USD
+14
GoUP
Geezaldinho
PurplePrideTrumpet
ktinpurple
dwm
decrink
saebo98661
A_Fan
karanicole
fan from afar
DaTruRochin
Harry Redknapp
UPSoccerFanatic
pilotfan4ever
18 posters
Page 1 of 2
Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
USD
Ugly; take the win but we didn't play well offensively for the second match in a row
pilotfan4ever- Recruit
- Number of posts : 22
Registration date : 2008-07-07
Re: USD
Hmm, I thought it was an excellent game. Especially in comparison to last Sunday's game v Pepperdine. This was an opponent that beat USC twice this year, once at home and once away. USC beat UCLA today. UCLA is having a somewhat "off" year, but still, San Diego is a good team. And, they have an excellent scoring threat who necessarily drew a lot of attention. And, they were playing at home. I'll take this one and be very happy!
Re: USD
Great finish by Dani.
Wonderful to see Kendra play.
Hideous field that hampered Pilots passing game.
Wonderful to see Kendra play.
Hideous field that hampered Pilots passing game.
Harry Redknapp- Starter
- Number of posts : 753
Age : 69
Location : NE Portland
Registration date : 2007-09-15
Re: USD
Harry Redknapp wrote:Great finish by Dani.
Wonderful to see Kendra play.
Hideous field that hampered Pilots passing game.
Speaking of which, did you all catch the commentary about Dani? Apparently, according to Garrett, she was exhausted after her summer play. She's been getting rest and is just getting her freshness back. I agree with Harry, a great finish and probably one of only a handfull of women's college players who could have made that one!
Re: USD
Harry Redknapp wrote:
Hideous field that hampered Pilots passing game.
It was flat out embarrassing... I can't believe I'm going to say this, but if you HAVE to share a field with football it seems almost preferable to keep an artificial surface just to keep the center of the pitch actually playable. And I get that USD has that aqua blue color as an official one, but that color was terrible for line visibility. On a positive note, their stadium announcer was REALLY enthusiastic for home substitutions...
DaTruRochin- Administrator
- Number of posts : 3576
Location : Boston, MA
Registration date : 2007-05-01
Re: USD
And the commentary on FSN was so lame I had to turn the sound down. Who gives a sh*t about the USD mens program in the middle of the game: that long interview with Seamus McFadden was complete disrespect to the game that was being played.
Last edited by Harry Redknapp on Sat Oct 23, 2010 8:46 am; edited 1 time in total
Harry Redknapp- Starter
- Number of posts : 753
Age : 69
Location : NE Portland
Registration date : 2007-09-15
Re: USD
Harry Redknapp wrote:And the commentary on FSN was so lame I had to turn the sound down. Who gives a sh*t about the USD mens program in the middle of the game: that long interview with Seamus McGadden was complete disrespect to the game that was being played.
I couldn't possibly agree more about that. It was irritating beyond belief. I remember FSN doing that in previous years - a long interview with a soccer game going on in the background.
Interesting about Danielle. I thought she looked MUCH better yesterday than before. And, I loved seeing Kendra back on the pitch, although she looked very tentative (probably to be expected). Let's hope she works back into game shape before, say, the quarter finals.
fan from afar- First man off the Bench
- Number of posts : 593
Age : 81
Location : upstate new york
Registration date : 2008-11-09
Re: USD
pilotfan4ever wrote:Ugly; take the win but we didn't play well offensively for the second match in a row
I thought we possessed the ball pretty well, especially given the condition of the field. We seemed to be missing that last dangerous pass to create an opportunity. I think San Diego probably created more dangerous opportunities off of many fewer possessions.
fan from afar- First man off the Bench
- Number of posts : 593
Age : 81
Location : upstate new york
Registration date : 2008-11-09
Re: USD
This was my first time watching the Pilots play this season. Tsao was my favorite. Her footwork was phenomenal. McClussie and DeYoung surprised me. I expected them to be better than they appeared from reading comments on this site. Did they have an off game?
karanicole- Recruit
- Number of posts : 13
Registration date : 2008-09-26
Re: USD
I'm not sure what you mean about Kassi and Hailee not being as good as you expected. I thought they both played very effectively - as usual. Can you be more specific on what you saw that disappointed you?
