Men's season preview came out recently.
http://www.miacathletics.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/releases/082714_MSOC_Preview_2014
2014 MIAC Men's Soccer
Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank Institution Total
1. Gustavus (7) 90
2. Carleton (2) 86
3. St. Thomas (1) 80
4. St. Olaf (1) 68
5. Saint John's 65
6. Augsburg 57
7. Macalester 52
8. Concordia 34
9. Bethel 30
10. Hamline 29
11. Saint Mary's 14
The MIAC preseason rankings look pretty accurate.
GAC should be the top team in the MIAC this season. I don't see their record being as good as last year in conference play, mostly because it is impossible. GAC is stacked upfront and in the midfield, their only rebuilding area is in the back. Emerson, Schultz, and Schwab all gave the Gusties decent minutes with Emerson really turning up his quality of play at the end of the season. The backline will need to gel early for the Gusties to turn a very good season into a great season. Brett Ylonen will be entering his fourth season as starter for GAC between the pipes which will certainly help keep the GAC backline in check. GAC has up to 5 players on this seasons team (Lilly, Brown, Tollefsrud, Adams, and Ylonen) that are All-Region caliber. I believe this GAC team has enough talent to make a run to the Sweet 16, maybe further if they figure things out in the back early in the season. This GAC team has about 7-8 players that should be logging 75 minutes a game but Coach Middleton likes to use his subs and show his teams depth. That is all fine and dandy in some of the easier games and it helps to keep your team fresh for late in the year but GAC really needs to give these key players longer minutes in the bigger games.
I am not 100% convinced that CarlEton will be in the top 4 by the end of the season. McGarrity will give them a scoring threat in every game they play, and Thompson-Moylin is a solid CB so they could be squeak into the MIAC playoffs if those two carry the load this season.
I had the opportunity to play against Saint Thomas in one of their preseason games, they are young and talented. They had a decent recruiting class as well as a couple of transfers that should make an immediate impact. Stockman-Willis in the middle of the field is a difference maker, as long as he can keep his head. I could see the Tommies finising as high as 2nd this year.
Can't complain with the rankings at all. Carleton and GAC have been the class of the MIAC for the last 3-4 years and you'd have to expect them to be in and around the top 2 come November. I still can't get over the amount of love UST gets year after year, only to repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot and choke come October/November. Only once in the playoffs since '07...and no Rapisarda as well. Northfield's other school has to rebound with no Rosenthal/Kenzieeeeeeeeeeeee, so Skrip has a lot of pressure to produce. Saint John's is a sleeper for me at the 5 spot with a lot of talent, even though the Coborn loss seems pretty massive.
6 teams make the playoffs. Which, in my opinion, is just ridiculous. A 4-4-3 (#3 in preseason poll...lolz) St. Thomas team and a 5-5 (FIVE WINS and FIVE LOSSES!! THEY LOST FIVE TIMES) Augsburg team sneak into the playoffs. Is that what the league is going to come down to at the end of the day? Beat St. Mary's/Concordia/Hamline/Bethel and that puts you three points away from potentially being in the NCAA tournament. Pathetic. And it's a real blow to the 3rd/4th place teams who have to play two games in two days, giving those top seeds a real advantage. I understand other conferences use the 6 team playoff, but I really think it devalues the regular season to have such mediocrity get a shot at the postseason. Would love to hear what others think about that...
GG, you talk about Carleton like they barely did anything last year, when them and Gustavus, at the end of day, finished with almost the exact same endpoint (MIAC champions, quietly whimpering away to Westminster, etc :( )The Karlies will be right up there at the end of the year per usual, and it helps that GAC's season can't get any better than it did last year. A half-fit McGattity and they still got a MIAC championship last year so imagine if he's healthy (26 points in 2013 to 2012's 42 points). Backline is old enough with some good experience amongst the back four and the underrated Keenan Smith in goal. If they can replace the 18 points that Corcoran provided them from other players on the team, they are right up there for the title come November. Or maybe they finish 5-5 and rest their starters for the entire season and make the playoffs, because apparently that's a thing now.
2014 predictions:
1. Carleton
2. GAC
3. SJU
4. Tommies
(participation awards go to...)
5. Northfield's other school
6. Dogsburg
Looks like the Duhawks are going to run the MIAC gauntlet this season. Playing 3 of the top 4 teams. Still no GAC match up in the regular season. Maybe they are destined to meet in the NCAA's like we all thought was going to happen last season.
Will be attending the Augsburg @ Wheaton game this evening. Wheaton looks to be pretty stacked this year, so I will be very interested to see how a predicted middle of the pack MIAC team stacks up. Should shed some light on the overall strength of the MIAC.
GAC over Carroll 3-1, shots 16-7. Good way to kick off the season!
de ja vu of last year with gustavus vs wartburg yikes speed kills i guess
Looks to have been a bit of a debacle for GAC. Change in formation thru the middle of the field, an all region GK on the bench, All American forward coming on as a sub? Not sure what is going on in St Peter...
I would expect this type of tactic against a lower level team, but unless there are some injuries, why would you mess with your line up against a quality opponents?
if the all american you were talking about was zach brown i heard he is dealing with a quad injury?
Looking at the box score from the GAC v Wartburg match it would seem that GAC would have come out on top. GAC seriously outshot the Knights and convincingly won the corner kick battle leading me to believe the play was in the Wartburg end the majority of the match. Wartburg looks to have been very aggressive by the foul count and the amount of cards including a Red Card for Wartburg in the 89th minute. was this a chippy tilt or an isolated scuffle?
Knightrider23, sorry about the confusion on CarlEton squeezing into the playoffs. I completely forgot that 6 teams got in this year, which is very unfortunate. The CarlE's should make the playoffs this year as a 4 or 5 seed in my opinion.
