2016 schedule

The one shot in the Santa Clara loss was the fewest against them in our team history.

In the preseason conference poll by coaches, the Pilots and San Diego were tied for sixth place. And now going into their final game Friday, it'll be a battle between the two for fifth place. With a win, UP would have a WCC record of 4-4-1, equaling the four wins for the past two seasons. With a loss or a tie, the Pilots would have its fewest conference wins ever.

With a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining, I thought for sure we would hold on...

... but never anticipated an epic collapse.

Once again the ladies succumbed to a lack of a true finisher and it's strange lack of ability to complete passes to their own team. This has been going on for several years now. They have some real talented young players but the ever-present uncontested giveaways need correction for them to make a big improvement. I hope it starts next season now.

We had the poorest conference record ever. We're losing one of our best senior classes that includes half our back line. We already have a small roster and probably will get even smaller. The outlook is not promising. I'm old and grouchy!

Pepperdine (Cal), Santa Clara (Long Beach St.), and BYU (UNLV) are heading to the Women's Championship...

Pepperdine won the WCC championship on a tie-breaker with BYU, but BYU is a #4 seed.

The Pilots finished in 6th place, one point ahead of USF and St. Mary's, and 5 points behind San Diego.

While I can take temporary respite in the fact that my Carolina Gamecocks are looking to make a deep run in the tournament, it does not excite me the way the playoffs do when the Pilots play. I hope that next year we find our way again.

Unless we are gifted with a few national-class transfers and foreign players, a tournament selection next season seems very unlikely. It looks dim.

However, there is one possible bright spot -- and that would be Michelle French hoisting up the U-20 World Cup trophy and later making the surprising announcement of having accepted the head coaching position at UP.

The Pilot Nation would rise to its feet, shouting: "We're back, baby!" Just imagine the energy, the prized recruits making verbal commitments, the capacity crowds at Merlo, the advancements to the College Cup, the new championship banners, the tears of joy.

But then, reality sinks in.

Of course, I remain old and grouchy.

Santa Clara takes down top seed Stanford in the NCAA Tournament, 2-1, winning goal with two minutes to go in second OT. Unfortunately, sounds like Stanford's Andi Sullivan (of recent WNT stellar appearances) suffers serious injury shortly before the SCU goal.

Tonight, Santa Clara showed what can happen when a keeper gets hot with 14 saves. The Broncos will lose 4 senior starters, yet will have an incoming class ranked #9 by BigSoccer.

Unlike Santa Clara, why has UP fallen behind in recruiting?

Watching Stanford lose last night was beyond thrilling for me. The tournament traditionally is one of the most entertaining in all sports. We need to get back in the game.

This year we broke our string of losing seasons. But then we had the softest schedule in years in which our toughest non-conference opponent was a Cal team that finished sixth in the Pac-12. Our best conference result was a scoreless tie with Pepperdine, yet we ended up in the bottom half of the standings.

Can we reverse the direction we're heading? Can we be an elite team again?

2005: national championship
2006: quarterfinal
2007: quarterfinal
2008: quarterfinal
2009: quarterfinal
2010: second round
2011: second round
2012: second round
2013: second round
2014: not in playoffs; WCC - tied for 5th
2015: not in playoffs; WCC - 5th
2016: not in playoffs; WCC - 6th

Corrado Kid wrote:We need to get back in the game.

Yes.  Absolutely a must for this institution.

Corrado Kid wrote:Can we be an elite team again?

Yes.  The vagaries of college athletics show that even the best can't stay on top forever without going through the occasional readjustment.  Likewise a program that has laid dormant for years can turn it around in a brief span.  Just look at our men's team!  A change above and beyond the constant churn of players can lead to a renewed focus for the student-athletes and program at large, in terms of both recruiting new players and engaging with fans and alumni.

Corrado Kid wrote:Can we reverse the direction we're heading?

