Graham Hays again..

He has a piece on his blog making a list of his top 5 Herman candidates for 2010.

A Pilot is on it. before click the link, make your guess, then tell me if you agree.


http://grahamhays.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/starting-the-season-with-a-list-seems-so-passe/

Missed on my guess. Great choice, though. I started to write who I picked, and why, but that would have ruined Geezer's challenge for everyone else.

And hard to argue with Hays' metaphor: aircraft carrier and fighter pilot. Although we have two carriers, IMHO.

For those of you who might have guessed incorrectly for the first link, don't feel too bad, he's not done. Another Pilot is on it. Same rules as before.
Good luck!

I figured it would be either Dani or Sophie, both are deserving. They would both undoubtedly prefer a national championship over any individual award.

And I don't think you should overlook the role that Keelin plays: she is the anchor that allows all the attacking to take place.

She is the Roy Keane or Patrick Vierra who is as vital to the way the team plays as they were to the great Man Utd and Arsenal teams of recent memory.

She might be overlooked by some because she does what she does in an understated way and it's all about closing things down before they become a problem and making it all easy: simple passes; winning every header in the middle of the field and starting the offense; her presence allows Jessica and Elli to get forward because she's always covering.

I'm old.

I had to look up Gibbard and Walla.

Harry Redknapp wrote:And I don't think you should overlook the role that Keelin plays: she is the anchor that allows all the attacking to take place.

She is the Roy Keane or Patrick Vierra who is as vital to the way the team plays as they were to the great Man Utd and Arsenal teams of recent memory.

She might be overlooked by some because she does what she does in an understated way and it's all about closing things down before they become a problem and making it all easy: simple passes; winning every header in the middle of the field and starting the offense; her presence allows Jessica and Elli to get forward because she's always covering.

Keelin was my guess. I still think she has the best chance to play on the national team of all the current players.

Yeah, Sophie has no chance.

Not much chance to play on THE national team, unless she changes citizenship

fan from afar wrote:Not much chance to play on THE national team, unless she changes citizenship

Maybe not, but she is the only player Hays mentioned who has Already started for her National team in both the World Cup and the Olympics. She will be playing in the Gold Cup in October helping Canada qualify for the next World Cup.

There isn't another player on either of Graham's lists with those Bonafides.

fan from afar wrote:

Harry Redknapp wrote:And I don't think you should overlook the role that Keelin plays: she is the anchor that allows all the attacking to take place.

She is the Roy Keane or Patrick Vierra who is as vital to the way the team plays as they were to the great Man Utd and Arsenal teams of recent memory.

She might be overlooked by some because she does what she does in an understated way and it's all about closing things down before they become a problem and making it all easy: simple passes; winning every header in the middle of the field and starting the offense; her presence allows Jessica and Elli to get forward because she's always covering.

Keelin was my guess. I still think she has the best chance to play on the national team of all the current players.

I think that Foxhoven and Keelin both have a great shot at the National Team. However, Sophie is as good of a choice as any of our Seniors for the award. I wouldn't be at all surprised to have more than one senior as a finalist for the award. Foxhoven will likely have her turn later...

My first guess was Sophie but there are many equally deserving. How can you NOT include Jessica? She controls the right side defensively and is always involved in the attack. Defensive players seldom get the recognition and respect they deserve.

Ahem? I read this a little late...but if my avatar's namesake had to make a guess on which Pilot would be Graham's 1st choice for the Hermann Trophy candidate....of course!!!....the HMCS Sophie Schmidt!!! That was the vessle that first came to my mind!

She's been the tip of our spear since she arrived on campus. She's such a strong, stabilizing, dependable, confident and quiet force on the pitch. She leads by example. She has the best all-around skills on the team, plays hard, plays smart and is unyielding. Aces know....it's Sophie who launches their butts into battle...and supports them when they need to catch a wire, refuel and re-arm for attacks! IMHO...there's no question who this year's team will look's to.

GO PILOTS!!!

Geezaldinho wrote:I'm old.

I had to look up Gibbard and Walla.