GAC's loss to Wartburg is unfortunate but it's not a bad loss. I would think if these teams met 10 times GAC would probably win 6 or 7 of the matches. The one thing I have noticed about the GAC teams over the past few years is they are content with having possession and they show no urgency to put the ball in the net. This team has the attacking talent to make things happen, hopefully they utilize what they have this season because they will be losing a lot of scoring threat heading into next... Also, uncertain what is going on with Ylonen not playing the last two games. Injury????
We've seen this before though. Wartburg's speed can make them be able to bunker in and endure hits and wait for a perfect time to counter with blazing speed. I'm willing to bet that half of their goals were breakaways just off the counter.
Loras, on the other hand, prefers to play more direct with the ball. Just like Wartburg, they've found what works for them and found a way to be really good at it.
The Wartburg vs. GA game, while I couldn't stream it, seemed to show the live stat updates having a lot of GA's shots going high. Now, should GA start hitting those shots on frame, and the GK starts giving up rebounds or the shots go in, then it could've been a very different game.
Solid weekend for the Gusties with a 3-0 W over CSS and 1-0 W in OT over UWO.
Looking forward to the start of conference play this week. STO, the Thommies and GAC appear to be coming out of the opening non-conference schedules as the teams to beat in the conference. CarlEton maybe the biggest surpirse with a sluggish 2-3 start to the year. I will be very interested to see how they come out against the Gustavus on Wednesday afternoon.
Nice start to the season for GAC with a record of 6-2. Unfortunately for GAC they had a lead in both games they lost. Hopefully they are able to hold onto leads as the season progresses into conference play. GAC has played 4 teams that made the NCAA tournament last year (Carroll, Wartburg, CSS, and UWO) going 3-1 in those contests.
GAC seems to be playing with keepers splitting time each game (45mins. each) which is interesting. Hopefully by the time the crunch time games come around they have figured out which keeper will be leading them.
The MIAC race should be a good one this season (as it always is).
I was curious about the GK situation. Interesting that the 2 seniors are splitting time now when for the last 3 years one was a clear cut starter...
Seems very strange as an outsider looking in.
The MIAC regular season opens up today.
CarlEton @ GAC: 1-3 to the Gusties in this one.
MAC @ UST: 0-2 UST
Hamline @ SJU: 1-4 SJU
St. Olaf @ Bethel: 2-0 Oles
SMU @ Augsburg: 0-3 Auggies.
CarlEton @ GAC: 0-2 Gustavus with the win. CarlEton's struggles to score continue
MAC @ UST: 1-0 MAC. Early season upset special
Hamline @ SJU: 1-3 SJU should have no trouble with the Hammies
St. Olaf @ Bethel: 3-0 Oles handle a hapless Bethel
SMU @ Augsburg: 0-1 Auggies sneak by SMU.
GAC up 2-0 with 12 minutes to play in first half.
3-0 now to GAC. My feed is miserable unfortunately, very choppy, a lot of buffering.
Hopefully GAC continues to pile it on.
Same. feed is lousy today...
Apparently Stretch has had systemwide issues lately.
I have noticed the same thing repete, stretch must be trying to save some money, curbing back the ol' bandwidth usage.
I had an opportunity to watch GAC vs. SJU this weekend.... What an ugly match. SJU took GAC out of there game by playing very physical and playing dump and chase soccer. This style of play was no different than years past with SJU. Officiating didn't lose this game for GAC, a lack of quality possession and flow to the game ultimately hurt the Gusties. I do bring the officiating up though because it was miserable. There were no instances where a call eliminated a goal scoring opportunity, etc. But, there were at least 7 no calls (1 GAC tackle and 6 SJU tackle) on a cardable tackles, one of which should have been a straight red card against an SJU player for a late, knee high, tackle from behind late in the first half. It was an absolute horror tackle that knocked the GAC player out for the last 60 or so minutes of play. GAC will need to rebound and limit the losses and draws if they want to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. This GAC team should be a top 3 team in the region but they simply aren't playing up to their potential.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Finally, a whine that doesn't get better with age. :D
repete, I suppose you felt the need to chime in because your hard-on hasn't gone down from the Johnnies vs. Tommies football game last weekend... SJU soccer has had the same coaching tactics for 30 years, kick the ball hard, run fast, slide tackle, repete. ;)
I don't doubt the SJU players have the ability to play soccer, unfortunately their coach holds them back from playing "the beautiful game".
I still believe GAC will win the regular season title as well as the MIAC playoffs. GAC has played a difficult non-conference schedule and has earned some pretty good results. If they go without a loss the remainder of the season, which is very possible, they should be able to snag an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament if they don't win the conference tournament.
I tuned it for the SJU @ GAC game on Saturday.
And I agree, the Johnnies did not deviate from their typical tactics. GAC struggled to get anything going against a bigger, more phsycal side. GAC will need to learn to cope against these tactics in the future in order to win the MIAC and make a good run if/when they make the NCAA's. Too often GAC was rattled by the phsyical play and seemed to be more concerned with getting after the ref at times. One player on the bench was even issued a yellow for dissent after a hard foul by SJU.
While I feel the ref could have kept better control of the game, bottom line is GAC needs to learn to play through this type of game, and get the result.
There were some amazingly enjoyable parallels between the fb and msoc: Two in a row on the road, streaks ended, victories against a "more talented" foe, etc. But bottom line here: St. Middleton obviously knew what was coming and GAC was ill-prepared to handle it. Fool me once ...
Until GAC adjusts, it's a formula that works. And when facing a team with a technical edge, it's a legit tactical response. Apparently SJU was also pretty smart about gauging and playing with the limits of the officiating -- as they were set by that crew that day.
GAC's current position in the MIAC is built largely on its technical edge, Middleton brings in and develops some great skills. But it would interesting to see how the Gusties (or any top MIAC team) would do in a better league. I see a lot of CAC ball live and it's clearly a step above. A legit question: How does GAC change tactically when they are technically outgunned?
I am not the coach of GAC so I do not know the answer to your question.
