2021 Season

Geezaldinho wrote:Had we pushed as hard at the start we might not have been a goal down for 84 minutes. It’s the start of a trend of starting slow that bit us this time.

What were the mechanics of how the AR signaled a goal?

Agreed, the guys have to start fast and rev it up even faster...the team has enough very good players to go full-speed for 90 minutes!

I personally did not see the AR signal the goal as I was too intent on yelling at the ref for waving it off, but I was told by a former ref that the AR raised his flag and immediately turned and ran toward the center of the pitch. However, I was told today the AR said he was "out of position" to make the call, and perhaps because he was standing on the ground instead of up above the play as those of us in the Pilot Club enclosure were, it was too difficult to see.

For those of us standing above the play...the goal was obvious.

DoubleDipper wrote:
I personally did not see the AR signal the goal as I was too intent on yelling at the ref for waving it off, but I was told by a former ref that the AR raised his flag and immediately turned and ran toward the center of the pitch. However, I was told today the AR said he was "out of position" to make the call, and perhaps because he was standing on the ground instead of up above the play as those of us in the Pilot Club enclosure were, it was too difficult to see.

For those of us standing above the play...the goal was obvious.

Standing on the ground should not impair the view. If he is in the ideal position, he is standing right behind the corner flag looking down the goal line. If he can see "daylight" between the ball and the back of the goal frame, it's a goal. If not, no goal. It's possible, but unlikely, that a player would obstruct the view. "Out of position" presumably means that he is upfield some distance, which is inevitable because prior to the shot he should be even with the next-to-last defender and he can never react/run as fast as the ball. Only if the next-to-last defender is near the goal line will be have a good position. It looks on the replay as though there is a defender about two yards in front of the GK, so he really should have been in a good position. In any case, he certainly had a better angle than the referee.

At this level, referees are (or at least used to be) assessed on every game. The assessor may well come down hard on him if he overruled an AR in a better position and changed the call in an incorrect way that affected the outcome of the game. It's hard to imagine a more grievous error.

Remember, beginning with the men's soccer game against UCSD tomorrow, Monday September 6, and continuing until further notice at all UP sporting events, fans must prove they are vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID test within the past 72 hours before they are admitted.

Masks are always required except when eating and drinking!

https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2021/09/vaccination-requirement-instated-for-all-fans-attending-pilot-home-games

Remember, although the Pilot Club will not be serving food or drinks at tonight’s game, when visiting the Pilot Club, you can get a food and beverage voucher and a token for beer.

Apparently the Pilots should always begin the first half going toward the south goal as it paid off last night.

Having an abbreviated season last year, it seems even the sophomores and juniors are taking time to round into form and it is frustrating that the young guys are not converting their chances, but having all freshman up top means they are getting experience.  Hey, as I recall, even Benji was shutout his first six games as a Pilot.

Big test and an opportunity to truly evaluate the team on the road against UCLA on Friday, but the young team's target has to be October 2 when they visit Moraga for the WCC opener.

(Took advantage of the Pilot Club food and drink voucher last night...dang, those concession stand hot dogs are mighty tasty!)

DoubleDipper wrote:Big test and an opportunity to truly evaluate the team on the road against UCLA on Friday, but the young team's target has to be October 2 when they visit Moraga for the WCC opener.

It WAS a big test, and fun to see the Pilots come out aggressive and stay aggressive throughout the game and seeing sophomore Kevin Bonilla score his first career goal in the Pilots 1-0 win over UCLA in LA.

As fun as it may have been to see UP stay aggressive, it was the Pilots' defense that was most impressive as they seemed to survive set piece after set piece and a flurry of shots from the Bruins toward the end.

"Started fast and hung-on" is too easy a description of tonight's 1-0 win, but it sure seems it is a developing trend for UP...

The Pilots had some brilliant moments on offense, and although the Sacramento St. goalkeeper was credited with only one save, it seemed there were at least 3, but it also seemed there was a lot of dribbling instead of shooting by UP.

Onward!

Glad I didn't leave at halftime!!

DoubleDipper wrote:Glad I didn't leave at halftime!!

I’m dissapointed there was no write-up about UP perking up in the second half and Seattle’s back line getting roasted for the winning score in the Coffee Cup.

