CCIW

Started by Mr. Ypsi, September 04, 2009, 08:57:08 PM

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Gregory Sager

Well, the Vikings gacked one in Kenosha tonight, ending up on the wrong end of a 3-2 score. I only saw the tail end of the first half and the entire second half, and it looked to me that Carthage played with more urgency and was much more aggressive on the ball than NPU was. The Red Men were particularly good at working the right flank, as they victimized the Vikings there twice in the second half, once forcing a corner that they generated into a goal and once via a run-of-play goal in the 83rd minute that proved to be the game-winner. Other than the two stretches in which the Vikings patiently set up the ball in the forward end and methodically threaded passes until they got the open shot they were looking for that found the back of the net, I thought that Carthage outworked NPU. You'd never know from watching them tonight that the Red Men were a .500 team, but they get up for NPU every time and the Vikings just never seem to match their passion. Now the Vikings have to find that same sense of urgency over the final six matches, because they've run out of slack on the rope.

One consolation was the return to action of Niclas Holgersson after missing a month to a pulled hamstring. His goal in the 49th minute off of an Olsen assist was a thing of beauty.

The other consolation is that North Central lost tonight at home, as Logan Servin struck a goldie in the 99th minute to give Illinois Wesleyan the 1-0 overtime win at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

The other contest tonight was an easy 3-0 victory for Carroll over St. Mary's up in Winona, MN.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

North Park got the bad taste of Wednesday's loss out of its mouth, as the Vikings cruised past Illinois Wesleyan at Hedstrand Field, 4-0. Peder Olsen collected his second hat trick of the season and is now all alone in second place in the nation in goals with 16, two behind Max Busch of Bethany Lutheran, He's also second in points with 36, again trailing Busch by two. NPU improves to 9-4, 3-1, while IWU falls to 5-7, 1-2.

Elmhurst fell from first place to third tonight, as the Bluejays gave up a goal midway through overtime to Bradyn Nokes and fell at home to Millikin, 2-1. Elmhurst is now 8-5-1, 2-1, while the Big Blue move up to 5-5-1, 1-2.

North Central kept pace with NPU with a 3-1 victory at home over Carroll. The Cardinals are now 8-4-1, 3-1 on the year, while the Pios drop to 7-5, 0-3.

Finally, Wheaton and Augustana played to a scoreless draw at Thorson-Lucken Field this evening. Regardless of the fact that the game was at Augie, Wheaton has to be kicking itself tonight; Augie's typically considered to be easy pickin' in this league, so not getting the win must feel like a lost opportunity for DeClute's boys to keep pace in the standings. Augie is still at the break-even mark in league play -- probably for as late as it's ever been in the Mick Regan era -- and is now 3-4-1, 1-1-1. Wheaton is now 7-4-2, 1-2-1.

Last night, Carthage coughed up all of the momentum it picked up from Wednesday's upset win by dropping a home match to UW-Platteville, 1-0. I watched the second half, and the Red Men definitely reverted to looking pretty ordinary. Carthage stands at 7-7 on the season.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

#1203
Peder Olsen banged home a diagonal feed from Ulrik Lund after Elmhurst GH Donnie Kvien had failed to secure the ball subsequent to stopping a Shatil Khoury shot, allowing NPU to beat the 'jays just 40 seconds into overtime, 1-0, in Elmhurst. NPU dominated the match, outshooting the 'jays 17 (7) to 4 (1), but towards the end of regulation the Vikings looked frustrated and sloppy while Elmhurst was clearly energized to be in an anything-can-happen situation that could lead to a possible upset -- yet the 'jays never really got a good look at the net at all, as NPU played airtight defense. The goal makes Olsen D3's total points leader with 39, and brings him within a goal of national leader Max Busch of Bethany Lutheran, who has 18 to Olsen's 17.

North Park is now 10-4 on the season. This clinches 20 consecutive winning seasons and 17 consecutive double-digit-win seasons for NPU, both by far the longest current streaks in the CCIW in those categories. The Vikings are 4-1 in CCIW play, staying in a tie for first with North Central. Elmhurst drops to 8-6-1, 2-2.

North Central kept pace with the Vikings with a 2-1 win at Carthage via a brace of Spencer Wiese strikes. NCC is now 9-4-1, 4-1, while Carthage falls to 7-8, 2-2.

Wheaton prevailed over Carroll at Schneider Stadium this evening, 3-1, behind a pair of Silas Galvao tallies. Wheaton is now 8-4-2, 2-2-1 and part of that massive logjam in the middle of the standings, while the Pios drop to 7-6, 0-4.

