Loras released its schedule for 2015 today. Looks pretty tasty if you ask me!
http://duhawks.com/news/2015/4/28/MSOC_0428151034.aspx
Wow..Wheaton is on the list.. Thought these two teams were done playing each other during the regular season :-\
High probability that Wheaton (IL) will be ranked #1 in the pre-season polls. Loras will have their hands full early.
Compare Loras' schedule to the other IIAC schools; Wartburg's looks weak and Luther has nothing to boast about either. The other IIAC school to look at would be Dubuque, too bad I couldn't even find a schedule to look at. Anybody finding anything?
Yeah Cheesehead, still haven't seen anything posted yet for UD.
http://athletics.uwplatt.edu/sports/msoc/2015-16/schedule
Looking at Platteville's schedule, they're playing a team called IEC Japan....anybody have any idea who that is?! I have a feeling UWP is going to be decent this year, returning a lot of players and not losing too much (although a robust attacking threat in Mbodje Sarr and a steady defender in Streich, I do believe Sibik is returning for another year). Their schedule looks appropriate for a team in their situation, a good blend of gimme's and tough competition.
Season is ~100 days away
From watching UWP last season multiple times and knowing that they're losing their best 2 players in my opinion, I would imagine them to drop down another notch. They haven't been able to pull out some freshmen studs out of the latest recruiting classes and the top returning goalscorer had 2 goals :o
Sibik is good enough to keep them in games but they're not going to outscore any teams by too much that's for sure.
Very true. If not 2015, possibly 2016. They will be fielding 7 seniors, 6 juniors, and 12 sophomores this upcoming fall, if Enzo can keep this group together the future looks bright for the pioneers. The team also took a trip to Italy this spring- a very team building experience.
2016 could be a nice year for them. With the impending cut of the UW-Oshkosh program, I would imagine that both UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater will benefit in the recruiting side of things with one less UW school to consider.
Hopefully the Pool B bid will continue to be dominated by the WIAC.
Just been browsing some 2015 schedules in the North and came across UWW which may be one of the more difficult in the nation, but also has a streak of 8 games in 14 days :o ???
Sept 18 @ Carthage
Sept 20 vs. Wittenberg @ Carthage
Sept 22 St Norbert
Sept 23 Concordia Wisconsin
Sept 25 Augustana
Sept 28 Lake Forest
Sept 30 @ Loras
Oct 1 @ North Park
Add that to a weekend in Minnesota against St. Olaf and Carleton, a matchup with MSOE, and the two rivalries with UWO & UWP.
Sounds like it'll be quite the test for the Warhawks this fall.
Any insight as to what WashU will look like this year? They face Wheaton in Wheaton the first weekend of the season at the Baptista Invitational. There's not much else to look at in their non-conference schedule with their best opponent on paper being Wheaton, followed by either Dominican or Carthage.
During the second week of the season, the Thunder travel to Dubuque to face Loras. Taking my bias out of the equation, this has got to be one of the top matches of the year, just eight days into the season. With the exception of a non-conference tilt against Chicago, the rest of Wheaton's non-conference schedule doesn't impress me much.
GAC will weather its fair share of bumps and bruises from the MIAC, but their non-conference schedule looks poor (Martin Luther, St. Norbert, Viterbo, Principia, Greenville). Barring a major surprise from one of those teams, the Gusties may be looking at the MIAC AQ or bust.
Dominican will be pushed to their limits I feel with a preseason scrimmage against Wheaton and the non-conference games against Chicago, WashU, and North Park. Could the Stars be pushing for higher Pool C value if the NACC title slips away from them again?
Chicago appears to have one of the stronger schedules in the region, helped in part from their membership in the UAA. In non-conference play, they'll face Dominican, North Park, Loras, Wheaton, and Carthage.
It does not appear as though Luther learned their lesson from last year and their sub-.500 SOS. On paper, their best non-conference opponent will be UW-Oshkosh, followed by Carleton. But a win over Wartburg or Loras could be just enough to get the Norse into the upper-tier of the Pool C selections come November.
Univ. of Dubuque has their schedule online now ... http://www.dbq.edu/Athletics/MensAthletics/Soccer/
Not a cakewalk for UD, but we could see some surprising results: 9/12 at MSOE, 9/16 vs. North Park, 10/21 vs. UW-Whitewater
Looking at the UWW schedule and Casualfan pointing out the 8 games in two weeks. You have to think this has something to do with UWW not having a conference. Has to be tough to get games against conference affiliated teams late in the season. Coach Guinn's hand might have been forced on this matter.