A_Fan- All-WCC
- Number of posts : 1539
Location : The country east of Hillsboro.
Registration date : 2007-09-10
Re: USD
Harry Redknapp wrote:And the commentary on FSN was so lame I had to turn the sound down. Who gives a sh*t about the USD mens program in the middle of the game: that long interview with Seamus McFadden was complete disrespect to the game that was being played.
There are so many things that were wrong with the broadcast last night. How hard is it to know how to say some of the player's last names? They could have brought up the fact that Jessica Tsao is up for the Lowe's award. How about Cori Alexander being the goalie coach for San Diego? Very poor and hard broadcast to watch. Hoping the ESPNU coverage for Sunday's match is a better.
saebo98661- Recruit
- Number of posts : 32
Registration date : 2008-11-10
Re: USD
Haha, and who knew the "s" in Winters is silent? And agreed on the men's coach interview... just strange, I mean it's one thing to have them as a guest analyst, but it's like they just stopped watching the game to talk to him about things irrelevant to the game being played. Isn't that what half time is for?
As for DeYoung not playing up to snuff, there were a few balls she mishandled, but also had some pretty spectacular saves. And, um, you are really splitting hairs if you look to criticize a defense that kept a clean sheet...
Observation: I think Elli and Kendall are still re-figuring out how to play with each other, like when to overlap and whatnot. I saw improvements over last weekend, but they can still improve. I think getting these two on the same page will be another very vital weapon in getting dangerous balls into our strikers.
As for DeYoung not playing up to snuff, there were a few balls she mishandled, but also had some pretty spectacular saves. And, um, you are really splitting hairs if you look to criticize a defense that kept a clean sheet...
Observation: I think Elli and Kendall are still re-figuring out how to play with each other, like when to overlap and whatnot. I saw improvements over last weekend, but they can still improve. I think getting these two on the same page will be another very vital weapon in getting dangerous balls into our strikers.
DaTruRochin- Administrator
- Number of posts : 3576
Location : Boston, MA
Registration date : 2007-05-01
Re: USD
A_Fan wrote:I'm not sure what you mean about Kassi and Hailee not being as good as you expected. I thought they both played very effectively - as usual. Can you be more specific on what you saw that disappointed you?
I thought they each had one shaky moment. Hailee misjudged that ball and let it get away which led (I think) to the shot that hit the crossbar. I thought Kassie was excellent except for one moment. She was one on one defending near the goal (critical situation), left her feet, and let the attacker around her - instead of just standing up the attacker - containing the attacker until help arrived. You can't leave your feet in that area of the field. She got beat and created a dangerous situation. I love the way Kassie plays, especially the intensity, but also the excellent entry passes into the offensive third, the way she is able to cover ground, and the way she breaks up attacks around midfield. However, she has gotten beaten in dangerous one on one situations before (think Penn State especially, but a few others besides).
fan from afar- First man off the Bench
- Number of posts : 593
Age : 81
Location : upstate new york
Registration date : 2008-11-09
Re: USD
DaTruRochin wrote:
As for DeYoung not playing up to snuff, there were a few balls she mishandled, but also had some pretty spectacular saves. And, um, you are really splitting hairs if you look to criticize a defense that kept a clean sheet...
The crossbar had a lot to do with the clean sheet.
fan from afar- First man off the Bench
- Number of posts : 593
Age : 81
Location : upstate new york
Registration date : 2008-11-09
Re: USD
I agree with the commentary comments. But then, for those of us who have endured JP Dellacamera for years ANYTHING seems better. The Hi Def was great, I forget that watching them live or on a tiny stream you don't really get to see their faces. When they zoomed in you could see their expressions and fatigue or freshness. How come Jessica always looks like she is hardly breathing? She is quite fit and playing outstanding.