In my opinion, this GAC team is probably the most talented team GAC has had since 2006 or 2007. I do not see GAC being technically outgunned until maybe the Elite 8 or Sweet 16 if they do in fact make it that far. Soccer is a crazy game so results like the SJU one happen regularly. When it comes to a match up of Try-hards vs. Talent the try-hards will find a way to pick up the occassional win or draw. SJU will not be a threat to win the conference with their style of play, but, as you have seen in the GAC and Loras matches, they will stick around because of their "style"
Now that most non conference games are done, Anyone know the overall record of IIAC vs MIAC? I feel like someone put that on here last year and it was interesting.
Since you pin SJU's style on Haws Sr. ... apparently his teams that won four of the 10 league titles in the '80s were talents not try-hards.
I've only seen GAC on video, but potential Elite 8 talent? I'd love to see a MIAC team with a deep run no matter who it is (well, perhaps not UST), but it looks like a down year. Not a single vote for league teams in the d3 or nscaa polls.
SJU's style is undenialbe. They've played this way for years - and its been effective at times. I vividly remember calls from the bench by Haws Sr., telling his players to, "Get your hips Dirty." At the end of the day, it's an effective game plan against a lot of teams.
GAC, or anyone else playing SJU, knows what to expect coming into a match and need to be better prepared to deal with it...
Soccer, in America, in the 80's was a very different game than it is today. Not really a fair comparison, IMHO.
I was talking to a parent as well as former Johnnie soccer captain in the 80's and current GAC Assistant Dean of Students (https://gustavus.edu/profiles/sbennett) Steve Bennett and long story short SJU has not changed a thing from the 80's til present with how they approach each game. Work hard, kick hard, run hard, and tackle hard. I have played with and against several former SJU players and it is really unfortunate that they let their talents depreciate in Collegeville.
Current GAC seniors conference record (regular season only): 27-3-4
Quite the feat for SJU to hand the Gusties a loss...
I wouldn't consider this a down year for the MIAC quite yet, the only poll that matters is the one a the end of the season... I do think this GAC team has Elite 8 talent, they have potentially the best forward combination in the region with Tollefsrud and Brown, additionally their midfield is excellent with a couple of all-region talents in the middle (Lilly and Adams). The one issue for GAC is their backline is just good, not great. Rumor has it that defending is an important part of soccer. I am excited to see how the remainder of the MIAC season plays out.
Quote from: GarbageGoals33 on September 30, 2014, 04:33:22 PM
Current GAC seniors conference record (regular season only): 27-3-4
Quite the feat for SJU to hand the Gusties a loss...
Or two ...
I don't doubt it that the style is basically the same. I thought they played a bit more settled -- at least against like-talented or lesser teams -- during the last couple of Coborn seasons.
Running hard, working hard and tackling hard are all fine by me. Kick hard? If that's dumping deep balls ... it's not for me. But a dedicated individual can improve his skills in any system.
I'll be watching plenty of MIAC games, but from the Eastern games I've seen live so far, Salisbury, Chris Newport and, of course, Messiah are a level above. If York ever finds scoring, it will be there as well. GAC or whatever teams emerge might have a softer region.
Regular season... (losses to St. Olaf 2011, CarlEton 2012, No one in 2013, and SJU so far in 2014).
Coborn was a player that helped add a dynamic to the SJU teams that they flat out didn't have in previous years. He was a player that had solid technical ability and he could drop a dime from just about anywhere on the field. But, they still played Johnnie ball while he was there...
Messiah will almost always out talent their opposition. The other teams you mention have all been excellent over the last 5-10 years, so I am sure they bring quality as well. There are rarely "easy" games in NCAA tournament regardless of region quality.
Hate to admit it, but after doing a nice job possessing against Mac, SJU gave up an embarrassingly bad tying goal and seems to be in a stretch of kickball. Nice to have the broadcast finally though.
Oles are cruising in conference and it should be a good battle with Gustavus this coming Saturday. Skrip and Undlin are looking strong up front.
Gustavus scored very late to tie the Oles. St. Olaf was unlucky to have an obvious handball penalty missed by the refs in OT. I don't think either team played to their potential to be honest.
I didn't see much of the game, the online feed was terrible. I did see the St. Olaf goal though, looked like an absolute cracker.
Both of these teams have the potential to do good things. One issue in Minnesota is the playing conditions, when you play on a field as garbage as the field at St. Olaf there will not be pretty soccer played. The later in the season they play the worse off it is for everyone. I prefer a grass field, but, field turf is really the only way to go in October and November when you are playing in the MIAC.
Sounds like GAC had a couple of great opportunities to score in regulation and OT. The game was statistically close, except for corners, which were very lopsided in favor of the Gusties.
I caught about 15-20 minutes of the match before the video feed would no longer work.
St. Olaf scored a great goal early. Then the feed was gone.
Pretty nice OT free kick earned Carleton 3 points in Collegeville in a game that was pretty even all the way through. Cammarota was clutch for CC as SJU had a 9-3 edge in second half shots but it took a bad foul three minutes into OT.
Hamline over UST was a bigger surprise, however.
??? ??? No video on the Wartburg - St. Olaf match.. :-[ :-[
Here's the Wartburg-St Olaf stream:
http://wartburgknightvision.com/
and stats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/wartburg/msoc/xlive.htm
It's 2-0 Wartburg nearing halftime.
Just so happens that a 50-hour biz trip back to Minny included a visit to the SJU-UST game. Wanted to see how those Johnnies would goon it up on those poor Tommies.
Didn't see much of that at all. Pretty average game physically with a couple of hard-working teams. Softer than a lot of eastern/mid-atlantic games I've seen. Maybe I missed something. It was called tight and the center did a decent job maintaining control. Game seemed a little slow for one played on turf and neither team was that sharp. Some of the teams I've seen with speed could drive either of these squads crazy.
