By Nicholas Slepnikoff
The final whistle blew and the Men's Nike Invitational came to a close with a UP victory, ending the two-day soccer invitational on Merlo Field.
The Pilot men, were determined to improve after their Friday loss against Virginia.
Improve they did, edging out a 3-1 victory over Saint Louis University.
The Nike Invitational, hosted by the University of Portland, invited three teams to Portland for a soccer contest at Merlo Field last weekend. Including the Pilots, the Saint Louis University Billikens, the University of Virginia Cavaliers and the University of Washington Huskies attended the two day soccer event.
What started as a sunny, humid day quickly developed into a drizzly and cloud-covered Friday afternoon, the first day of the tournament.
In the first game of the invitational, the Pilots experienced difficulty with the University of Virginia powerhouse.
With a noticeably smaller crowd when compared to the women's game, the rain seemed not only to dampen the field, but the spirits of the players and fans.
Although the Villa Drum Squad continued to break the Cavalier's concentration with constant heckling, rain late in the game sent unprepared fans back to their dorms and houses.
Boasting incredible speed and a host of strong players, including 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year Tony Tchani who scored two goals for Virginia, the Cavaliers defeated the Pilots in their first game 3-0. Senior Collen Warner felt the team had only played to about "60 percent" of its abilities.
"I don't think we performed consistently enough ... to be successful," he said.
Defensively, Warner also felt that the team made little mistakes that "we got punished for."
Despite these mistakes, Warner believed the team showed great potential.
"I think, this being our first game, there were just a few things that weren't quite there yet. As for the rest of the season, if we come together ... clean-up these mistakes and then get some confidence, a win, then I think we'll be fine," Warner said.
"We played some very good football and that's going to get us where we want to be," Head Soccer Coach Bill Irwin said.
Although the early goals and mistakes in the match were problematic, "The guys stayed at it, they showed character, and they worked hard," he continued.
Throughout the course of the game, the new freshmen recruits were also able to gain some time on the pitch and, with this experience, Irwin said, "it's only going to get better."
Still tonguing a bitter taste from the recent defeat, the Pilots then looked to face the Saint Louis University on Sunday.
"We are going to get the guys ready for it, get them up ... I think we'll be ready for them on Sunday. We got a first game under our belt and will be ready to go from there," Irwin said following the team's loss to Virginia.
And ready they were. Warner, who scored the first goal of the day at 32 minutes, 57 seconds with a penalty kick, was impressed with the performance of the Pilots.
"We came out in a different formation this time," Warner said. "We actually put Keith (Grubisich) in, number five, from the start, and he did a great job at right back. Before Michael (Nielsen) played that position so that allowed Michael to play right mid and he did a good job."
Improving the Pilot's overall performance, Warner felt the new formation helped with their attack.
Portland's formation also allowed sophomore defender Ryan Kawulok to score on a header at 45 minutes, 56 seconds assisted by freshman midfielder Ricardo Carrillo's corner kick.
The Billikens lone goal was also answered back. Within a minute, a goal in 81st minute by junior Ryan Luke secured the Pilot win.
"That was just a great feeling," Luke said. With the Billikens getting a goal back and pressure on the Pilots once more, "we really needed a crucial goal there to take the wind out of their sails."
Luke also said that the freshmen looked as if they had settled down and did a great job.
With the new formation, the Pilots showed great pass-and-go offense, breaking the Billikens defense down and moving the ball around well.
"We didn't make mistakes, or at least if we did ... we weren't punished for them," Irwin said. "The guys battled for 90 minutes and didn't give up much to the other team."
Bouncing back from Friday night, Irwin said, the team had four great goal opportunities and came away with three of them.
Although Saturday had been a light recovery day, according to Irwin, the team came together under the new formation and played well.
"We played two top ranked teams in the country and we're .500, so that's a good foundation," Irwin said.