Dani showed once again she belongs in front of the goal. She is a true finisher. For me, she still does not do well with her back to the goal 30 meters out. The big problem is that service to her is so rare this year. I said in earlier posts that I was waiting to see how this team developed and that I had concerns that the midfield to striker transitions were very suspect. This still seems to be the reality for this year's team. There are just very few quality chances made. In fact, in the last several games it's the opponents who have have more danger and been unlucky with hitting posts and missing shots. We've been lucky to go 1-0. MC (trying not to use names for those who only accentuate the positive) still plays very young. In fact, she looks like a good high school player running around. She never seems certain where to be, loses the ball regularly, and turns and dribbles right into players. It seems the only passes she connects on are the very safest variety. Then, she has a moment of brilliance when she gets a chance to turn and run a defenders and I see the attraction and all is forgiven. It's just that against solid defenders they seem to stop her too often and too easlly. It was nice to see Kendra back although I just don't foresee her ever getting that beautiful stride of hers back this season. If you're wearing a brace of that size, its for a reason. Nice to see that at least one knee brace has disappeared on the left side.
Well, I know its not always popular on this board and I hope the girls don't read here (they shouldn't) but I still don't think this team is as good as their ranking. Never thought that before about any Pilot team. Sometimes it's lucky to be better. Others its better to be lucky. This year's team seems to me the latter.
Dani showed once again she belongs in front of the goal. She is a true finisher. For me, she still does not do well with her back to the goal 30 meters out. The big problem is that service to her is so rare this year. I said in earlier posts that I was waiting to see how this team developed and that I had concerns that the midfield to striker transitions were very suspect. This still seems to be the reality for this year's team. There are just very few quality chances made. In fact, in the last several games it's the opponents who have have more danger and been unlucky with hitting posts and missing shots. We've been lucky to go 1-0. MC (trying not to use names for those who only accentuate the positive) still plays very young. In fact, she looks like a good high school player running around. She never seems certain where to be, loses the ball regularly, and turns and dribbles right into players. It seems the only passes she connects on are the very safest variety. Then, she has a moment of brilliance when she gets a chance to turn and run a defenders and I see the attraction and all is forgiven. It's just that against solid defenders they seem to stop her too often and too easlly. It was nice to see Kendra back although I just don't foresee her ever getting that beautiful stride of hers back this season. If you're wearing a brace of that size, its for a reason. Nice to see that at least one knee brace has disappeared on the left side.
Well, I know its not always popular on this board and I hope the girls don't read here (they shouldn't) but I still don't think this team is as good as their ranking. Never thought that before about any Pilot team. Sometimes it's lucky to be better. Others its better to be lucky. This year's team seems to me the latter.
decrink- Recruit
- Number of posts : 66
Registration date : 2007-12-02
Re: USD
Because initials and names are SO different
But that said, I've noticed the very same things, her aggressiveness I think is one of her best defining characteristics, and one vital to a striker, which at times does lead her to force the issue more than she needs to. Remember, haha, she is a true freshman starting for a highly ranked team, some learning curve is expected, and she's just playing the way she always has because it has worked. It's hard to argue that she's seen results with it too. To say Micaela (oops I used her name), hasn't exceeded expectations to this point would be lying, I think a certain amount of greed and confidence is required to be a great striker, but in her 4 years on the Bluff, she will gain that vision and playmaking that might still be a bit undeveloped at this stage. It will be a fun transformation to watch in a very very talented player.
As for the ranking, there might be something to that, but for a team who has only lost to the #1 team with a fairly challenging overall schedule, how else to you rank them?
But that said, I've noticed the very same things, her aggressiveness I think is one of her best defining characteristics, and one vital to a striker, which at times does lead her to force the issue more than she needs to. Remember, haha, she is a true freshman starting for a highly ranked team, some learning curve is expected, and she's just playing the way she always has because it has worked. It's hard to argue that she's seen results with it too. To say Micaela (oops I used her name), hasn't exceeded expectations to this point would be lying, I think a certain amount of greed and confidence is required to be a great striker, but in her 4 years on the Bluff, she will gain that vision and playmaking that might still be a bit undeveloped at this stage. It will be a fun transformation to watch in a very very talented player.
As for the ranking, there might be something to that, but for a team who has only lost to the #1 team with a fairly challenging overall schedule, how else to you rank them?