Miles-Stockman played quite well in spurts and seemed to embellish a bit to get a second-half PK, which was initially stopped before he banged in the rebound. But at times it seemed the best offense for the Tommies was to let him run, entice half the defense into ballwatching and wait for runners. SJU was very wary of him and rightly so.
A tightly called game answers all of your "goon it up" questions. I am interested in who officiated the match, it isn't listed in the box score. Stockman-Willis is a solid player, the issue is he has almost no one around him.
The Tommies have really disappointed this year. They've shown they can hang with pretty much any team (see Loras), but they have also shown they could lose to just about anyone (see Hamline). The MIAC playoff race for the #5 and #6 spot is going to be very tight between MAC, Augsburg, and UST.
They are all 3-3-1 with the following schedules remaining...
MAC: GAC, Concordia, SMU... All home games. MAC should be getting in at the 5 seed.
Augsburg: GAC, St. Olaf, @ UST... Ouch
UST: St. Olaf, @CarlE, Augsburg...
In a perfect world both Augsburg and St. Thomas will steal some points from St. Olaf so GAC would win or share the MIAC title. ;D
The Augsburg @ UST match to end the regular season will likely determine who sneaks in as the 6-seed, should be a good one.
GAC with an ugly result this weekend at MAC, putting themselves in a position where the AQ will be only way into the NCAA's...
GAC lost forward Ryan Tollefsrud to a broken foot last week so he is done for the year. That is a terrible injury for the Gusties...
I caught the GAC vs. MAC game and it was ugly. Macalester scored their only opportunity of the game and GAC was content with holding onto the ball and not throwing numbers forward. GAC will need to switch up how they attack/possess if they are going to have any success in the MIAC tournament. I have watched three games live this year (SJU 0-1, UST 1-0, and MAC 0-1) and GAC has looked very ordinary in each game. The center mids retreat 70 yards to get the ball from the backs, push forward and find a player on the outside in the attacking third, they drive in a poor ball that is easily cleared, then they go back to square one... I haven't seen that swagger or chip on the shoulder of the Gusties that shows they have a little extra something that other teams don't have. This GAC team had high aspirations going into the season, it will be interesting to see if they can salvage this thing in the MIAC tournament.
Half-time around the MIAC.
Carleton 1 - Concordia 0
Gustavus 1 - Augsburg 0
St. Olaf 1 - St Thomas 0
Jens Undlin scores again for the Oles. Leading the MIAC in goals and points I believe, but I could be wrong.
GAC is laying the lumber to Bethel 5-1 at the moment. Bethel hadn't conceded a goal in their previous 4 matches (all in conference matches).
I saw GAC's 5th goal live online and it was a thing of beauty. A well constructed set piece at the top of the box led to an easy tap in.
Looks like GAC is throwing numbers forward instead of being content with just having the ball. Great to see this type of performance heading into crunch time.
And that'll do it. St. Olaf claims the MIAC regular season title with a game to spare!
Congrats to the Oles on a great MIAC regular season. If St. Olaf could go ahead and put down a turf field prior to the MIAC playoffs it would be appreciated.
;D
Yeah the field is in dire need of a resurface. It's a shame too because the team gets fantastic support from Olaf students, but the games are never pretty.
It is unfortunate that the athletic department at St. Olaf doesn't do anything with their field. St. Olaf has had some fairly skilled teams over the last 15-20 years but they have had the same miserable surface. St. Olaf usually has a solid crowd of students on the hill (as you noted Jimmy) and it is an enjoyable atmosphere to play in as a player.
Just glanced at the MIAC standings. Congrats to the Ole's on the regular season championship.
5 out of the 6 spots in the newly expanded playoff are locked; Oles, CarlEton, GAC, Johnnies, & MAC.
How is it that yet again St. Thomas had a colassal let down and could potentially miss the playoffs?! Every year, we hear about the talent at UST, they start the sesaon strong and then tank. Are the thommies cursed?
GAC could still snag the #2 seed, tieing for second in the regular season with CarlEton and getting the higher seed in head to head results. It really seems as though only one MIAC team has a shot to make the dance by way of the AQ this year, unless Luther and/or Wartburg bow out of the IIAC tournament in the first round and GAC and STO both make the MIAC final.
Interesting to see Ylonen has been back in net for the majority of the last few matches. Although he was a 3 year starter and all-region GK, he's taken a back seat to Schmidt this year who's seen a majority of the playing time. Not sure of the reason for the switch in GK's all of a sudden in their senior year? But maybe having Ylonen back between the pipes regularly brings a higher level of confort and confidence to players on the field? He was pretty outstanding in his first three years, and with playoffs right around the corner, I don't think its wise to be switching up the GK's every game. Time for Middleton to pick his guy and stick with him...
Looking forward to some exciting playoff matches. With the expanded field and competitiveness within this conference, anything can happen!
I don't think Sir Alex Ferguson could help St. Thomas reach it's potential. St. Thomas clearly showed they have ability by beating Loras and hanging with just about every team in the conference, but they are a perennial bed wetter when it comes to late season results.
As for GAC and their keeper situation... It is a good problem to have two solid goalkeepers. Both guys have proven they can play at this point, I am just happy they aren't splitting halves any longer. The Gustie defense is going to need to play beyond themselves the remainder of this season for good things to happen. I enjoyed seeing Gustavus throw numbers forward yesterday. This is a team that is as good as any when they are playing attacking soccer and aren't just happy to be holding the majority of possession.
The MIAC playoffs are going to be intense this year, with the #1 and #2 seeds having a major advantage with the first round bye. The MIAC setup the schedule so the 3/6 and 4/5 winners play immediately the next day vs. 1 and 2. GAC will need to take care of business on Saturday vs. an improve Hamline squad in order to earn a first round bye.
Could indeed be an interesting postseason.
Are the playoffs byes for the top two? If so, unless SJU stumbles against the Moorhead bus parkers, it means that all games will be on grass, right? SJU's surface looked to be in very good shape for late October against UWS, although it seems slow compared to a lot of the Bermuda I see out here.