My view of UWW this year is that they lost a ton of seniors including their main scoring threat in Gottwald. Luckily for UWW they have never scored goals in the prettiest of ways. They will still have their 6' 7" center back in Justin Stanko to aim at in the box and Sam Novak who had a busy summer with the Madison 56ers NPSL team could have a breakout season. In the end depth will come into play and a few new players will have to step up if UWW wants to return to the big dance.
My prediction is that UWW has another best of the rest season and barely edges past UWO for the pool b bid.
Definitely agree with you D3, Novak is a stud. If UWW can service him through the midfield, they may not have to rely as much on their set pieces. Can see Novak leading the WIAC in goals this season, very hardworking and fun player to watch imo.
Also, seems to me that UWW and UWP are returning a decent amount of underclassmen, will be interesting to see how much the rosters will change from the 2014 season. Rumor has it that almost all underclassmen for UWO will return despite the program ending in 2016. Don't know too much about Finlandia, however they seem to be figuring it out with each coming year.
3 weeks till the doozie of an opener with Loras visiting Oshkosh, any predictions??
Similar to you, Wisco, I also heard that Oshkosh will return a large number of players from last year's roster, despite the program being cut.
I think it'll be a very closely contested match with each team still trying to figure themselves out.
1-0 Loras.
Agreeing with Puerco on this one, but I'm going to guess a bit more of a high scoring debut. It is the first game of the season after all!
3-1 Loras.
2-0 Loras
Great game to kick it all off! I'll be curious to see how Loras replaces Pizzello & Fluegel offensively. Are Rummelhart and Bradley back? How's the incoming class?
Can't find anything on the overall recruiting class. I know of one player (forward) in the incoming class. Strong player, great nose for the goal. Will fit the Loras system well.
It should be noted that the WIAC is no longer a conference for mens soccer. With UW-Superior leaving for the UMAC and UWO in their last year as a team the remaining three teams will be true independents without conference affiliation. UW Superior will play none of the other UW schools this year.
casualfan- don't know about Bradley but Rummelhart has been training (and presumably played in some matches too) with the Croatian Eagles Soccer Club out of Milwaukee. Competitive bunch of guys there, I have no doubt that he will be fit come fall.
Bradley and Rummelhart will both be on the opening day roster, back from injury. Pizzello will be the more difficult piece to replace between him and Fluegel. Pizzello could do so much on both ends of the field. Loras has some size in the midfield that they'll try to use and fill the void left by Pizzello.
Loras usually waits until after the preseason to post their roster because of the size of their program, 2/3 of the incoming class lands on the reserves squad.
I think there might be more question marks about the Loras squad this year than any other year since I moved to Dubuque 7 years ago. Losing Pizzello (and Fluegel) will hurt. After Cavers and Figura graduated it was fun to watch Pizzello step up and lead the team and I wonder who will do that this year. I'd like to think that Bradley and Rummelhart will be back to full strength but you never know with ACLs. For someone like Rummelhart, who relied so much on his speed and explosiveness, even if the knee truly is 100% the psychological doubts about the strength of the knee could hold him back just enough such that he loses a step. Without knowing more about the incoming recruits my guess is that Loras has a "down" year and doesn't make it into the top 10, but I'd love for Rothert and Co. to prove me wrong. We'll know a lot about the team after the first 5 games of the season!
Does anyone have insight on the MIAC this year?
Seems wide open with Gustavus graduating a huge number of players and only a few other impact players moving on from other teams (Cammarota, Erickson, Heinselman, Griffen) who will be tipped to win? who will make the playoffs?
Burning Questions:
Can Haws handle the loss of long-time assistant Tudor?
Can Middleton reload down in St. Peter?
Will St. Thomas fulfill their long-standing potential?
Any scrimmage results to share?
I know Loras defeated St. Ambrose 2-0 and Wartburg beat Ashford 2-1.
In the Loras match, both Bradley and Rummelhart looked to be 100%.
UWO 2 - Cardinal Stritch 0. They played three 30 minute intervals
Oshkosh looked uncertain in the opening period, but eventually outlasted the NAIA side. Reserves for the Titans brought more intensity and life than the starting XI did, possibly still figuring out pieces of the puzzle. UWO has another friendly vs the Bavarian Majors Club this upcoming Saturday.