Finally, Illinois Wesleyan blitzed visiting Augustana at Neis Field tonight, 4-1, as Patrick Hickey scored two goals. IWU is now 6-7, 2-2 and joins Carthage, Elmhurst, and Wheaton in that tightly-packed bunch in the middle, while Augie is now 3-5-2, 1-2-1.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

A couple of mild surprises in the CCIW today. Augustana shut out Millikin, 2-0, at Thorson-Lucken Field today as the hosts got a brace of second-half goals from Matthew Allen. Augie is now 4-5-2, 2-2-1, and that CCIW mark is certainly something unexpected from a program that's been a punching bag over the past few seasons. Millikin, from whom bigger things were expected in 2019, drops to 5-6-1, 1-3 on the campaign.

And Team Rollercoaster is definitely back down in the trough again, as Carthage fell on the road at Illinois Wesleyan by an eye-opening 3-0 score. The Titans are now looking good in the race for a CCIW tourney spot at 7-7, 3-2 for the season, while the Red Men are in serious danger of missing the CCIW tourney altogether a year after winning it; they are now 7-9, 2-3.

Elmhurst made a couple of Keegan Thompson goals stand up in a 2-1 victory at Langhorst over Carroll. Elmhurst extends to 9-6-1, 3-2, and is likewise in good shape in the CCIW tourney race, while Carroll continues to play out the string; the Pios are now 7-7, 0-5.

Finally, in the lone non-con match of the day, Wheaton used a goal late in the first half by Ryan Melgar to push past UW-Whitewater, 1-0. That's a good win for Wheaton (9-4-1), since the Warhawks entered the match sporting a gaudy 12-2-1 record in '19.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

North Park topped UW-Whitewater tonight at Hedstrand Field, 2-1, in a contest that wasn't as close as the score indicated. NPU outshot UWW by 21 (11) to 4 (2), and the Vikings had the run of play throughout. The Warhawks did break through with sort of an odd-looking goal in the 74th minute -- the Vikings' 6'2 freshman CB Runar Berg-Domaas, who had scored his first career goal earlier in the match by heading home a Gianfranco DeCarne corner kick, landed on someone's foot after going up for a ball in the air and crumpled to the turf. A UWW player then sailed in the ball right over Berg-Domaas's prone body to the edge of the crease, where it was redirected via header into the back of the net. But UWW never really got much of a push to equalize, as the NPU defense wouldn't let the Warhawks get another shot on frame all night. Good to see NPU's Abu Secka finally get back in action again after a long hiatus on the injured list. The Vikings, who are ranked #3 in the region in today's first NCAA regional poll, are now 11-4.

North Central pulled a half-game ahead of North Park in the win column by beating Elmhurst this evening at Benedetti-Wehri Stadium, 2-0, as the Cardinals made a pair of early goals stand up. NCC is now 10-4-1, 5-1 heading into the huge showdown this Saturday in Chicago between the Cardinals and Vikings that will give one of those two teams the clear path to the CCIW championship. NCC was ranked #7 in the Central Region in today's inaugural NCAA poll. Elmhurst (9-7-1, 3-3) falls to fifth place, but the Bluejays still hold their destiny in their own hands, since they face fourth-place Illinois Wesleyan (which was idle tonight) on the last night of the regular season a week from Saturday.

Wheaton is positioning itself well for a CCIW tourney berth, as the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance posted an impressive 3-0 victory over Millikin down in Decatur. Wheaton is 10-4-2, 3-2-1, while Millikin is in total free-fall at 5-7-1, 1-4. Wheaton came in at #5 in today's NCAA regional poll. Apparently the .020 advantage that Wheaton enjoys over NCC in strength of schedule more than cancels out the fact that the Cardinals beat their DuPage County neighbors three weeks ago at Joe Bean Stadium.

Augustana continues to impress, as Regan's boys posted a nice 3-1 non-con home win over UW-Platteville. Augie is now 5-5-2 and is very much alive in the CCIW tourney picture.

And the big shocker of the night came down on the South Side, as Carthage utilized a long strike from Jerry Patino in the 72nd minute to tie Chicago at Stagg Field, 1-1. The Maroons came into the match ranked second in the Central Region behind Calvin in today's NCAA poll, and in terms of the national weekly polls they were #3 in one and #4 in the other. The Red Men (7-9-1) just seem to have an uncanny knack for the unexpected, issuing results or very close losses against top-notch teams while seemingly phoning it in for losses to some very ordinary teams.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Ommadawn

Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 24, 2019, 12:08:32 AM
The Red Men (7-9-1) just seem to have an uncanny knack for the unexpected, issuing results or very close losses against top-notch teams while seemingly phoning it in for losses to some very ordinary teams.

I was going to comment along the lines of "is it just me or does Carthage seem to get up for their games against strong opponents better than most teams?" But you captured my thoughts far more eloquently.  I don't tune into Carthage games very often (usually only when they play high profile programs like Wheaton, North Park, Chicago, etc.), but they always seem to compete well in those games.  What do you think accounts for their "uncanny knack"?