Pretty good take on the latest flap on artificial turf.
http://www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts/synthetic-turf-cancer-risk-tiny-compared-to-more-sedentary-lifestyle-alternative/ (http://www.soccerwire.com/blog-posts/synthetic-turf-cancer-risk-tiny-compared-to-more-sedentary-lifestyle-alternative/)
Nice to see an alternative view than "the sky is falling" when it comes to the cancer/artificial turf stories that have been coming out recently. As a former/current? goalkeeper we realize we have enough problems as it is.
Congrats to SJU on being in the top 7 in the NCAA regional rankings repete.
Here is how I foresee the MIAC playoffs shaping up (prediction included):
#1 St. Olaf
#2 GAC
#3 Saint Johns
#4 CarlEton
#5 Mac
#6 UST
SJU 2 UST 1
CarlE 1 MAC 0
GAC 3 SJU 1
St. Olaf 1 CarlEton 1 (CarlEton in PK's)
GAC 2 CarlEton 1
I am a homer, I can admit. If I wanted one team representing the conference in the NCAA tournament I would want the best team, and that is Gustavus. St. Olaf is 0-3-1 against NCAA regionally ranked opponents (3 losses vs. top IIAC teams and one tie vs. GAC). The rest of St. Olaf's non-conference schedule was awfully weak (Northwestern MN, Knox, Bethany Lutheran, Minn-Morris, and UWS). GAC hasn't been outplayed in a single game this season but they have had some close ones. They were winning vs. Wartburg and Puget Sound and coughed up the lead, out shooting (Wartburg 16-7 and UPS 13-9) and having more corner than the opposition (Wartburg 7-2 and UPS 9-2). They gave up a single dangerous scoring opportunity to Mac and Saint Johns and gave up goals in each game while failing to score. The best defense for GAC is going to need to be a good offense.
The Oles are ready.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DZnw4S5_I
First off, shout out to Branden McGarrity for breaking the record for leading goalscorer in Carleton history, surpassing the great Tim Wills in the process. Still has another year left to leave his mark and extend the record. Pretty impressive stuff.
Oles haven't won on Bell Field since 2004. Lol. Carleton has become very difficult to break down in the last few games, which should make Saturday's game quite interesting. I guess Carleton can't end St. Zero's season like they have the past two seasons, so I guess that might have to wait until next week. But until then, nothing like a little history refresher...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9r7hQzEoXE&index=2&list=PLOyWoOKvkAg6CXHlFdCSUhy47sIcr1ryF
I do like history refreshers ;)
http://athletics.stolaf.edu/news/2011/11/5/MSOC_3279.aspx?path=msoc
Despite the points being unnecessary for the Oles on Saturday, I think they'll fight hard and get the win. Undlin is coming into form at the right time of year it looks like for the Oles.
Since posting match reports of all Carleton/Northfield Community College games at Bell Field after 2004 would be pretty redundant and boring (SPOILERS: Carleton wins them all), we can just talk about what was going on in 2004:
1. Greece were the best team in Europe, beating a 19 yr old Cristiano Ronaldo in the final. 19!!!!
2. Facebook started. And since then there's been a movie about making Facebook.
3. And the most damning indictment...Arsenal were defending Premier League champions.
You get my drift...and Carleton weren't really even good in the MIAC until maybe 2006, for sure 2007. Maybe its cause they are playing on an actually soccer field, and not a field "good for only planting potatoes" (gotta love Middleton for that little gem), but something about Bell is just kryptonite for the Oles. And what have the Oles done in that time? An outlier in 2011, and a couple playoff appearances here and there but nothing every sustained. Knights continue to dominate on Bell. 2-1 win.
Should be an exciting game between St. Thomas and Augsburg for that final playoff spot. Talk about a fall from grace for the Tommies. 1 win in their last 7 games. 7!!! It's unbelievable how a team like that can consistently find a way to bottle it year after year. Guess you can still do that with a 6 team playoff...sigh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DZnw4S5_I
Never forget. Clearly the video made all the difference this year. I look forward to the playoff video encore. Since it'll be another year at least until the Oles have a potential chance to beat the Knights at Bell Field again, lets get a brief, final list of things that have happened since the Community College have won on Bell Field:
1. A young Belgian/Kosovar/Albanian kid named Adnan Januzaj had his 9th birthday, started his professional career in Belgium in 2005 as a 10 year old, went through puberty, joined Manchester United at the age of 16, made the first team squad, then his debut, then played in a World Cup for Belgium. Not too shabby.
2. Ken Jennings finally lost in Jeopardy after finalizing his winning streak at 74 games, raking in an amazing $2.5 million. Not to mention the endless amount of transitions between mustache/no mustache Alex Trebek.
3. Lance Armstrong won an ESPY award and Barry Bonds hit his 700th career home run. Pretty fair to say they've seen better days since then right?
4. St. Olaf has won outright or shared 2 MIAC championships. Carleton has won 5. And that's not even counting the playoff championships...
5. ...and Arsenal still has not won a Premier League trophy.
I'll give credit to Olaf for winning the title, but there is no dominant team in the MIAC this year (Carleton included). Maybe it's because they are shielded behind a parabola-inspired field at home, but I thought their midfield was non-existent. Undlin and Skrip are good players but that's about it for them. And let's not start putting up "2nd string keeper" as an excuse. That dude played in 6 games before today. Carleton were the better team. Let's hope they keep that form up into the playoffs on Tuesday.
KnightRider23,
Awesome.+k
Jimmy,
If Saint Olaf was in the hunt for an NCAA tournament spot and an at large bid, why would they not start their best players?