Not sure of any pre-season games for the Gusties, but their roster was posted today and looks to be loads of youngsters.
Only 8 Seniors and 3 Juniors. And based on the listed positions, only about 1/2 to 2/3 can start. Should make for an interesting year in St. Peter.
Friendlies from last night:
UWW 2 - Marian 0
MSOE 2 - Croatian Eagles Majors 1
The UWW-Marian result doesn't surprise me one bit. The Sabres are a team struggling to find its way in the mix of DIII, so a 2-nil result from UWW is about what I would expect.
Are the Andryk brothers still playing for MSOE? If not, any insight as to who their offensive firepower will come from?
MSOE should be quite strong again.
Both Andryks are back and they add a D2 transfer in Sean Tabbert.
GK likely to be their weakness.
Duhawks handle the Titans 2-1. Stats shiw a thrashing, but without video that's all I have to go on. Rummelhart and Bradley in great form. Johnny and Jorge tally scores and Bradley gathers 2 assists and Player of the Game honors. Good start gentleman.
9/1's Scorelines from the North
Loras with the predictable 2-1 scoreline against Oshkosh
Wartburg with a 3-3 tie to Macalester
Whitewater with a 5-0 win against Wisconsin Lutheran
St. Olaf with a 4-0 impressive win against Luther
Concordia Wisconsin over Carrol 3-0
UW Superior over Augsburg 2-1
GAC 2-0 over Martin Luther
Scholastica 4-1 over Hamline
Platteville 4-0 over Cornell
Carleton loses 2-1 to North Central
Any thoughts?
UWW 2-1 Overtime winner against MSOE
Had the chance to watch the game in person, my takeaways:
UWW- still relies on big balls, throw ins, and free kicks. Has more talent in the final third than years past, but lack presence/control in the middle of the field. Transfer forward, former CCIW newcomer of the the year, Hottsmith is a stud.
MSOE- This would be a mediocre team at best without the Andryk brothers. Their back line is completely suspect and struggles with pressure. Goal keeper is overly aggressive and often found off line. In saying that, they should still be favorites in a very sub-par conference.
Overall, MSOE was not as impressive as last year (losing 8 guys), or as I would of thought. I know they are central region, but many opponents out of the north will play them. UWW plays ugly soccer and takes you out of your rhythm, but as we have seen this has proven dangerous for years.
Should be interesting to see how Whitewater can do on the road this weekend up in Minnesota. Their games Friday and Sunday will be the third and fourth games of the season in only a six day stretch.
Sam Novak is coming off an injury he picked up in preseason and missed the first game of the year as a precaution. Good to see that he was back in the line up against MSOE. Once he gets into his groove it should be interesting to see how him and Hottsmith work together.
Yup with Carleton and St. Olaf.
Think they get by Carleton 3-1, but Olaf will be a true test.
Novak played last night I believe, him + hottsmith + kayser at attacking mid were a scary combo.
Thump thump , that's the sound of the Duhawks putting a hurting on the Oles 2- nil. Oles keeper kept the score from getting out of hand. He made 4 quality saves and 1 was to stop an own goal.
Got to the St Olaf-Loras game a little late last night and just missed the first goal, but from the rest of the game I have to wonder just how far Luther has fallen if those Oles could beat the my alma mater 4-0. Yes, it's early in the season (too early to draw any definitive conclusions) but Loras made Olaf look like a very mediocre team. The only Olaf players who stood out for me was Barboza, who had a few moments of individual brilliance, and the keeper who made a couple nice saves to keep the game closer than it appeared. Loras certainly hasn't changed their modus operandi since last year; put some really good athletes on the pitch who play really hard and who have decent individual skill and knock the ball forward as fast as they can and capitalize on set pieces. I'm a Loras fan by marriage and proximity now but I have to just shake my head in frustration at their lack of patience sometimes. I saw little evidence of any ability (or inclination) to build from the back or through the midfield which should make the Wheaton game in a few days a nice study in contrasts.
Dubuquer, You will continue to see more of that type of play and it is by design. "You have to dance with who you brought" and without a true center mid or any holding players on the midfield they are going to press directly forward. They know their roles and do what they do well and get results. There have been many arguments on other threads about pretty styles and how ugly some people fond direct attacking styles. I personally love to watch build up, knock around styles, but Loras knows their strengths and does well with them. I agree it is very frustrating to see the impatience and misses passes, but I believe in the coaches and what they need to do to continue to get the wins.