Gregory Sager

#1207
It's psychological and subjective, Ommadawn, but my read is that Carthage is a team that has a very passionate makeup to it. That's not always the character of a Red Men side, but it frequently is. They typically get very geeked up for matches against big rivals and/or national powers in a way that a Chicago or a North Park or a Wheaton doesn't, and that passion works in their favor, giving them an extra gear without causing them to play sloppier. But it's very hard to tap into that every time that you take the pitch. You can't always fool yourself into thinking that a contest against a team from the Midwest Conference or a late-season opponent sitting at .500 such as UW-Platteville is going to be one of the biggest games in which you've ever played -- and you don't get that extra gear.

Often, Carthage is so good that it doesn't need the extra gear. This season, however, the team's down just slightly enough from last season that it really needs it, although the 3-0 embarrassment that the Red Men suffered at Illinois Wesleyan last Saturday is a true rarity in that the Red Men are very seldom so completely flat that they don't even compete against a relatively ordinary team like the Titans.

In sports they sometimes call this "playing to the level of their competition," but that's just a cliché that gets tossed around offhandedly without any further explanation. Having watched a bunch of the Red Men's matches this season, in their case I think that "playing to the level of their competition" can be explained by the team's psychological makeup. I read it in the collective demeanor of the Red Men on the pitch -- body and facial language, how hard they foul, the jawing that they do at their opponents and at the refs, their reactions to plays. This season, they need that passion more than usual, because they aren't quite as good as they were last season and because their schedule -- #25 in the nation, according to Massey -- has been more brutal than in years past.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

Speaking of Massey, this is where Ken's computer has CCIW teams ranked among the 419 teams in D3 after last night's matches:

  26. North Park
  53. Wheaton
  57. North Central
  90. Carthage
  93. Illinois Wesleyan
143. Elmhurst
177. Millikin
186. Augustana
211. Carroll
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Ommadawn

Quote from: Gregory Sager on October 24, 2019, 11:30:28 AM
It's psychological and subjective, Ommadawn, but my read is that Carthage is a team that....

Thank you for your thoughtful analysis, Mr. Sager!  I appreciate your taking the time to explain why you think Carthage plays the way they do.  I imagine that the coaches and supporters of the team might desire a more consistent level of performance over the course of the season, but it's a plus to know the squad is able to compete toe-to-toe with the big dogs!

Gregory Sager

In a match that everyone present will remember as much for the fact that it was played in a monsoon (which included a 15-minute lightning delay) as for the final outcome, North Park outlasted North Central, 2-1, to claim sole possession of first place and step onto the threshold of a third straight CCIW title. The defense of the Cards was as stingy as advertised for the most part, as only six of NPU's 23 shots were put on frame and the Vikings really had very few good looks all evening. But Marco Soto, who is a great bet to win first-team All-CCIW honors at goalkeeper, made a fatal mistake in the opening minute of the second half on a short pass to one of his defenders that NPU's Gianfranco DeCarne jumped and stole. DeCarne's first shot from about eight yards out was stoned by Soto, but struck with such pace and at such a short distance that Soto couldn't secure the ball, allowing DeCarne to score on the rebound. The Cardinals did manage to score in the 62nd minute when Alexis Flores bagged a penalty-kick goal, which flipped the match a bit. The Vikings had possessed for probably 80-85% of the match up to that point, but the Cardinals made a solid push forward to get the equalizer, which the Vikings met rather passively. But NCC only got one more shot on goal in the final 27 minutes -- it was well-struck, but Mathias Stulen made a solid punch save on it -- and the Vikings managed to wait out the clock for the win.

Illinois Wesleyan brought itself one step closer to landing a CCIW tourney bid by defeating Carroll up in Waukesha, 2-1. In the QC, Elmhurst spotted host Augie an early goal but then dominated the rest of the way, winning 3-1 as the Bluejays kept their destiny in their own hands. And Carthage kept its hopes alive by knocking off Millikin, 1-0, at Lindsey Field in Decatur.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager


team  CCIW  overall  Wed  Sat
North Park  5-1  12-4  vs. Carroll  @ Wheaton
North Central  5-2  10-5-1  vs. Augustana  vs. UW-Platteville
Illinois Wesleyan  4-2    8-7  vs. Millikin  vs. Elmhurst
Elmhurst  4-3  10-7-1  vs. Knox*  @ Illinois Wesleyan
Wheaton  3-2-1  10-4-2  vs. Carthage  vs. North Park
Carthage  3-3    8-9-1  @ Wheaton  vs. Augustana
Augustana  2-3-1    5-6-2  @ North Central  @ Carthage
Millikin  1-5    5-8-1  @ Illinois Wesleyan  @ Carroll
Carroll  0-6    7-8  @ North Park  vs. Millikin

