By Molly McSweyn |
The women’s soccer team, used to winning and garnering respect in the NCAA, finished out the 2014 season with less than ideal results.
The team experienced a big drop in league standings, more lost games than usual, and a broken streak of making it to the WCC playoffs.
The Pilots have garnered two national championships in the last 12 years (2002 and 2005). Until this year, the team has made it to the WCC playoffs every year since 2000. The Pilots also had an impressive 10-game winning streak last year. The program is geared toward producing players and teams that bring home championship titles.
Yet the team failed to find their rhythm all season long. They lost games against teams that they beat easily last year, including a 3-2 loss against UW, who they resoundingly beat 3-0 in the 2013 season. They dropped dramatically in the league’s ranks. They finished with a discouraging 6-9-3 overall record and finished sixth in the WCC.
Junior Noelle La Prevotte, who got an All-WCC Honorable mention for the third consecutive year, believes there is not one issue that led to the team’s difficult year.
“Its just a bunch of little factors that have played a big role to what was going to happen, but we knew it wasn't going to be easy from the beginning,” La Prevotte said.
Growing competitiveness in the WCC was one factor. The WCC had two teams finish the season that ranked in the top 15 nationally this year. Head Coach Garrett Smith also attributes several injuries, sickness and a lot of traveling for games to the team’s subpar performance.
“Right now we are out three, potentially four if Danica can’t play (she is nursing a recurring injury), players and thats 40 percent of your starting lineup and that's significant in any team,” Smith said.
The Pilots roster is also not full this year. The team lost eight seniors and three other players last year, altogether losing 11 players, or an entire field’s worth. The lack of experienced players made the transition into collegiate level play a harder one.
“We probably weren't as prepared going into the season as we should have been,” Smith said. “Things are more competitive throughout the country, and if you don’t show up ready right from the beginning, you can't say you're going to win a national championship.”
For seniors, even though the season was difficult, closing this chapter of soccer is bittersweet.
Emily Sipple is just one of the three seniors graduating this year and was named All-WCC Honorable Mention. She was named to the WCC All-American Team in the 2013 season, and she has continued to have an important role on the team, playing in 19 games this season.
“At the end of the day, we tried to play Portland soccer, and we cared more about performances rather than results,” Sipple said.
The team was able to end their season on a positive note, with a resounding 3-0 win over Gonzaga Nov. 8.
Regular season play is over, but the Pilots are already looking forward to spring soccer and putting this year behind them.
“They know they are representing this school and thats what this school’s about,” Smith said. “It’s not about today, its about the future.”
Molly McSweyn is a sports reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at mcsweyn18@up.edu.