Whitewater continues to impress with a Minnesota sweep this weekend. 2-0 over Carleton and 1-0 over St. Olaf. Hott smith on fire for the Warhawks.
Kickin, I agree that Loras plays the game that suits their players and clearly it's effective. Rothert isn't trying to force his players to play a style that doesn't suit them and that's the sign of a good coach. Even when Cavers was around though, they seemed to all too often play over the top when playing through him would have allowed him to work more of his magic. I enjoy the speed and intensity with which Loras plays and don't mind playing direct, but I just think they would benefit from playing a simple, easy pass to feet on occasion rather than always, always forcing it forward.
Even with the style they play matching their personnel, I too have found so far this year that it seems like they're always in a rush to boot it forward, even if they might not have a mark within 15 yards of them. The system they operate under has proven to be successful, there's no doubting that. However, if there is nothing open downfield, it might do some good to hold onto possession for a few extra seconds to see if something opens up.
casualfan Rankings after Week 1..
1. Loras 2-0 (Wins over UWO & St. Olaf)
2. UWW 4-0 (Wins over Wisco Luth, MSOE, Carleton, St. Olaf)
3. GAC 3-0 (Wins over Martin Luther, St. Norbert, Viterbo)
4. St. Scholastica 3-0 (Wins over Hamline, Hope, Marian IN)
5. St. Thomas 3-0 (Wins over Northwestern, Elmhurst, Puget Sound WA)
6. Dubuque 2-0-1 (Wins over IL Wesleyan, Hamline. Tied Macalester)
7. Wartburg 1-1-1 (Win over Webster. Tied Macalester. Loss to UWS)
8. UWO 1-1-1 (Win over Southwestern TX. Tied Williamette OR. Loss to Loras)
9. Knox 3-0 (Wins over Blackburn, Concordia Chicago, Edgewood)
10. Lake Forest 2-0 (Wins over Moody Bible, Augustana)
Aren't Knox and Lake Forest in the Central Region?
Nope, not sure how they determine which region but they're in the Midwest Conference which is based in Wisconsin/Iowa/Illinois and the MWC is included in the North.
I don't think region is determined by conference affiliation. For example the UAA has teams across multiple regions.
http://d3soccer.com/teams/region/north-men
You do make a good point with the UAA. Perhaps that conference is different due to the schools being located all over the country? Not entirely sure.
The base rule is that all teams in a conference be assigned to the same region even if a few might otherwise be located in a different region. They make a few exceptions--those being the UAA, GSAC (women only), and the NEAC.
The MWC being in the North Region is as much an attempt to balance the number of teams in each region as it is geography.
Loras handily taking it to the Thunder. 2-0 with 5 to go.
Loras took it to Wheaton tonight. Wheaton had a few moments where they looked like last year's team, but those were few and far between. Bradley is stepping up this season for Loras like Pizzello did last year in the midfield and capitalizing on the potential he displayed when he started as a freshman. Loras' 2nd goal came on a broken play when half the Wheaton players stopped playing thinking there was an offsides call and then half the Loras team stopped thinking there was a handball in the box. Rummelhart kept going like a savvy veteran and buried it from 15 yards out. It's still early, but Loras is impressive so far.
Good to see Whitewater break into the top 25. They handled their first test of many matches in not so many days quite well. Will be interesting to see if they can keep building off their impressive start when they have a stretch of 8 matches in a little over two weeks, beginning on the 18th and ending with Loras away and North Park away back to back.
How I see it, there are 4 top teams, and a bunch of other teams trying to figure themselves out:
1. Loras- The head honcho, even if it isn't pretty soccer. With a tie at home to a good (not great) St. John's team. Should make it a point to mention that St. Johns lost to MSOE 3-0. Just shows that any team can show up on any night.
2. UWW- 5-0 (Wins against MSOE and St. Olaf) Easily second best team in the North. With a 1-0 win against Benedictine. In 5 games, they have only given up one goal.
3. St. Thomas- 4-0, but have to fight in that tough MIAC. They too have only given up one goal so far.
4.Oshkosh- Playing a ridicously hard schedule with only 1 loss, to Loras. With a 1-0 win against Chapman, will face MSOE this week.
St. Olaf Luther St. John's Wartburg Macalster St Scholastic (you could arrange those teams in any way you would like)
Soft sked .... but GAC is 5-0. Always in the mix.