Geezaldinho wrote:I’m dissapointed there was no write-up about UP perking up in the second half and Seattle’s back line getting roasted for the winning score in the Coffee Cup.

You failed to mention that to the fan's delight, it was a DRY roasted Caffé D'Arte Coffee Cup.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Geezaldinho wrote:I’m dissapointed there was no write-up about UP perking up in the second half and Seattle’s back line getting roasted for the winning score in the Coffee Cup.

You failed to mention that to the fan's delight, it was a DRY roasted Caffé D'Arte Coffee Cup.

Considering how much players were slipping on the watered pitch, I had no grounds.

After a VERY disappointing 1-0 OT loss to a mediocre CSUN team on Monday the Pilots (5-3) get a chance to make amends against #3 UW (6-0) tonight at Merlo Field in their biggest test of the season so far.  UW has scored 15 goals in their 6 matches this season, while the young Pilots have scored just 8 in their 8 matches.

The Pilot Club will be full-on ready with food and drink, but if you are unable to attend, the match will also be televised on KRCW.

This will be the first Pilot sporting event aired on Portland's CW station. I am told KRCW can be found on channel 32/1032 on CenturyLink, Dish and DirectTV and on channels 3/503/703 on Frontier.  I found the CW on 3, 703, and 1032 on Xfinity.



Scoring against Seattle U. at the north end goal in front of the Pilot Club...

DoubleDipper wrote:...but the young team's target has to be October 2 when they visit Moraga for the WCC opener.

Gaels beat the punchless Pilots 1-0.

Geezaldinho wrote:Had we pushed as hard at the start...

This afternoon they did push from the get-go and it resulted in a 5-1 win over USD.

Now 6-5 on the season (1-1-0 in the WCC) the Pilots had scored a total of 8 goals (3 in their win over Seattle U.) prior to tonight's win.

Pilots are now off for two weeks before taking on LMU in LA.

Surprising (to me) there were no students in attendance today...there has always been a good relationship between the Villa Drum Squad and the team...maybe they were saving themselves for the women's game tonight.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Geezaldinho wrote:Had we pushed as hard at the start...

This afternoon they did push from the get-go and it resulted in a 5-1 win over USD.

Now 6-5 on the season (1-1-0 in the WCC) the Pilots had scored a total of 8 goals (3 in their win over Seattle U.) prior to tonight's win.

Pilots are now off for two weeks before taking on LMU in LA.

Surprising (to me) there were no students in attendance today...there has always been a good relationship between the Villa Drum Squad and the team...maybe they were saving themselves for the women's game tonight.

It is semester break.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Surprising (to me) there were no students in attendance today...there has always been a good relationship between the Villa Drum Squad and the team...maybe they were saving themselves for the women's game tonight.

If I were a student in these pandemic times I’d try to get as far away from campus as I could on fall break.

Geezaldinho wrote:
If I were a student in these pandemic times I’d try to get as far away from campus as I could on fall break.

I don't know the status of UP, but fully vaccinated campuses are often safer than airplanes. Some schools last year canceled mid-semester breaks to avoid having students go away, get sick, and bring the bug back to campus.

Geezaldinho wrote:If I were a student in these pandemic times I’d try to get as far away from campus as I could on fall break.

Although the students are not expressing that much concern about the pandemic, the UP campus is where most of us feel safe from the disease.  We feel much safer from the effects of COVID in class, or in the Pilot House and Commons, or in dorms compared to off-campus because we know that virtually everyone has been vaccinated and we all wear masks when around others when indoors.

Last I heard, there have been 26 "breakthrough" positive test results on campus since mid-August, but no one was really sick, and all those testing positive were isolated to prevent a potential spread.

Many of my friends were actually reluctant to leave campus for a few days during the break, and although some students may have flown to their destinations, most are avoiding planes and trains, but show no reluctance to ride in a fellow student's car.