DaTruRochin- Administrator
- Number of posts : 3576
Location : Boston, MA
Registration date : 2007-05-01
Re: USD
I agree with the previous two posts. I've been struck with how we have a crop of great freshmen each with moments of brilliance, but I just love upperclassmen. Their percentage of accurate passes is several notches higher than the freshmen. Jessica and Ellie are my favorite players to watch this year, and of course Sophie and Keelin are outstanding. And look at how much better the sophomore Taylor is than the freshman Taylor was last year.
As for the ranking, well yeah, I can't say there's anyone other than S that I would rank higher for sure, but we have had several skin-of-our-teeth 1-goal victories this year where the loser looked pretty equal to us. For a chance of beating S or UNC, I'm just hoping that some combination of Sophie back, Kendall and Kendra healing, and freshmen developing will enable the team to gel and connect—and produce substantially more good scoring chances—in a way that raises the level from what we've seen so far. It could definitely happen.
As for the ranking, well yeah, I can't say there's anyone other than S that I would rank higher for sure, but we have had several skin-of-our-teeth 1-goal victories this year where the loser looked pretty equal to us. For a chance of beating S or UNC, I'm just hoping that some combination of Sophie back, Kendall and Kendra healing, and freshmen developing will enable the team to gel and connect—and produce substantially more good scoring chances—in a way that raises the level from what we've seen so far. It could definitely happen.
dwm- Recruit
- Number of posts : 63
Registration date : 2008-09-21
Re: USD
decrink wrote:
Well, I know its not always popular on this board and I hope the girls don't read here (they shouldn't) but I still don't think this team is as good as their ranking. Never thought that before about any Pilot team. Sometimes it's lucky to be better. Others its better to be lucky. This year's team seems to me the latter.
They do read this actually. Michelle Enyart told me they do last Sunday. She said it is quite funny but really disheartening at times.
Last edited by ktinpurple on Sat Oct 23, 2010 12:31 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : because)
ktinpurple- Bench Warmer
- Number of posts : 114
Location : Portland, OR
Registration date : 2009-09-06
Re: USD
I don't really care about popularity contests. The ranking that matters is the RPI and they're in good shape there.decrink wrote:
Well, I know its not always popular on this board and I hope the girls don't read here (they shouldn't) but I still don't think this team is as good as their ranking. Never thought that before about any Pilot team. Sometimes it's lucky to be better. Others its better to be lucky. This year's team seems to me the latter.
PurplePrideTrumpet- All-American
- Number of posts : 2880
Age : 43
Location : Section 18A, Row 5
Registration date : 2007-11-24
Re: USD
PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:I don't really care about popularity contests. The ranking that matters is the RPI and they're in good shape there.decrink wrote:
Well, I know its not always popular on this board and I hope the girls don't read here (they shouldn't) but I still don't think this team is as good as their ranking. Never thought that before about any Pilot team. Sometimes it's lucky to be better. Others its better to be lucky. This year's team seems to me the latter.
The team is in good enough shape that even a loss tomorrow would keep them above Notre Dame in the rpi at season's end. ND could beat us out on record against common opponents, but it's starting to look like UP would get the 4th #1 seed anyway. They are actually in better shape than in several years.
The one hitch I see is if BC beats UNC they are back in the mix. Then things get complicated.
Luck or not, I like where we are. Maybe we will be the luckiest Champions ever.
Geezaldinho- Pilot Nation Legend
- Number of posts : 11837
Location : Hopefully, having a Malbec on the square in Cafayate, AR
Registration date : 2007-04-28
Re: USD
The pitch is a disgrace. It was bad for the men's game 3 weeks ago (after some rain) and looked even worse for last night's game. Very difficult to play it effectively on the ground. For the non-partisan spectator, this game had very little appeal. Probably not good for the future of televised games.
Pilots looked in total control - except very few chances created. It looks like to convert all the possesion into goal scoring opportunities, they need Sophie back.
Pilots looked in total control - except very few chances created. It looks like to convert all the possesion into goal scoring opportunities, they need Sophie back.