Of all the positions on the field, why would you take out the goalkeeper for rest? At this point in the season? The most exercise he would have gotten during the game was picking the ball out of the net. Since it seems like you know what you are talking about re: Olaf soccer Jimmy, then that is some real stupidity from Kurt. Maybe all that time he's spent on the hill has had an effect on his intelligence. I've heard that happens to people who spend too much time over there 8-)
Maybe the GK was too tired from all the outtakes on that video clip. Heard it took 245 attempts...
The video/field makes me think I'm watching Disney's The Big Green with my kids.
After watching that, I am wishing the link would have taken me to the badger, badger video, hell Rick Astley would have been better.
www.badgerbadgerbadger.com > St. Olaf men's soccer video
I'm absolutely stunned that you'd expect better from Kurt. Yes, he makes stupid decisions like this. It's kind of his thing.
Also, it seems a little vitriolic to make fun of some kids enjoying themselves. It is division 3 soccer after all.
FWIW, I thought the video was great.
I'm not getting all the inside jokes, but is the Carleton-St Olaf rivalry on par with Alabama-Auburn? Is someone gonna pull a Harvey Updike and poison a couple of the trees on one of the campuses.
Quote from: jimmy92 on November 02, 2014, 10:38:23 AM
Also, it seems a little vitriolic to make fun of some kids enjoying themselves. It is division 3 soccer after all.
I think your choice of labels is a little off. I didn't slam them or get nasty. My comment was more towards a link posted a few years back by some frequenters of this thread who will be left un named (GG). They would lead you in to thinking there was a cool highlight video or some great play and you were instead lead to the "badger" video or even worse the Rick Astley video. Hopefully this explanation unbunched your Duluth Trading Co's.
As an old man, I'll let young guys be young guys in that vid. My takeaway is ... what a horrible pitch especially for a team with home-field throughout the playoffs.
Pleased that SJU finished within two points of league champs, but scared of the Scots, whose only loss in the past seven is a 1-0 decision vs. the Oles. Glad to get them on the grass at Collegeville, which was in amazing shape for yesterday's rout of the Cobbers. Concordia looked like it did not want to make the trip. Not a great tune-up for a team like Mac.
Oh I don't expect anything resembling logic from Kurt. That's how terrible of a decision it was. And everyday I'm thankful for it.
And I have no issues with people making videos. That was just an embarrassing video. When we have dudes just showing off six packs, covering their heads with beanie baby caps, performing strangely sensual leg lifts and contorting their bodies to beat off incoming balls flying in their general direction, I think of it less of a "ha-ha let's go team" promo video and more of a "i'm beginning to really appreciate the work of legendary adult film star Ron Jeremy" montage/tribute video. Which is fine (not my cup of tea personally), but in no way makes me think you are "ready" (your words, not mine) for a competitive soccer game. A soft-core porno? Perhaps.
Here is what I'm talking about if we want a respectable college soccer video. Simple, minimally sexual, and no mis-hit bicycle kicks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuH7PiJ5x5k
Or watch that Badger, Badger video. I'm still figuring out what that was...
Well, the MIAC never fails to be competitive from top to bottom with only 4 points seperateing the the 1st and 5th place team. Excited to see how the playoffs pan out. Was really hoping to see the Auggies sneakout with that 6th seed. Tough break giving up a goal in OT.
It always gets really interesting this time of year, with dicey weather, lousy field conditions, etc. Should be an exciting week ahead.
I'm thinking MAC could be a sleeper in all this, but they certainly have their work cut out for them. Would love to see GAC get a shot at redemtion against them.
But St. Olaf students have never done that before...not in 2011 when they stormed the field and yelled obscenities at Carleton players leaving the field, or during 2013 in the regular season finale AND the playoff game when they yelled genital-based taunts towards the Carleton goalie throughout the entire second half.
I hate when Oles take a moral high ground (and when you selectively ignore events that diminish your argument). College kids are college kids. I don't condone flicking off fans and mooning (that's just a stupid thing to do), but don't pretend that this is just exclusive to Carleton kids.
Ok. Let's move away from Carleton beating St. Zero (again... :D) and talk about Tuesday's matches.
First of all, both games are starting at 11:30 am CST, which is incredibly early compared to usual start times in the MIAC. Almost ridiculously early, but the MIAC are in a bind with both Carleton hosting two matches that day and St. John's hosting the St. Ben's match as well that day. At least the two fields that are hosting matches (SJU/Carleton) have good grass fields that won't turn into mush at the first sign of rain/snow (cough Olaf cough), so at least the play on the field shouldn't be dictated by bad conditions.
Carleton vs St. Thomas (#3 vs #6): St. Thomas won their first game in nearly a month yesterday to qualify for the playoffs. Their record in October was a respectable 1-4-2, worthy enough of having an opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament. And Carleton hasn't lost to St. Thomas since 2005. I'll lay off the lists this time (but boy a lot of stuff went down in '05...World Series champs Chicago White Sox!!!), but here's something that occurred in '05 (besides my inconceivable amount of high school awkwardness): YouTube was created. Without YouTube, we could never have watched this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DZnw4S5_I
Carleton wins 2-0. McGarrity and Jordy with the goals.
SJU vs Mac (4th vs 5th): An intriguing game. I've only seen a bit of each team this year (both playing Carleton), so I won't pretend I know too much outside of those games. Mac is a solid unit that has steadily improved from last year, and it's nice to see them in the playoffs again. Previous game between these two sides ended up 2-1 to the Johnnies. I could honestly see it going both ways, but I'll go with the Johnnies in OT 2-1.
I watched the first SJU/Mac game and it has me a bit scared. It was the familiar tale of two halves with SJU starting strong and Mac storming the nets in the second half.
On video, the SJU field looks great but slow, at least compared to the Bermuda I see on natural fields in the Mid-Atlantic. Mac's slow start might have been making that adjustment, but it's hard to tell over the video.
SJU defeats MAC 2-0 and CarlEton puts St. Thomas out of their misery also by a score of 2-0.
Sets the stage for a couple of great semi-final matches tomorrow afternoon.
