October 16, 2005

And now I return to the long debated monumentally important question: is a team still considered undefeated with a tie on their record? Technically, having only wins and ties does mean that a team hasn't lost any games, but in having a tie on their record, it also means they haven't won all their games, either. So are they still undefeated? And who is it that officially decides these issues, anyway? Does the E.U. have a sports division?

#1 ranked University of Portland (women's soccer) played #10 Pepperdine today, and the game ended in a tie. This brings UP's season record to 14 wins 0 losses and 1 tie. One bleepin' tie. Which is why I'm revisiting the definition of undefeated question. According to UP, the NCAA, and sports media, UP is still considered undefeated (although some are referring to it as unbeaten), but if that's the case, why is the tie so freakin disappointing?

Not that I want UP to lose their undefeated status, and I'm certainly not knocking a 14-0-1 record (teams in any sport would love to have that record), I'm just anal retentive about these things. And disappointed. It could be said that you're a very spoiled fan to be upset about all wins and 1 tie, but UP will lose their number one ranking because of this. There's still one other undefeated team (Penn State) and they have a perfect record with no ties (15-0-0). But that tells you how insanely good this league is, that being undefeated still isn't enough to make you #1.

But, there was some good news today as well. UP's one goal was scored by Christine Sinclair, making it the 16th consecutive game she's scored in, and that breaks the NCAA record for consecutive games with a goal. Rah!

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