Masks
Could somebody who has been to men's and women's soccer games please give me an update about mask use please.  We went to the volleyball and baseball games today.  They did require proof of a vaccine or negative COVID test for entry.  Volleyball was a great match with a come from behind victory.  Looked like everybody in Chiles Center was masked-up.  Baseball not so much.  Probably about 50 people there and 60% were not wearing masks.  While each inning there was an announcement that people were required to wear masks except while they were eating or drinking, people paid no attention whatsoever.  Didn't appear to be a concern to our athletic director who watched the game from the diamond seats by himself.  We were planning to attend a few soccer games, but will skip it if there is no enforcement of the rules.  We thought it curious that when we drove through downtown Portland on the way home, we saw a higher percentage of people on the streets wearing masks than at the baseball game.

bullwinkle wrote:Masks

Close to 100%** compliance at soccer games now.  That was not the case for the first couple of games, but the miscreants were easily identified and they eventually reformed.

Also close to 100%** at the two volleyball matches I attended, and fans had plenty of distance between themselves except for members of the same family.

I am guessing baseball is a different crowd...

No, there is no visible enforcement except the announcements.

** I say "close to" because although I have not seen anyone without a mask since the first couple of soccer games, I have not been searching the crowd looking for rule-breakers.

StudentPilot wrote:Last I heard, there have been 26 "breakthrough" positive test results on campus since mid-August, but no one was really sick, and all those testing positive were isolated to prevent a potential spread.

Highlighting is mine as it pertains to "on campus."

OPB wrote:“I think that our success goes back to our vaccination policy,” said Herbert Medina, acting president and provost at University of Portland.

According to UP’s COVID-19 data, 96.1% of students and employees are fully vaccinated. Medina said about 2% of UP’s campus community applied for a vaccine exemption, and a small number — including some new hires — are yet to comply with the vaccination policy.

UP this fall is not doing the kind of random “surveillance testing” that Reed is doing. Instead it’s among many other colleges and universities in the state asking symptomatic students and employees to get tested.

UP has also seen a low case count relative to its size: 33 positive cases since the fall term began in August, or about 0.7% of the 4,300 students and staff spending time on campus.

Medina noted the spike in Oregon COVID-19 cases in the late summer, before the start of the semester, “but, with our high vaccination rate and our safety measures, we’ve been able to navigate those waters relatively well.”

Medina said that most of UP’s positive student cases have been those living off-campus, and Medina said “that’s consistent with what’s being seen throughout higher ed.”

“We’ve had a few, very few, students who live in our residence halls [test positive], and we’ve been able to work with them, to care for them, to isolate them in a way that keeps the community safe,” Medina said, “bringing them food, making sure that they’re still able to continue with their classes.”

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/10/14/oregon-private-colleges-back-in-person-avoid-covid-outbreaks/

Did you sometimes wonder who that clergyman on the Men's Soccer sideline is?  



It is Brother Thomas!  Read on:

https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/Faith-Spirituality/Living-Faith/Article/Saint-a-special-patron-of-Holy-Cross-Brothers/4/29/44329?s=1

DoubleDipper wrote:Did you sometimes wonder who that clergyman on the Men's Soccer sideline is?  



It is Brother Thomas!  Read on:

https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/Faith-Spirituality/Living-Faith/Article/Saint-a-special-patron-of-Holy-Cross-Brothers/4/29/44329?s=1

Br. Tom is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. It doesn't matter how long you have been away from campus -- he still remembers your name.

Big, big win for the Pilots at #15 LMU this evening on a Gurman Sangha game-winner in the 94th minute!  

It is likely going to be raining and the Timbers are playing at the same time as the Pilots, but the game tonight against Gonzaga has some meaning!

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:There is no bad weather, only bad gear.

UP and GU are tied for 3rd in the WCC with records of 2-1, while SCU and SMC are tied at the top at 2-0-1.  SCU plays at SMC tonight.

UP has already lost to SMC and plays SCU next week, but importantly UP currently has an RPI of 48, maybe just enough to get them into the postseason regardless of their WCC standing if they can keep winning.  

#35 LMU (UP beat LMU 1-0 at LMU)
#48 UP
#53 SMC (UP lost to SMC 1-0 at SMC)
#95 GU @ UP tonight @ 7pm
#77 UOP @ UP 10/30
#46 Northern Illinois @ UP 11/3
#94 SCU -- UP @ SCU 11/6
#171 USF @ UP 11/13
#195 USD (UP beat USD 5-1)