CarlEton will travel to St. Peter to face off against the Gusties. I'm anticipating a much closer match this time around than we saw in the regular season match up.
SJU Heads to St. Olaf to play on that garbage field. Oles should be able to come away with a win this match.
Not a great game in Collegeville, but SJU was clearly better. Here's hoping the Um Ya Ya boys will wet themselves like their football squad did so spectacularly Saturday vs. that noted gridiron powerhouse, Hamline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mwtSD_viv4E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mwtSD_viv4E)
Quote from: repete on November 04, 2014, 02:51:13 PM
Here's hoping the Um Ya Ya boys will wet themselves like their football squad did so spectacularly Saturday vs. that noted gridiron powerhouse, Hamline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mwtSD_viv4E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mwtSD_viv4E)
No matter what happens in this game, the soccer team will never be able to be quite as inept as the St. Olaf football team. Should be an interesting game. St. John's went down early last time against the Oles and dominated the second half. They were unlucky not to level the game at 2-2.
The Oles like playing a physical game and St. John's will bring exactly that. I'm not expecting a pretty contest tomorrow, but then again it's playoffs and it's not about playing pretty. It's about getting results and these two teams are very good at doing just that.
I think St. John's will spring an upset and win 1-0.
As for the other clash, I think the Gusties will be too classy for the Noughts and will win 3-1.
The Saint Johns vs. St. Olaf game will be interesting. The sloppy field conditions favor the SJU physical style of play, but the Oles play on that field regularly... I think St. Olaf wins this one 2-1 because they are certainly more skilled than SJU and they are at home.
The GAC vs. CarlEton match will be a good one. I caught bits and pieces of the UST/Car match today and I wasn't impressed by either team. The CarlEton backs do not have the ability to help the team keep possession, mucho kick ball. GAC should have plenty of possession in the CarlEton half tomorrow. I anticipate a Gustavus 4-1 win with goals from Zach Brown (2), Eli Bjerk, and Chuck Adams. In scoring 4 goals I assume that David Lilly will have at least 2 dimes. I cannot predict the future, and am usually way more conservative in my predictions, but I have a good feeling about tomorrow.
SJU and Olaf should be a slugfest. That landfill that they call a field should be in decent shape (relative to last year's sham of a field), so there'll be plenty of times for the Johnnies to get their hips dirty. I think Olaf pulls it off 2-1 as well, but I can see it going either way. The day of recovery gives Olaf another edge in what should be a tight game.
GAC vs Carleton should be a tight one too, but GG i think you are underestimating how bad Carleton were in this game earlier in the season. I think the gameplan against GAC is pretty simple: Stay compact defensively and keep that physical edge, especially in the midfield. SJU has proved how effective that can be in their last two matchups. And Carleton has significantly changed their style of play since that game, and that has led to much tighter games. The big question is how GAC utilizes that possession that they have. Carleton had good moments of possession today in addition to being direct, which is always a nice balance to have. Worked in 2012 and 2013 for Carleton. No reason it can't work now, especially with that backline being GAC's weakest point to attack. I think it's tied going into halftime, and the Knights pull it out 2-1 or 1-1 in PKs.
Olaf beat Carleton on Bell Field in the playoffs in 2007. Knightrider23, you will have to find some different fun facts.
KnightRider23, I've been making MIAC score predictions since long before anyone paid me to make MIAC score predictions... I do appreciate your fun facts though, whether they are correct or not.
Forecast for kickoff in Saint Peter is 50 degrees, with some potential rain. COYG!
I'm glad that a novelty account that will be outdated as soon as next season rolls around was created to highlight a mistake I made. Must mean I've really made it here on the boards...I'm honored :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Looks like I'm going to have to update the lists to make them current. Hopefully it'll be all together in a post lauding a Carleton win and previewing a MIAC championship in Northfield.
GG, there's no hate from my end. I was just commenting on how bad Carleton was in the previous game this year between these two teams. Everyone's entitled to a prediction that will ultimately blow up in their face (myself included). Just hoping there isn't any bad refereeing that spoils the game for either side. Other than that I don't think anyone can rule out anything from happening.
I also will add that the '04 fact was strictly about regular season games on Bell Field (since the lists were specifically about that game). Playoffs are a whole different animal so I wasn't technically wrong.
GAC takes the 1-0 lead on a Zach Brown goal assisted by Roth. McGarrity looks like a man on a mission for the CarlE's.
SJU beating Olaf 3-0?!?!?!!?
Odd 1st half, IMO. GAC scores against the run of play then seemed to settle-in and control comfortably. CarlEton looked great early then pretty flat after letting in that goal. Roth and Adams stood out for GAC. McGarrity looking legit, as per usual. 1-0 is probably a fair half-time score. Certainly still anyone's game.
Hopefully GAC can put another in the next early in the 2nd half to seal the deal.
What the heck is going on in the SJU vs. St. Olaf game?! Oles could be in serious trouble. This could end their post season hopes!
HUGE full stretch save by Ylonen on a shot from the top of the box. The little man is coming to play today!
Looks like I chose 4-1 for the wrong game...
GAC beats CarlEton 1-0 in a very tightly contested game. Shots were 12-6 in favor of GAC with CarlEton outshooting GAC 6-5 with SOG. Corners were 5-4 in favor of the Gusties. The GAC field is in below average condition which is very unfortunate. GAC Man of The Match was GK Ylonen in my opinion. He came off of his line to claim through balls and crosses to perfection today. Additionally, he made a delightful diving save to preserve the shutout late in the second half. If Superman had a much smaller younger brother it would probably be Ylonen. MIAC player of the decade Zach Brown notched the GW on a thumping header from a perfectly weighted cross by Roth.
GAC plays SJU who crushed Saint Olaf 4-1. Since making their unimpressive team video Saint Olaf has gone 0-2. I assume the Oles have played themselves out of NCAA tournament contention with that semi-final loss pushing GAC ahead of them in the NCAA regional rankings. GAC will hopefully avenge an earlier season defeat on Saturday when they host the fiesty Johnnies.
