Portland Pilots
Overall Rank: #43
Conference Rank: #4 West Coast Conference
Portland Team Page
Portland had a relatively bad season by their standards in 2011, finishing with a 9-10-2 overall record and just a 4-4-0 mark in conference play. It was not a spectacular team, but they managed to make the NCAA Tournament anyway. Once there, they knocked off Oregon State before falling to Florida State in the second round. With seven starters returning and a generally more experienced roster, Coach Garrett Smith should not have too much trouble guiding his Pilots back to the NCAA Tournament in 2012.
2011 Record: 9-10-2, 4-4-0
2011 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Garrett Smith
Strengths:
The Pilots defense may look a little different this year, but they should be better. The return of Kendall Johnson, who missed last season with an injury, will provide Portland with yet another experienced defender. Taylor Brooke started 16 games last season and will be the senior leader in the back. She is also not opposed to moving up and getting involved in the offense either. Lorielle McCluskie had a very promising freshman campaign and could develop into a staple in the back. At 5-8, McCluskie has nice size. Speaking of size, Sarah Bridges is another tough 5-8 defender. The heavy recruiting of quality defenders should give Coach Smith plenty of options and depth. Even if the defense does improve, the Pilots still need to create opportunities on the other side of the field. Micaela Capelle led the squad with seven assists last season and should again lead the attack. However, Portland needs more consistent play in the midfield and they should get it now that players like Ellen Parker and Michelle Cruz are a year older and a year wiser.
Weaknesses:
Danielle Foxhoven started all 21 games up front during her senior campaign and led Portland with eight goals. Amanda Frisbie was a great secondary striker and added six goals, but this is a team that needs to replace their primary scorer. Frisbie is the obvious candidate to do so, but watch out for Kaila Cameli. The 5-5 junior is an interesting option after scoring four goals in 18 appearances last season. But this is a team that failed to finish consistently and losing Foxhoven will not help. The other big loss is keeper Hailee DeYoung. Junior Erin Dees and sophomore Nichole Downing both started a couple games last season, but DeYoung was the obvious top keeper. Dees is the more experienced option and, at 5-10, has a lot of size in goal.
Final Projection:
This is a talented squad that failed to live up to their usually lofty expectations a year ago. On paper this season may not be a whole lot better than 2011, but if Dees is ready to develop into a quality goalie and the more experienced midfield can feed Micaela Capelle, Amanda Frisbie and Kaila Cameli, this is a team that can make vast improvements and compete for another West Coast Conference title and even make a serious run in November.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Amanda Frisbie, Junior, F, 6
Assists: Micaela Capelle, Junior, F, 7
Shots: Amanda Frisbie, Junior, F, 23
Saves: Erin Dees, Junior, GK, 13
