have had a better crowd than we had tonight. We have played here before and the crowd was excellent then and it was the same tonight. I’m the only senior on my team and to go out with a bang with this NCAA Tournament appearance says a lot for this team. The program will keep building on this experience and we can continue to do that through our effort and heart each and every game.”

On scoring her goal after coming off the bench
“When I come off the bench I try to give my team a lift and found myself in a great opportunity. As a senior, and scoring just my second goal of my career, it was very special and I am glad to go out the way I did.”

[aleppiek]

As Stonehouse mentioned earlier havng run into NAU's coaches brother, he sat 2 rows in front of us tonight and we had a running dialog going, he had us in stitches. They seem to be a really classy bunch.

As to fozzie wozzies assertion that perhaps Jacka should be inserted into the starting lineup for Jackman... Couldn't disagree more, while Jacka did play a decent game, she still seems ultra tentative on the ball and gave away quite a few to her defender that I dont see happening from other wingers. That being said I commend Janelle because clearly she is making huge strides and demonstrated considerable progress.

[Harry Redknapp]

Solid performance by the Pilots last night. NAU is not a veery strong team but UP put them away comfortably. Only goal was a mistake by Kelsey and their keeper saved several more goals.

Back four played well - Emma Nelson looked tidy. Things seem to get a little more dodgy when Kristen Kelly is in. Kassi's goal was fun - side footed shot from the edge of the box after a partially cleared corner fell to her. Kassi showed her usual low-key response!!!!

Midfield was effective. Michele O was just in the right place and made all the simple passes. Charney continues to look the part in the middle - Jessica had a spell there in the second half as the subs were rotating. Agree with earlier comment that Janelle played well. Not sure I'd change the starting line up - Janelle is a little tentative in the tackle but she does add some pace off the bench.

Danielle played pretty well without finding the net: she was particularly effective linking play when Sophie was out. Hallie came off the bench and scored and ran and chased. She seems to have looked at Sophie and said "OK. I can do that"

Sophie and Megan delivered. That simple. They are the senior players and they lead by example. Great by both of them. Sophie's second goal - a header off a cross by Megan - was the play of the game for me. Soph had 5 shots, all on goal, two goals and an assist. She is the target up front - hit it to her and look for the return. Megan is a dervish: energy aplenty, tackles anything in sight, runs all over, shoots with power. Moving her wide left was a brilliant decision. She has more space and a freer role, and Charney can use her skills to good effect in the tighter confines of the middle role.

Looking forward to Texas - who are clearly a level or two above NAU so it will be a good chance to see how good our Pilots can be.

[fan from afar]

Harry and others - From we audio listeners, thanks for the recap. You can only tell so much from the audio. She (the broadcaster) actually did quite a good job, but it's limited.

There is one really important aspect of the game she didn't talk about at all that I am curious about - Were pokies a presence at the game? I was listening very carefully for the ping-ping-ping of landing pokies, but nothing.

And, a further thought - Was Geezaldinho at the Texas game. Could flying pokies have been a factor in the coach losing his cool?

[Geezaldinho]

I did NOT throw pokies at Petruccelli. Any word to the contrary is a pack of malicious lies.

They didn't put them out until the second game....

Chris did it all on his own