Nice to see the Johnnies book a return trip to the finals.
Oles looked horrible. Outshot 7-1 as SJU built its 3-0 first half lead, then spent the second giving minutes everywhere. Lebahn left with a clean sheet before the backup let in a weak score in the final 10 minutes.
Saint Johns is the hottest team in the MIAC right now, unbeaten/untied in their last 7 games only giving up 3 goals. It is going to be a slug fest on Saturday down in San Pedro. I am really hoping that the gentlemen (Jorge Oconitrillo) who was the ref last time these two met is not officiating the final. He was the head ref for the GAC/CarlEton game today so I would think that makes it pretty unlikely he does Saturdays match. Hopefully Artie Sher or Jeremy Schroeder (SJU Alum) get the nod for Saturday, they are two of the top refs in the midwest, in my opinion.
Saint Johns has had Jorge Oconitrillo officiate two of their MIAC matches this season (GAC and Concordia), they earned one yellow card between the two matches. In their remaining 8 MIAC matches they earned 19 yellow cards and a red card.
My prediction is 2-1 GAC.
Here are my predictions for the MIAC POY, COY, and a few all-conference selections...
MIAC COY: Kurt Anderson St. Olaf. I think that the SJU coach is probably a close second. SJU turned it on late in the season finishing very close to the top of the table and they will be playing in the MIAC playoff championship Saturday. One thing to consider is how badly SJU outplayed (out coached?) St. Olaf yesterday in that 4-1 throttling.
MIAC POY: David Lilly from GAC. Lilly is likely only 1st team all-region caliber midfielder in the conference (Adams from GAC and Stockman-Willis from UST are likely second team all-region performers). Lilly has 7 assists in conference play with no goals. He is a tremendous two-way player for the Gusties helping them to the best GAA in the league with rotating keepers and a fairly inexperienced backline as well as the top scoring team in the league. Zach Brown has been a fantastic player for GAC the last 4 years but without David Lilly in the lineup this team wouldn't be half the team they are today. Undlin from St. Olaf is a close 2nd. Undlin led the conference in goals but scored only two goals in regular season play against top 6 opposition (one against CarlEton and one against St. Thomas). Cammarota from CarlEton put together a nice season statistically but his statistics would likely be half of what they are without the attention that McGarrity draws. I expect McGarrity to take the POY honors his senior season.
I do not know every player from every team but here is what I see for potential all-conference selections:
GAC: Lilly, Brown, Adams.
Honorable Mention: Tollefsrud, Bjerk, and Leach (several goals for a back, top GAA in the league)
St. Olaf: Undlin, Skrip
Honorable Mention: Sukati and Braman
UST: Stockman-Willis
Honorable Mention: Shane Marshall
CarlEton: McGarrity and Cammarota
HM: ?
SJU: Neiderloh,LeBahn
HM: Heinselman
Augsburg: Ben Henry
HM: Grant Griffin
MAC: Burrows
HM: Schembri-Wismayer
POY should and will be Zach Brown. I have seen the Gusties play many games over the past 4 years and while Lilly has been an integral to their success, Zach Brown changes games.
POY isn't a cumulative award. It's based on this year and you're kidding yourself if you think anyone but Jens Undlin is going to win it.
GAC up 1-0 at half.
Very windy conditions. Looks cold out there.
GAC up 2-0 with 10 left to play!
Congrats to the Gusties!
Congratulations to Gustavus. Without a doubt the best team in the MIAC this season. Well deserved!
Strong showing yesterday by the Gusties. St Johns played a tough game but we're unable to break through a gutsy gustavus defense. Ylonen looked fantastic in net. He may not be very tall, but he really gets up there, pulling crosses down.
I must admit, I was nervous about having to play SJU again as GAC didn't handle the physical play well last time and I thought the Johnnies were deserving of their 1-0 result. This time around however, GAC set the tone early and were the more physical side.
The unfortunate thing is that with GAC earning the conference AQ, it's highly unlikely the MIAC gets 2 teams through to the NCAA tournament. Olaf bowing out early in the semifinals, and by such a significant margin is going to hurt their chances at a pool c. Carleton was in last weeks regional rankings, but I seriously doubt they get through. The Johnnies were missing from the rankings last week, but have a pretty strong SOS. Is the thrashing the gave Olaf enough to warrant inclusion in the final secret rankings and get them into the tournament?
Nice win for the Gusties yesterday, well deserved MIAC playoff championship. Credit to Saint Johns for the run they had at the end of the season, very impressive. Their style of play in this match vs, their first match against GAC was much different. The johnnies looked to try and possess the ball and at times put some really nice passing sequences together.
Hopefully GAC represents the MIAC well in the NCAA tournament as the MIAC has had below average results over the last few seasons. I would hate to be the team(s) that run into this GAC squad in the NCAA tournament. The seniors have now earned a right to play in the dance three consecutive seasons. It's time to see a nice run from these guys!
I don't think the gusties will host, which is a good thing. Their field is in below average condition and it is going to snow 8-10 inches tomorrow :-\.
I could see GAC placed into the following bracket.
Wartburg (host) vs. St. Scholastica
GAC vs. UWW
While the rest of the region being paired as follows
Loras (host) vs. Caroll
Wheaton vs. UWO
You think UWO gets in? Last year they shipped the SLIAC team up north...could see that again. If the Iowa schools are both fortunate enough to host, we may even see a central region team in the groupings, perhaps elmhurst?
I think that both UWW and UWO have a pretty strong chance to earn a Pool C bid and one of them will be earning a Pool B bid for sure.
Only way both WIAC schools get in is if UWO grabs the pool B. Otherwise 1-2-2 , and only one impressive victory, UWO is out
http://www.miacathletics.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/releases/111314_msoc_awards
MIAC Awards released
Lilly POY ;D
Anderson COY