* Tuesday instead of Wednesday
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Christan Shirk

CENTRAL REGION - NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS - October 30, 2019

Rank

School
. Div. III .
Record
. Div. III .
SOS

 . R-v-R .
. Overall .
Record
. Prev. .
Rank
1.
Calvin
16-1-0
0.582
4-1-0
17-1-0
1
2.
Chicago
8-1-5
0.661
4-1-3
8-1-5
2
3.
North Park
12-4-0
0.611
2-3-0
12-4-0
3
4.
Kalamazoo
8-3-2
0.594
3-2-0
9-3-2
4
5.
North Central (Ill.)
10-5-1
0.591
2-2-0
10-5-1
7
6.
Wheaton (Ill.)
10-4-2
0.590
1-3-1
10-4-2
5
7.
Hope
12-5-0
0.573
1-4-0
12-5-0
6
Christan Shirk
Special Consultant and Advisor
D3soccer.com

Gregory Sager

The only change is North Central moving up from 7th to 5th -- and in a week in which the Cardinals lost, no less.

Of course, it's all about RvR being introduced for the first time this season with the second poll. That's why Wheaton and Hope dropped while going 1-0 and 2-0 last week, respectively, while NCC picked up two spots despite going 1-1. Sometimes a loss to a somebody is better than a win over a nobody.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

#1214
North Park pulled off an aesthetically unsatisfying but thorough 2-1 win tonight over a doughty Carroll side to clinch at least a share of the third straight CCIW title for the Vikings, as well as the top seed in next week's CCIW tourney. For the third straight match the Vikings pulled out to a 2-0 lead, coughed up a goal, and then rode out the end of the match by putting ten men behind the ball and just firing out one long ball after another -- a style with which the Vikings don't seem either suited or comfortable, although it has obviously worked in all three 2-1 victories.

Two of NPU's freshmen, Niclas Holgersson and William Sandkvist, scored on well-executed plays within 20 yards of the Carroll net, but the Vikings were stymied on numerous other good opportunities, as Carroll hardly touched the ball at all for the first 70 minutes of the match. The lone Pios goal came off of a long kick that was well targeted onto Julius Marx, who beat a defender who leaned the wrong way and then slipped a shot over GK Edin Sabovic's head. (Mathias Stulen was given the night off.) That was really the only solid opportunity Carroll had until they started pushing forward with seven or even eight men up top every time that the ball wound up in NPU's end, and it almost paid dividends in the 72nd minute when Sabovic had to knock away a good strike sent in by CU's Ricky Perez. Two Perez corner kicks later, he found himself with the ball 15 yards out and Sabovic off his line, giving Perez an entire side of the net open, but his shot at 72:35 went wide right by about a yard. Despite their pressure, Carroll never really had another good chance after that. The Pioneers played as well as they possibly could tonight, the Vikings were lackluster, and the wet and windy weather was a bit of an equalizer, but the gap between the two teams is so wide that NPU still prevailed without it being too much of a headache.

The really good contest of the night was played at Joe Bean Stadium, where Wheaton and Carthage fought to a 2-2 draw. I watched the final ten minutes of regulation and both overtimes on a computer in the NPU press box, and, let me tell you, that was the most exciting half-hour of soccer that I've seen all season. Just end-to-end action with little or no midfield play at all, with both Niko Mavrogiannis of Carthage and Hasten Biddlecome of Wheaton coming up with one great save after another, and at one point in the second overtime a Wheaton defender had to go into his own net and clear the ball off of the line. A ridiculous 58 shots were fired in this one, with each team getting 29; the Red Men put 18 of theirs on frame to WC's eight. The Red Men also played a man down for the last 2:51 of the second extra stanza after Nicholas Massineo was sent off with a red card for slugging a Wheaton player in the face -- kudos to the Wheaton kid for not retaliating -- but it hardly made a difference, as Carthage was actually on the attack as the game finally came to an end. Once again, the Red Men proved themselves to be the fiery bunch that gave a ranked opponent fits, and again they rode that flow of emotion well enough to get a result out of it. It will be interesting to see which Carthage team shows up at Keller Field on Saturday to face Augie in the regular-season finale with the Red Men's faint hopes of a tourney berth still alive, especially since they will be missing a key player in Massineo.

North Central clinched the second seed with a 6-1 pasting of Augustana at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium tonight, as Alexis Flores picked up two more goals to give him 10 on the season.

Last night, Illinois Wesleyan set itself up in a good situation to claim a tourney berth by taking down Millikin, 4-2, in Bloomington behind a pair of Patrick Hickey goals. And Elmhurst dropped a 2-1 decision to Knox in Galesburg.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell