2021 Season

Pilots Twitter to the rescue: https://twitter.com/PortlandMSOC/status/1461518121299177472?s=20

https://players.brightcove.net/6050660107001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6281314579001

Any Pilot Nation regulars planning to go to the UW game, let me know in the PMs!

Highlights.

Nick...

It was a good showing for the WCC last night as Santa Clara also advanced to the second round by beating Akron 2-1 on the road on a Golden Goal in the 102nd minute.

Santa Clara (12-1-4) will next face Kentucky in Lexington on Sunday at 4pm.

Looking forward to Sunday's match in Seattle, it was almost two months ago that UW was in Portland and the Pilots played them close before losing 2-0.

UP had their chances, but as I recall, they were down 1-0 when Luke Hendel got a red card after his second yellow, and the Pilots were down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes.

UP seems to have gotten its offense going after a slow start to the season, and as anything can happen in Tournament soccer...

UW is the #2 seed but are #1 in the RPI; UP is now #32.

Game time is 5pm and it will be live-streamed on the UW/Pac-12 network.
https://pac-12.com/live/university-washington

"Rivalry meeting with Portland kicks off UW’s quest for national championship..."

UW Coach Jamie Clark wrote: “We see a big advantage in having played a team before, using our video and experience against them. Historically, we’ve done better in the second half of the Pac-12 for that reason. (Portland is) obviously a rivalry game which has got a lot of history to it which brings its own baggage, but playing an opponent you’re familiar with is a positive.”

https://www.dailyuw.com/sports/mens_soccer/article_cc173e46-4a3c-11ec-865b-9307d0e84c35.html

Huskies were clearly the better looking team tonight, but was nice to see the men put up a decent fight and at least get a goal in. It was a pretty packed crowd. Some friends I went with said it was a lot more fun than they expected.

Was happy to see the Villa Drum Squad in the first time since probably graduating. (I don't remember them being there at the last UP@UW game I attended.) A lot of the UW students and supporters were clearly not prepared for their appearance and more or less tongue-in-cheek humor, some were annoyed and had a bit of back and forth heckling and chirping with the group. ("Why you have to be so mad, it's only game." I thought internally multiple times...while also thinking "If you don't like that, you don't like Pilots soccer.") Maybe I'm getting too old or COVID caused a knowledge gap in between members or times are a changing, but I was expecting a lot more taunts against the opposing teams than instrumentals/chants, but its better than nothing for an away game.

The NCAA second round curse strikes again! Feels like it's been this way going back to... maybe 2008?

Sound Voltex wrote:Was happy to see the Villa Drum Squad in the first time since probably graduating.

Nice...

There has obviously been a change in the ridiculous rule that artificial noise makers were banned at NCAA Soccer Tournament games...or at least that is how I recall it.  

Did they allow Drum Squad “performances” during play, or just when the clock was stopped?  

Was the UW drum corps at the game?

It is such a great atmosphere when the beat goes on throughout the match...if they were banned from performing during play, it is a rule that should be changed...

The latest noisemaker rules ( updated July 19,2021)

Piped-in artificial crowd noise is approved by the Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee for the 2021-22 season with the following stipulations:
1. Items listed in Rule 5.6.9, including whistles and air horns, may not be a part
of the crowd noise;
2. The artificial crowd noise may not drown out the officials’ whistles or disrupt
the officials’ management of the game;
3. Amplified music, as outlined in A.R. 5.6.9.a, is still only permitted during
pregame, period intervals, and anytime the clock is stopped and the ball is not
in play;
4. The referee shall have the authority to regulate and/or eliminate the artificial
crowd noise in the event he/she determines that it is interfering with the conduct of the game; and
5. Conferences are encouraged to approve the crowd noise being used by its institutions

NCAA Playing Rules Summary: Artificial Crowd Noise
July 19, 2021 Page No. 4

So, no whistles or air horns, and there is nothing artificial about a cowbell. And there is nothing restricting Pep bands., except for wrestling. Only amplified music is restricted during play

I had no idea you could pipe in a laugh track over the PA system. This must have been a rule implemented for crowd free games due to COVID.


The rules are different for each sport. Volleyball, for instance restricts cowbells and “thunder sticks”.

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/resources/rules/RULES_Artificial_Crowd_Noise_Summary.pdf


So,
The ref can halt crowd noisemakers if it interferes with the game. Never seen that happen.
.

DoubleDipper wrote:

Sound Voltex wrote:Was happy to see the Villa Drum Squad in the first time since probably graduating.

Nice...

There has obviously been a change in the ridiculous rule that artificial noise makers were banned at NCAA Soccer Tournament games...or at least that is how I recall it.  

Did they allow Drum Squad “performances” during play, or just when the clock was stopped?  

Was the UW drum corps at the game?

It is such a great atmosphere when the beat goes on throughout the match...if they were banned from performing during play, it is a rule that should be changed...

Apart from the event staff asking the leaders to conduct from the first row of bleachers instead of in the walkway, no sort of noise was formally banned during the game. (I'm more surprised they allowed the Drum Squad to light their flares outside the stadium right before the game considering the wind blew the smoke right into the venue.) The UW drum corps was there, though on the complete other end of the bleachers such that even without the Drum Squad it's very hard to hear. (Husky Soccer Stadium's main bleachers only takes up a single side of the field which is...not the greatest.)

No disrespect towards the drum squad, they did a great job regardless and the match wouldn't have been as exciting without them at all. I guess I was expecting too much from my student days having not heard them in a very long time. I also figured being an away game it'd probably be best not to draw too much heat from the home crowd. Maybe the more harsher jeers are best saved for Merlo.

I watched the video feed. The pitch looked, in a word, horrible. Like the pointy-ball team practiced on it. Does anyone know the story? Merlo always looks nearly perfect even late in the season and in a rainy year.

SoreKnees wrote: Merlo always looks nearly perfect even late in the season and in a rainy year.

Two words: Kevin White!

SoreKnees wrote:I watched the video feed. The pitch looked, in a word, horrible. Like the pointy-ball team practiced on it. Does anyone know the story? Merlo always looks nearly perfect even late in the season and in a rainy year.

The pitch has always been horrible, that’s nothing new. It’s  a slap dash job put up in 1995 or 1996

It’s next to a wetland and until a few years ago sloped 3 FEET to the SE, according to google Earth and a laser level I took up there one year.it’s also not drained properly, unlike Merlo that is built on a sand base and has a complete subsurface piping system.

It has since been leveled a bit, but the stadium upgrade that was promised when they lured the coach away from Creighton ( which has a great stadium)  never materialized. They did find money for a $300 million Husky stadium upgrade, an upgrade to the softball field and rowing center, a new baseball stadium, and a new track facility right behind the soccer stands.

Thanks for the info!

I was surprised, because somewhere in my memory banks I recall UW building a new soccer stadium and thinking that this would be a competitive advantage vs. our women's program.

Geezaldinho wrote:

SoreKnees wrote:I watched the video feed. The pitch looked, in a word, horrible. Like the pointy-ball team practiced on it. Does anyone know the story? Merlo always looks nearly perfect even late in the season and in a rainy year.

The pitch has always been horrible, that’s nothing new. It’s  a slap dash job put up in 1995 or 1996

It’s next to a wetland and until a few years ago sloped 3 FEET to the SE, according to google Earth and a laser level I took up there one year.it’s also not drained properly, unlike Merlo that is built on a sand base and has a complete subsurface piping system.

It has since been leveled a bit, but the stadium upgrade that was promised when they lured the coach away from Creighton ( which has a great stadium)  never materialized. They did find money for a $300 million Husky stadium upgrade, an upgrade to the softball field and rowing center, a new baseball stadium, and a new track facility right behind the soccer stands.

I think the UW site has 1997 as the opening year. I didn't know about that sloping issue, that's crazy. Where would SE be relative to the pitch?

If their soccer team makes a far enough run, maybe the UW athletics department will notice that their other "football" team is having better success than the one that's playing at Husky Stadium right now...   (so wanted to make that comment at the game)

If you sit in the stands it’s the far left corner towards Lake Washington.

SoreKnees wrote:Thanks for the info!

I was surprised, because somewhere in my memory banks I recall UW building a new soccer stadium and thinking that this would be a competitive advantage vs. our women's program.

You probably saw the same big buildup I did when they hired the coach
There was noise when they hired the men’s coach. Then they said they’d get to it after Husky stadium.

Then they renovated the baseball stadium and built the track, effectively sandwiching the soccer field.

They did build a scoreboard in 2017. And I think there is a little press box over there.

They used to film from a plywood platform in the stands.

Geezaldinho wrote:
You probably saw the same big buildup I did when they hired the coach
There was noise when they hired the men’s coach. Then they said they’d get to it after Husky stadium..

New stadium or not, the coach has done well as #2 Washington will play #8 Clemson in the final of the College Cup tomorrow at 11am on ESPNU.

Clemson beat Notre Dame in a shootout in the first game yesterday and UW downed Georgetown, 2-1, last night to make it to the final.

Clemson is the NCAA Champion after dominating UW, 2-0.

Pilots Finish in Top 25 in Final Poll of 2021...

After an impressive 2021 campaign that saw them make the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history and advance to the second round for the fourth time since 2002, Portland Pilots men's soccer was picked 25th in the final Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 Poll of the year. The Pilots also received votes in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2021/12/15/mens-soccer-pilots-finish-in-top-25-in-final-poll-of-2021.aspx