Tommies will find a way to gag. Always do.
GAC clearly a top 3 contender in the region. Although a soft schedule, they have out scored opponents 14-0 over the first 5 games and are the defending MIAC champs.
I don't see how Gustavus was overlooked being 5-0 with no goals against. They may have a soft schedule and lost a very good senior class last year with back to back MIAC MVP's and All Americans Zac Brown and David Lilly, but you can never count them out. They've consistently been a top (if not THE top) MIAC team of the 2000's.
You guys are absolutely correct, GAC should be placed in the top 5. Must of missed them that day when I was looking through the top North teams. I think it goes Loras, UWW, St Thomas/GAC, Oshkosh. And then after that, it's anybodies guess. Will be interesting later on in the year when we start talking about national tournament with respect to the MIAC, because of the overall quality of play. And how a St. Scholastica team (who would probably not even finish average in the MIAC) will automatically take one of the pool A's.
Not so fast Goose! New to the UMAC, UW Superior could potentially give CSS a run for their money come conference tourney time. Just depends which UWS team shows up. Both squads match off a week from today.
Towards the end of the season last year, Superior's wheels really fell off. They lost F Brian Grand and GK Matt Elder to graduation. I don't see MF Gio Rodriguez's name on their 2015 roster, I thought he was one of their more dangerous players. Joey Gustafson is a senior this year, very solid defender.
Not a terrible start this year minus the 7-1 shocker to Luther.
UW Whitewater plays an always tough Carthage team Friday night and follow it up with a match against Wittenberg Saturday at the "Battle on the Border" tournament hosted at Carthage. If UWW goes unblemished through the weekend they then go into a stretch of four home games (in which we will be favored in each) before going to the Rock Bowl to face Loras. A top ten match up in the Rock Bowl would be sure to draw a big crowd.
And about those Tommies ..... similar result as last year's SJU game in St. Paul.
Chicago's streaming is garbage!! Either won't connect or is so slow it continually refreshes!
Loras game might not be pretty and I'm not a fan of it but, as it has been said before, you play with the hand that was dealt to you and I will take 4-0-1 record with 1 goal against and two victories over top five ranked teams any day over looking pretty. Four goals by four different players, can't beat that. Good to see the defense and new goalie are organized and don't give up a lot of easy chances. The rest of September will be interesting to see with Depauw, Western Illinois, and UW-Whitewater
Sounds like many people had difficulties with the stream last night, so maybe that's why there has been little discussion of the pure dismantling performance that Loras put on.
From a perspective of someone who was there, Chicago simply was too content playing possession soccer amongst their backs. Every once in a while when they'd play it forward, one of their outsides would make a run and get a cross off. Not too many legit scoring chances though. Best one came early in the second half. Possession numbers may well have been skewed in favor of the Maroons but they did very little with it.
Also, for people who criticize Loras' style, they actually possessed more than they did against Saint John's because of the amount of time and space Chicago gave them in the midfield. Without Loras' Alex Bradley in the lineup, who is known for his ability to possess and distribute, the Duhawks did a fairly good job of playing "real" soccer as the critics call it.
In addition to Wednesday being the fourth clean sheet in-a-row for Loras, it's also another game where the opposing team's "stud" forward was held in check.
Javier Simon - UWO - 0 SOG (2014: 9G/0A)
Jens Undlin - St. Olaf - 0 SOG (2014: 15G/3A)
Kevin Skrip - St. Olaf - 1 SOG (2014: 8G/2A)
Stephen Golz - Wheaton - 0 SOG (2014: 21G/3A)
Marshall Hollingsworth - Wheaton - 2 SOG (2014: 9G/8A)
Brenton Desai - Chicago - 1 SOG (2014: 9G/2A)
That's four combined shots on goal from players who scored 71 goals in 2014. Coincidence? I think not. Loras' defense is the real deal.
I watched the first 15 minutes of the Loras-Chicago game last night (no problem with the livestream, by the way) before I had to go to a meeting but before I left I told Mrs Dubuquer that Loras was dominating and "this game could end up 3 or 4-nil unless Chicago adapts." It appeared like the intensity and pressure of Loras was rattling the Maroons (perhaps they were playing with a bit of anger/frustration after tying St Johns?). When I got home I was surprised to find out that they had indeed won handily. I wasn't expecting much from the Duhawks this year, but I'm starting to think I was wrong. They could be the real deal. Can anybody say why Bradley didn't play last night? It's an even more impressive victory knowing he didn't play.
