Portland senior defender Alex Kraus has taken on blogging duties for the men’s soccer team, and he’ll be checking in from time-to-time to give fans an in-depth look into the soccer program. Make sure to bookmark www.portlandpilots.com/KrausBlog and follow Kraus and the Pilots all season.
You can send Alex any questions, comments or feedback that you might have by clicking HERE ... Each week, Alex will select a few questions and/or comments to address.
PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRIES
• Entry #1 (Aug. 30, 2010)
• Entry #2 (Sept. 2, 2010)
• Entry #3 (Sept. 6, 2010)
• Entry #4 (Sept. 13, 2010)
• Entry #5 (Sept. 17, 2010)
• Entry #6 (Sept. 22, 2010)
• Entry #7 (Sept. 27, 2010)
• Entry #8 (Oct. 7, 2010)
• Entry #9 (Oct. 12, 2010)
• Entry #10 (Oct. 27, 2010)
• Entry #11 (Nov. 4, 2010)
Hello Pilots Fans,
At least we went out with a win.The win against eventual WCC champ Santa Clara last Friday night was in my opinion a pretty good encapsulation of what our season was like. We had the run of play throughout most of the game, controlling the possession with our passing ability and skill, yet something in our game just wasn’t clicking. This happened to us all season, where one game our finishing would be lacking, the next our marking would suffer a lapse and we would surrender an easy goal. Unfortunately, these mistakes can pile up in a season, and they simply piled up too much for us to warrant a bid into the NCAA tournament. For many, it was a sour end to our season that in the beginning held so much promise. There were a lot of what-ifs that can no longer be answered, namely, what-if we were able to score a solitary goal in games against San Diego and Northern Illinois or what-if we were able to hold on to 3 different leads against Denver. Frankly, so many of our performances this season left something to be desired, and we paid for it in the end by not getting enough results.
The game of soccer is one that elicits passion and frenzy, hope and desire, but is also unfair and unpredictable at times. However, that is probably why we love it so much. Unfortunately my official playing career is now over, but my heart-wrenching love affair with this game will endure forever. The younger guys on this team will learn from the mistakes that were made this season and grow, becoming stronger and building toward this program’s ultimate goal. They’ve already been told that they will work harder this spring than they ever have before and I’m sure that the results next year will be indicative of their efforts.
And last but not least, I want to thank you the fans for the support and motivation you have provided throughout the years. I have seen this program grow tremendously throughout my seemingly everlasting stay here on the bluff, and one of the main reasons we can be successful is because of y’all. I would however like to issue a challenge. I would like to see more effort from you. I want to see more people at UP Men’s soccer games. It gives players goose-bumps to see a full stadium and hear the roar of the crowd, and believe me, nothing is more intimidating to an opposing team or inspires the home team than to see a huge crowd. I’ve seen that big crowds on Merlo can happen, so I challenge you to give your best effort for us as well. We’re all pretty good guys, so give us the chance and hopefully the future generations will make it entertaining and worth your while.
Sincerely,
Alex Kraus #17