2005: national championship
2006: quarterfinal
2007: quarterfinal
2008: quarterfinal
2009: quarterfinal
2010: second round
2011: second round
2012: second round
2013: second round
2014: not in playoffs; WCC - tied for 5th
2015: not in playoffs; WCC - 5th
2016: not in playoffs; WCC - 6th

The direction of the program over the last decade is clear and cannot be disputed.  If we could find some commonality across those years we may be able to address how to best effect an improvement like we've seen in the men's team.  Hmmmmm . . .

I was incredibly fortunate to be a student when we won our two national championships.  Let's return this once proud program to glory.

GO PILOTS

Tonight, I watched South Carolina take down BYU in the playoffs. This leaves Santa Clara as the lone WCC representative.

Their fans complain so much: the NCAA rigging the playoff against them (it's not), our field lighting being poor (it is and I concede that), our grass being too short (it's not the growing season in sandy South Carolina), our players being too physical (welcome to the SEC), and the refs (no comment).

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Their fans complain so much:.....

You didn't even have to mention the name of the school....BYU fans are known throughout the sports world for their sense of entitlement!  

VillaGorilla wrote:

Corrado Kid wrote:We need to get back in the game.

Yes.  Absolutely a must for this institution.

Corrado Kid wrote:Can we be an elite team again?

Yes.  The vagaries of college athletics show that even the best can't stay on top forever without going through the occasional readjustment.  Likewise a program that has laid dormant for years can turn it around in a brief span.  Just look at our men's team!  A change above and beyond the constant churn of players can lead to a renewed focus for the student-athletes and program at large, in terms of both recruiting new players and engaging with fans and alumni.

Corrado Kid wrote:Can we reverse the direction we're heading?

2005: national championship
2006: quarterfinal
2007: quarterfinal
2008: quarterfinal
2009: quarterfinal
2010: second round
2011: second round
2012: second round
2013: second round
2014: not in playoffs; WCC - tied for 5th
2015: not in playoffs; WCC - 5th
2016: not in playoffs; WCC - 6th

The direction of the program over the last decade is clear and cannot be disputed.  If we could find some commonality across those years we may be able to address how to best effect an improvement like we've seen in the men's team.  Hmmmmm . . .

I was incredibly fortunate to be a student when we won our two national championships.  Let's return this once proud program to glory.

GO PILOTS

I'm holding fire for now, but fully agree with your post.

I fully agree, too. But I believe we have to make a change.

If we wait too long, it's not inconceivable that UP will become a longstanding WCC speed bump like Pacific.

Susie Que wrote:If we wait too long, it's not inconceivable that UP will become a longstanding WCC speed bump like Pacific.

I don't entirely agree with that. The success of the men's team this year - which followed back-to-back seasons in which they won a cumulative one conference game - proves that a quick bounce-back is possible. That said, it wasn't until the last few years that they *really* started to struggle... including this year, over the past 10 WCC seasons they finished: 1st (of 8 ), 8th (of 8 ), 8th (of 8 ), 6th (of 7), 4th (of 7), 3rd (of 7), 3rd (of 7), 4th (of 7), 6th (of 7), 3rd (of 7).

UP has a great facility, tremendous fan support, and a very strong history... I believe we can return to being a consistent playoff-caliber team again. I think the days of being a Top-10 team every year are probably over (the sport is way more competitive across the board than it was in the 90s and early 2000s), but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that missing the playoffs should be the exception, not the rule.

I think a lot depends on the incoming class of recruits. (I have heard that it is a strong one.) This year's freshmen class showed a lot of potential, and I think they could definitely mature into a group that could lead us back into the playoffs. But they'll need help, and unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of returning impact players from this year's sophomore and junior classes.

Stonehouse wrote:I think a lot depends on the incoming class of recruits. (I have heard that it is a strong one.

Do you know of more than the two spread sheet listed recruits (Taryn Ries of FC Portland and Ellie Winkelmann of Slammers FC)?

Stonehouse wrote:

Susie Que wrote:If we wait too long, it's not inconceivable that UP will become a longstanding WCC speed bump like Pacific.