Good band, Death Cab. They're a NW group, from Bellingham. You know, the Decemberists are from Portland and they're playing Pioneer Courthouse Square next month...

Oh yes, football. I would have put Sophie on the list as well. She's my favorite among the scorers we have. She's so strong you're not getting the ball away from her once she gets it. Of course these lists always are heavy on goalscorers. One thing I think makes soccer hard for Americans to get into is that there aren't a lot of stats in soccer so you have to watch players to see how skilled they are.

Besides Sophie there are some others that are a joy to watch. I like the way Jessica's balance of shutting down the right side and getting forward to attack. My other favorite is Keelin because I like the high work rate players who set up the playmakers. Harry's right--in Europe a player like her would be getting mountains of praise for the way she makes the game run through her.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Of course these lists always are heavy on goalscorers. One thing I think makes soccer hard for Americans to get into is that there aren't a lot of stats in soccer so you have to watch players to see how skilled they are.

A quick perusal of FIFA's Player of the Year Awards shows that the obsession with goal scorers in awards like this isn't uniquely American:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year

Other than Cannavaro in 2006 (which he won because Italy won the World Cup), there isn't a single non striker or high-scoring midfielder on the list.

the herman an all other awards usually go to offensive players, those who score lots of goals an have a considerable amount of assists. that right there rules out keelin [no matter how deserving she may be] an to some degree sophie because she is so balanced as far as scoring an assisting goes. it has always seemed to me that it's all about how many goals you score!! so, with that being said, i think dani has the best shot at winning the herman.

also, i agree whole heartedly that keelin has a very good chance to make the national team once her career is finished on the bluff as long as pia is the coach. boxx will be nearing the end of her career an i havent seen anyone nearly as good as keelin in any phase of the skills required to play defensive holding mid!!

i also think dani has a very good chance to advancing to the natl team. jess is a long shot i think, mainly because of her height, not because of her skill or talent. as with most world class atheletes, the taller, the better, an i am a huge jess fan an would like nothing better to see her on the natl team for many, many years.

fozziewozzie wrote:also, i agree whole heartedly that keelin has a very good chance to make the national team once her career is finished on the bluff as long as pia is the coach. boxx will be nearing the end of her career an i havent seen anyone nearly as good as keelin in any phase of the skills required to play defensive holding mid!!

i also think dani has a very good chance to advancing to the natl team. jess is a long shot i think, mainly because of her height, not because of her skill or talent. as with most world class atheletes, the taller, the better, an i am a huge jess fan an would like nothing better to see her on the natl team for many, many years.

Good thoughts - One thing we tend to not take into account when considering which Pilots might go on to the national team is - who is on the national team now. Keelin, for example, could be coming along at the right time to replace Boxx, as you said. Meghan might be coming along at the right time to replace Lily. Danielle, on the other hand, will have to compete with current young nat. teamers Rodriguez, Cheney, and Kelly O'Hara, not to mention Alex Morgan and La Roux. That may be a tougher road for her.

Jess doesn't seem to get her due, does she - especially away from Portland.

Will Sophie still qualify for the Hermann if misses up to 4 games...when she leaves to play for the Canadian National Team in Oct?

GO PILOTS!!!

Probably depends on how many games she misses, what her numbers are for the season and how she/we do in the playoffs. If she is the hub of a championship winning team then being gone in October will not be a problem, I'm guessing.

Regarding Jess....

I too am confused why she does not get her due outside of Portland. It could be because she doesn't play with a lot of flash....she just plays perfectly.

She makes no mistakes either on defense or when she brings the ball up the field.

She reminds me of how Hank AAron played baseball...... effortlessly.

Purplepet... Jessica is my and my wifes favorite player, just because she plays the way you described it. She has been for the last 2 years. She is rock solid... I don't understand why she does not get more attention outside the area also...

But you know something Penn State/UP fan.... I bet Jess will get a ton of attention when she graduates from UP and applies for medical or grad school.

That kid is as smart as she is good at playing soccer!

Agreed. That is another thing that makes her special. She is very intelligent...