University of portland article

[Unregistered]

Ouch. That's not good for UP or FC Portland.



"But Smith's squad is hurting for recruits, aggression and confidence. The Pilots are now fueled by the best players at FC Portland, not the best of Canada or California.

This storied program is leaking nostalgia, not optimism, a disheartening turn."

How do they right the ship?

[Unregistered]

Again, you comment on about five different threads bad mouthing fcp. You obviously feel threatened. Don't be. There will alway be some parents that don't know better and take their daughters to westside. Unless, did westside finally give up trying to have a girls side?

Did Westside ever have a girls program?

[Unregistered]

How do they right the ship?

Start over with new staff.

[Unregistered]

Start over with new staff.

Agree. They still have amazing talent.

[Unregistered]

Agree. They still have amazing talent.

good talent. Amazing talent is at Stanford, Florida State, Virginia and UNC. These schools only get national players.

For U of P to be competitive they need to:

1) do a better job of recruiting. They need to really get to know the player and uncover the late blooming or developing diamonds. You want to make sure there are NO duds in your recruiting class. Get girls with grit and heart.

2) Change the staff for a quality coach. Again find the diamond. A good coach is not necessarily a national experienced coach (Kat Mertz) or an asst. that is riding the coat tails (Garrett Smith) of a legend or an Asst at a successful program. I believe the diamonds are those coaches that are having success at the D2 and NAIA level. Why would you want a coach that washed out of a D1 program?

3) Secure you best in state talent. If you can't go out of state. CA preferably or other states.

4) Carry a roster of about 25. Make sure the 25 are quality and give them minutes.

[Unregistered]

Did Westside ever have a girls program?

Good point, they had a couple of good teams over the last decade. Those are long gone now.

WST T/S has some mediocre young teams, but those just made up of angry girls that hit puberty at 10. They fade pretty quickly.

[Unregistered]

Good point, they had a couple of good teams over the last decade. Those are long gone now.

WST T/S has some mediocre young teams, but those just made up of angry girls that hit puberty at 10. They fade pretty quickly.

You don't fire a guy with this success. I think he just needs to change the way he recruits. Maybe need to recruit earlier and spend a lot of time looking at CA ECNL players rather than FC Portland players.

Smith has advanced the team to the NCAA quarterfinals six years, highlighted by an undefeated 2005 national championship season. He has posted a 193-38-17 (.813) career record as head coach, including a remarkable 65-9-7 (.846) mark in the West Coast Conference, and he’s claimed seven WCC crowns.

The Pilots, who have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals six times under Smith’s guidance, have registered four 20-win seasons during the past 10 years. Smith earned National Coach of the Year honors from FieldTurf in ‘07, his second such honor after claiming the Soccer Times National Coach of the Year award in 2005. Smith has also been named the WCC Coach of the Year six times.

[Unregistered]

You don't fire a guy with this success. I think he just needs to change the way he recruits. Maybe need to recruit earlier and spend a lot of time looking at CA ECNL players rather than FC Portland players.

Smith has advanced the team to the NCAA quarterfinals six years, highlighted by an undefeated 2005 national championship season. He has posted a 193-38-17 (.813) career record as head coach, including a remarkable 65-9-7 (.846) mark in the West Coast Conference, and he’s claimed seven WCC crowns.

The Pilots, who have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals six times under Smith’s guidance, have registered four 20-win seasons during the past 10 years. Smith earned National Coach of the Year honors from FieldTurf in ‘07, his second such honor after claiming the Soccer Times National Coach of the Year award in 2005. Smith has also been named the WCC Coach of the Year six times.

You think people on this forum are interested in facts? No, they'll believe an article by a non sports writer like Mr. Duin as gospel. Just look at all the posts since.

[Unregistered]

You think people on this forum are interested in facts? No, they'll believe an article by a non sports writer like Mr. Duin as gospel. Just look at all the posts since.

Grant Lundy to replace Smith? He's the most decorated coach in Oregon right now. Some people are calling for him to replace Mertz in the other forum.