GoUP- Recruit
- Number of posts : 41
Registration date : 2009-11-22
Re: USD
Totally agree with you. I think the team is finally meshing on offense. It was really nice to see them be overall team players and not just trying to individually score. The offense looked like a team Friday.
It was great to see a fabulous video feed on national TV.
Cannot wait to see what we come up with on Sunday. Hopefully a recap of a fantastic goal or should I say hopefully goal(s)
I am positive that there was quite the factor of the field issue that wasn't very obvious. But if you talk to the players I bet they can tell us a few good swampy marsh comments. I sure am sure rooting for this team to pulloff a win on Sunday. Wow I almost forgot what a nice deterrance to fend off 2 defenders by Brooke and the boot to get to Foxhoven's diving kick for the goal. Fantastic goal Foxhoven.
It was great to see a fabulous video feed on national TV.
Cannot wait to see what we come up with on Sunday. Hopefully a recap of a fantastic goal or should I say hopefully goal(s)
I am positive that there was quite the factor of the field issue that wasn't very obvious. But if you talk to the players I bet they can tell us a few good swampy marsh comments. I sure am sure rooting for this team to pulloff a win on Sunday. Wow I almost forgot what a nice deterrance to fend off 2 defenders by Brooke and the boot to get to Foxhoven's diving kick for the goal. Fantastic goal Foxhoven.
scrfn- Recruit
- Number of posts : 43
Registration date : 2009-07-05
Re: USD
Let's also remember that the reason Taylor had the ball to send it in to Dani for Dani's great finish was that Kendall hit a great ball in the air across the field to Taylor. There were two great passes, great ball handling, and a fabulous finish strung together. That's about as good as it gets.
Re: USD
No question the Pilots have had some luck this year, and they haven't had the free for all score fest of the last few years. But, there's been no discussion about the Pilots strength of schedule this year as compared to the last few years. I don't think you can evaluate a team unless you give careful consideration to its strength of schedule.
I took a look at the strength of schedule contribution to the Pilots RPIs this year and last year as of the same date. The RPI measures strength of schedule according to the following formula: ((2 x Average of Opponents' winning percentages against teams other than the Pilots) + Average of Opponents' opponents' winning percentages)/3. In other words, it considers the Pilots' opponents winning percentages, factoring in the strength of the teams against which they achieved those percentages.
The Pilots' strength of schedule as of this date last year was 0.589. This year it is 0.613.
I then looked at my tables to see what the difference between 0.613 and 0.589 means in terms how much stronger an 0.613 team is. The difference between the two is 0.024. On average, a team ranked 0.024 higher than an opponent will win the game 60% of the time, tie it 15% of the time, and lose it 25% of the time. That is how much stronger the Pilots' opponents on average have been this year as compared to last. It puts the Pilots' current 16-1 record (as compared to 15-1 as of the same time last year) in context and makes it very impressive indeed.
I took a look at the strength of schedule contribution to the Pilots RPIs this year and last year as of the same date. The RPI measures strength of schedule according to the following formula: ((2 x Average of Opponents' winning percentages against teams other than the Pilots) + Average of Opponents' opponents' winning percentages)/3. In other words, it considers the Pilots' opponents winning percentages, factoring in the strength of the teams against which they achieved those percentages.
The Pilots' strength of schedule as of this date last year was 0.589. This year it is 0.613.
I then looked at my tables to see what the difference between 0.613 and 0.589 means in terms how much stronger an 0.613 team is. The difference between the two is 0.024. On average, a team ranked 0.024 higher than an opponent will win the game 60% of the time, tie it 15% of the time, and lose it 25% of the time. That is how much stronger the Pilots' opponents on average have been this year as compared to last. It puts the Pilots' current 16-1 record (as compared to 15-1 as of the same time last year) in context and makes it very impressive indeed.
Re: USD
Geezaldinho wrote:
Luck or not, I like where we are. Maybe we will be the luckiest Champions ever.
That would be nice!
decrink- Recruit
- Number of posts : 66
Registration date : 2007-12-02
Page 1 of 2 • 1, 2
Page 1 of 2
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum