The men's soccer blog is back, and this year it's Alex Gatewood who has once again taken on blogging duties for the Pilots. Alex will check in now and then with updates on the Pilots, the season and life in general. Be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/GatewoodBlog to follow Alex and the Pilots all season long!
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012
Entry #1
Hello to all the Pilots out there and welcome back to the Pilots Men's Soccer Blog! There were several heated debates amongst the team concerning who would take on the herculean task of writing the blog for the 2012 season. However, after all of the clawing and growling I have emerged once again as the men's soccer liaison and loyal servant to Pilot Nation. If you didn't follow our team or the blog last season then let me catch you up to speed on how we do things around here. My name is Alex Gatewood, I am a redshirt-sophomore from Portland, Oregon, and last year I began on a journey of blog writing that took me places I could never imagine. Throughout the season I will be keeping you updated with the nitty gritty dirty secrets from within our team; the stuff you want to know, and probably some that you don't, but either way you will have the ultimate access to the life of a Portland Pilot Men's Soccer player.
I apologize for the timing of this initial 2012 season blog and hope my tardiness hasn't offended anyone but I must say, we have been very busy. The season began back in July when the entire squad returned to The Bluff for conditioning and captain's practices which rapidly moved into the beginning of preseason and full-on warfare in the 1-v-1 defending grids and other means of getting fit. The practices were rough and the days were long, but our coaching staff prepared us well for the season which was right around the corner. Fast forward a month and here we are now, flying home from Evansville, Indiana, and five games into the season. We return from a loss against Bradley University and a cancelled game with the University of Evansville. The cancellation occurred on Friday night when a mega-storm worthy of Mordor proportions rocked southwest Indiana. I haven't seen explosions in the sky like that since 'Nam. One might think an epic battle was being waged above our very heads between Thor and Zeus for domination of the skies. We made it out alive, but our match with the Evansville Aces got the axe. Our record now is 2-2-1, not the best possible scenario but one from which we can use to motivate ourselves to continue to work hard and fight to win the WCC and earn a place in the NCAA playoffs at the conclusion of the regular season. Our next action will be up in Seattle for the Husky Fever Classic, one of my favorite times of the year, where we will face Brown University and Seattle University. These next two games are big for us, and luckily we have two weeks to prepare. Remember that even though you may not be able to attend every one of our games, you can always support us on the road by streaming our games live. It's always nice to receive a text or tweet after a game with support and/or congratulations. Remember, we're all Pilots, and the support of the entire Pilot community drives us on. Speaking of, shout out to the Villa Drum Squad during our game at home against Cal State University Bakersfield. If I didn't know better I would've thought the Timbers Army was in the student section with all that noise. Keep it up guys, we appreciate it.
As always, we have some newcomers to the team this year, our beloved freshmen. In most college situations freshmen are received in different ways. If you're in the bookstore, freshmen suck. If you're in the cafeteria, who do these freshmen think they are? If you're out on the town, freshmen? Who needs 'um? However, when it comes to our team, we love the little rascals. Freshmen present a new opportunity. With a new freshmen class there are unlimited new opportunities for 'dumb freshmen' jokes, a plethora of ruthless nicknames, and more free meals on campus than one upperclassman can eat. This new batch hasn't disappointed. Currently, the new guys are getting used to being the pack mules on team trips and showering with everyone in the new locker room. Anyway, first there's Colby Trah, a kind and gentle lad from San Jose whose voice could be mistaken for a bland Ben Stein if you weren't careful. Then there is Hugo Rhoads, a dastardly clown from West Linn with a knack of asking questions and the kind of laugh that rubs you the wrong way when he beats you in a card game. Still, I love the guys and they fit well with the squad. I'll introduce all of the freshmen throughout the blogs this season and give them real introductions, but for now I'm tired of them. "Hey freshmen... go fetch me a towel!"
Recently, many people have asked me what our team does while we're on the road and I have been reluctant to give away our secrets for a successful road trip but I think it's time spill it all. Sorry to disappoint, but we are just normal guys who enjoy hanging out and eating good food. Sometimes though, when we're really lucky, something hilarious happens like what happened in front of Olive Garden on our most recent trip. After a gut-wrenching meal at Ginger Super Buffet, senior Keith Grubisich was walking with an ice cream cone, gloating about his ability to catch things in his mouth. It was here when Colin Anderson and Joe Sleven, tricksters in their own right, saw an opportunity to make a fool of a guy who probably deserves it the most out of anyone on the team. I now present to you, "Keith gets Owned by an Ice Cream Cone to the Neck." – A Joe Sleven production. Notice the laser beam of an ice cream cone that makes contact with Keith's neck as he tries to show off. If you see him on campus with a bruise don't let him pass it off for a hickie. You now know the truth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6T8o0tezFI&feature=plcp
See you next week Pilots.