[Unregistered]

Ouch. That's not good for UP or FC Portland.



"But Smith's squad is hurting for recruits, aggression and confidence. The Pilots are now fueled by the best players at FC Portland, not the best of Canada or California.

This storied program is leaking nostalgia, not optimism, a disheartening turn."




Teams have ups and downs. This is not Manchester United. You don't fire the coach for a lull, unless you have other reasons.

[Unregistered]

The current roster has 6 players from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had 7 from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had many more from California, but the current roster has more from outside of OR-WA-CA. As far as I know, the level of play in Germany, Denmark, Georgia, Michigan, Kansas, and Colorado is just as strong as in California.

My theory for the decline is simply that competition in womens college soccer has become more intense. Even Anson Dorrance's win% has been on a decline recently. So has Jerry Smith's at Santa Clara. As a long time fan of the Pilots, I hope it's a blip rather than a major shift. But I'll still enjoy watching them play even if the past two seasons continue.

[Unregistered]

The current roster has 6 players from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had 7 from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had many more from California, but the current roster has more from outside of OR-WA-CA. As far as I know, the level of play in Germany, Denmark, Georgia, Michigan, Kansas, and Colorado is just as strong as in California.

My theory for the decline is simply that competition in womens college soccer has become more intense. Even Anson Dorrance's win% has been on a decline recently. So has Jerry Smith's at Santa Clara. As a long time fan of the Pilots, I hope it's a blip rather than a major shift. But I'll still enjoy watching them play even if the past two seasons continue.

Agree, but think more can be done to get better. Dont think changing GS would help as he seems like a strong coach to me. Maybe he needs more help with his staff. Bring in a assistant with National Team ties, get some of the past greats to help recruit.

Just to sit iddly by and say "yeah times have changed but wasnt the past great" doesnt seem ok to me.

[Unregistered]

The current roster has 6 players from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had 7 from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had many more from California, but the current roster has more from outside of OR-WA-CA. As far as I know, the level of play in Germany, Denmark, Georgia, Michigan, Kansas, and Colorado is just as strong as in California.

My theory for the decline is simply that competition in womens college soccer has become more intense. Even Anson Dorrance's win% has been on a decline recently. So has Jerry Smith's at Santa Clara. As a long time fan of the Pilots, I hope it's a blip rather than a major shift. But I'll still enjoy watching them play even if the past two seasons continue.

There are more talented players in CA than CO, MI, Georgia and KS combined. The population lends itself to that. I'm not saying there aren't talented players in those states because there are but there are just more in CA.

[Unregistered]

The current roster has 6 players from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had 7 from the Greater Portland area. The 2005 roster had many more from California, but the current roster has more from outside of OR-WA-CA. As far as I know, the level of play in Germany, Denmark, Georgia, Michigan, Kansas, and Colorado is just as strong as in California.

My theory for the decline is simply that competition in womens college soccer has become more intense. Even Anson Dorrance's win% has been on a decline recently. So has Jerry Smith's at Santa Clara. As a long time fan of the Pilots, I hope it's a blip rather than a major shift. But I'll still enjoy watching them play even if the past two seasons continue.

Jerry Smith's said at an ID camp that they have declined and it's partially his fault because he did not get on the early recruiting band wagon that Stanford, UNC, FL State and the other powers are on. 2019's are going off the board now. Crazy.....crazy. But if you wait around and out about how this is all wrong, all the blue chip players are gone.

[Unregistered]

Agree, but think more can be done to get better. Dont think changing GS would help as he seems like a strong coach to me. Maybe he needs more help with his staff. Bring in a assistant with National Team ties, get some of the past greats to help recruit.

Just to sit iddly by and say "yeah times have changed but wasnt the past great" doesnt seem ok to me.

Don't you think that it is possible that the sport has evolved and the coach has not? It happens in all sports. If the coach is taking the same approach that use to always work but no longer seems to work then.. I don't know perhaps they should try something different. Personally, I don't think it is a talent issue.