pilot women kick irish butt

took my girls to see their first soccer match friday night.

i am proud to say that i got four of the coveted sold-out-in-6-minutes tickets to see the pilot women play the fighting irish women to advance to the semifinals of the ncaa tournament.

what a game. up until the opening whistle, the weather was lousy. we drove home from the tacoma area in the worst possible weather, and we were certain we'd be drenched during the game. i know, i know, it isn't soccer unless it's raining, but when you have a wife and a 5-year-old with colds and coughs, you don't need to be sitting in the rain at night in 38-degree weather.

and then the gods of good weather held sway, and the game began under cloudy dry skies. oh, sure, it drizzled a couple of times during the game, but we couldn't have asked for better weather.

and what a game it was. annie (my 5-year-old) was oblivious to the game. oh, she had her fun, she stomped the bleachers when the crowd stomped the bleachers, and she generally had a great time. i bet she remembers nothing of the game itself--but then, she could prove me wrong. moira (my 11-year-old) was nothing but questions about the game all night. did she have a ball? oh, yeah.

and my wife? she had forgotten her coat, of all things. left it in yelm at her sister's house. thank god the rain stopped and we had blankets-aplenty.

best friday night we've had in a while. might even be better than harry potter. haven't seen it yet, but 105 minutes under the bright lights with 4,892 rabid screaming soccer fans is an experience my kids and i won't soon forget.

if only the next round were being played here.

pilots logo and photograph copyright © 2005 university of portland sports information office and americaneagle.com. used with permission. may not be reproduced or redistributed without the express written consent of the university of portland.

portland star striker christine sinclair,
who holds UP and west coast conference records
in career goals (108), career points (248),
single-season goals (37) (tie),
and single-season points (84),
and holds school records in career shots (451),
and career game-winners (38).