I don't entirely agree with that. The success of the men's team this year - which followed back-to-back seasons in which they won a cumulative one conference game - proves that a quick bounce-back is possible. That said, it wasn't until the last few years that they *really* started to struggle... including this year, over the past 10 WCC seasons they finished: 1st (of 8 ), 8th (of 8 ), 8th (of 8 ), 6th (of 7), 4th (of 7), 3rd (of 7), 3rd (of 7), 4th (of 7), 6th (of 7), 3rd (of 7).

UP has a great facility, tremendous fan support, and a very strong history... I believe we can return to being a consistent playoff-caliber team again. I think the days of being a Top-10 team every year are probably over (the sport is way more competitive across the board than it was in the 90s and early 2000s), but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that missing the playoffs should be the exception, not the rule.

I think a lot depends on the incoming class of recruits. (I have heard that it is a strong one.) This year's freshmen class showed a lot of potential, and I think they could definitely mature into a group that could lead us back into the playoffs. But they'll need help, and unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of returning impact players from this year's sophomore and junior classes.

I am confused by your recitation of a record. We finished 6th, 5th and 6th in the league the last three years: hardly a record to endorse anyone, particularly considering the great facilities, the tremendous fan support and a very strong history.

A more direct analogy to the men's team is its great improvement with a change in staff-- to league champions in short order.

Michele French may or may not be able to return this team to prominence, but I would hate to wait too long to make a change and risk losing a candidate of her caliber.

I hope Garrett is able to turn things around in the short term, but one has to wonder about the direction of the program given its advantages and history.

I have not seen any documentation of this, but I heard from Glencoe HS parents.  Olivia Dendinger of Glencoe has committed to UP.  She was Metro player of the year the past two seasons, and was 1st team all state last year.

wrv wrote:I am confused by your recitation of a record. We finished 6th, 5th and 6th in the league the last three years: hardly a record to endorse anyone, particularly considering the great facilities, the tremendous fan support and a very strong history.

Ah, sorry! I realize I wasn't being very clear.

I was responding to the worry that UP would become a "longstanding speedbump" in the WCC, and using the men's team as as proof that a few years of poor finishes doesn't have to result in "speedbump" becoming a "longstanding" position. (I added on the men's finishes over the past 10 years for context... though they under-performed expectations for many years, they still were usually middle-of-the-pack in the WCC rather than last place.)

Anyway, I guess my overall point was that the sky hasn't fallen for the women's team and we aren't doomed to permanent bottom-half finishes. I remain hopeful that we can return to being a consistent playoff team with the current staff.

San Diego fired its coach after 14 years. It'll be interesting to see who they hire and if their program does a turnabout, much like UP's men's team.

USC fired Ali Khosroshahin, who won the title for the Trojans, after three losing Pac-12 seasons.

Then they hired WSU's Keidane McAlpine, who became a magnet for gifted transfers such as their keeper and three of their top four scorers, and now here they are in the quarterfinals.

When was the last time in the past four years that anyone transferred to Portland, as opposed to starters transferring out?

We had only one transfer in the past 10 years, Kelsey Davis from UCLA, our best keeper of the decade.

But then we had so many standout players deciding to not stay. We had Charney Burk going to UCLA. We had top recruit Taylor Alderete decommit at the eleventh hour. We had a captain, Cloee Colohan, leaving for BYU.

Later we had the #5 ranked recruiting class in 2013. And half of those players left.

There is always talk about players not fitting or wanting to be closer to home or whatever. But maybe there's something about the program that is not appealing to players. That might explain the drop off in recruiting.

When Brie Hooks decided to leave Colorado, she didn't even consider Portland, deciding between Seattle and Pepperdine.

How can we make UP the place to be? We already have the fans. We have the facilities. We have one of the most appealing cities in the nation.

We need a change.

But, of course, I remain old and grouchy.

Allison Wetherington is back in the States.

The 2016  season was Allison's last of four seasons on the Bluff (she graduated in 2017), and she played briefly in Finland, but now she's a member of the NWSL's Houston Dash.

https://www.vavel.com/en-us/soccer/nwsl/874512-houston-dash-sign-midfielder-allison-wetherington-and-michaela-hahn.html

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2018/1/31/wsoc-wetherington-heads-to-houston-after-inking-deal-with-the-dash.aspx

Congratulations, Allison!