Portland Pilots keep closing teams down

Women have eight consecutive shutouts as they enter the NCAA

By jason vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Nov 23, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Corvallis High grad and UP center-back Kelli Cronkrite has helped keep the ball far from the Pilots’ net.

©2007 WILL CREW

It’s 750 minutes and counting for the University of Portland women’s soccer team.

The Pilots have posted eight consecutive shutouts – the last time they allowed a goal was in the 60th minute against Gonzaga on Oct. 13. That’s a record for the UP women: The 1995 Pilots had seven consecutive shutouts, and the 2006 team had six in a row.

“We all kind of know it, it’s in the back of our minds,” defender Emily Michaelson says. “But we try not to get caught up in the numbers. We’re playing really well defensively, and we have to keep it up.”

The Pilots (17-3) face Tennessee (15-4-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Merlo Field in the NCAA quarterfinals. The winner advances to the semifinals against UCLA or Virginia.

One goal could be the difference in any game.

“The ultimate goal is to not let the other team score, and to have one moment of brilliance where we put one away,” says forward Michelle Enyeart, UP’s leading scorer.

The Pilots barely have given opponents any opportunities to score. In the eight-game shutout streak, UP has allowed 33 shots – and only 12 on goal.

“It’s cool,” says Kelli Cronkrite, Michaelson’s center-back mate. “We’re going for four more shutouts.”

The defense of Michaelson and Cronkrite, along with the work of outside backs Stephanie Lopez and Jessica Tsao, doesn’t get all the credit because the Pilots dominate with good possession time and overall team defense.

“It’s not just the back players,” Michaelson says. “It’s a team-defense mentality. We pride ourselves on keeping possession.”

Michaelson, a four-year starter and 5-11 Jesuit High product, is known as a physical defender who wins balls in the air because of her height.

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