I think Bradley sat to give awareness to Rooney sitting for ManU. Those Brits are thick as thieves.
Quote from: Madhatter5 on September 17, 2015, 01:13:59 PM
I think Bradley sat to give awareness to Rooney sitting for ManU. Those Brits are thick as thieves.
You might be right Fletch!
Actually had a little soreness not related to the knee, he should be good to go soon.
St. Johns wins 2-1 at St. Thomas. After a bad loss to MSOE, the Johnnie's are starting to make a statement. Tie at Loras, now huge win against an undefeated St. Thomas team.
Loras with a 4-0 spanking on Chicago. Huge statement win for Loras, Chicago plays beautiful soccer but struggles to put it in the back of the net. The Duhawk's high pressure can stress good quality teams.
Oshkosh beats MSOE 2-0 at home. Oshkosh with another quality win.
GAC vs Macalester was called off due to weather.
Um! Yah! Yah!
http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/video?vid=528166467754 (http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/video?vid=528166467754)
Loras with its first loss of the year at Depauw 2-0 (4-1-1)
UWW with a 7-0 spanking on Wittenberg, 7-0... (UWW is now 7-0, with only 3 goals given up)
I think UWW may have taken the Duhawk's position as the top team in the region (as of today)
My thoughts on Whitewater, they have always had one of the best defenses in the nation, but now they have an actual offense.. Scary, very scary.
Keep an eye on UW-Oshkosh this year. With it being the last year of the program, they're off to a good start under the radar a bit.
5-1-1 with loss to Loras and tie out west to Willamette.
Almost 575 minutes without giving up a goal.
I have been keeping close tabs on the whole situation at Oshkosh. Apparently the Chancellor has yielded that it's not about $$$/budget cuts, the reasoning has now been "changed" to the fact that UWO doesn't have a real conference and therefore no automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The #saveUWOsoccer boys are pressuring their Athletic Director, Darryl Sims, to find them a conference or to create one with other independents/Pool B teams. Unfortunately, Sims is of football background and has no interest in working to reverse the decision.
Will try and keep updates posted on here as the information comes to me.
Anyone know what's up with Carleton?
Saw they dropped another game yesterday, 1 - 3 to Wartburg.
I had a pretty good feeling about them going into the season but they have not looked very competitive (at least on the box scores).
From the looks of it, they just haven't quite found their groove. Augsburg is usually a pretty sound team, a tie to Luther isn't a terrible result, and a loss to Wartburg shouldn't be too unbelievable considering Wartburg is starting to hit a stride. Not to mention Carleton's all-american forward has been injured.
Anyone have regional ranking predictions? Love how unpredictable this season is shaping up to be.
I'll throw my thoughts into this week's rankings.
Things I considered
Will UWW drop a spot or two? Will UWO rise up? Loras dropped a 2nd but to D1 Western IL. Macalester stays unbeaten but at 4-0-4. The MIAC is all over the place with GAC dropping a few and St. Johns, St. Thomas, & St. Olaf all having decent starts. Wartburg should drop out after a loss to Dubuque. St. Scholastica sits at 9-1 with a soft schedule remaining due to their conference aside from UW-Superior who they beat 4-0. This week was hard.
1. UWW 9-1
2. Loras 6-2-1
3. UWO 8-1-1
4. Macalester 4-0-4
5. St. John's 6-1-2
6. St. Scholastica 9-1
7. St. Thomas 6-2
8. UW-Superior 8-2
9. Dubuque 5-2-1
10. GAC 5-2
Does any team deserve the 10th spot?
Nice to see Dubuque and Luther crack the top 10 in the North and Loras back on top.
UWW @ Loras tonight. #1 against #2 in the region. Loras has four consecutive wins over Whitewater. Is this the year the Coach Guinn finally puts his hands on the Hawk Cup?
Prediction: Loras will dominate the middle of the field all night and see upwards of 65% possession. I believe UWW will try to slow Loras's up tempo game and play a counter attacking style with Hottsmith leading that attack. UWW has a tendency to get stretched out when this happens leaving their back line vulnerable. I believe that Loras's depth and the long stretch of games UWW have played recently will lead to another Loras victory.
Final Score: Duhawks 2 UWW 1
Hopefully the Warhawks can prove me wrong and bring the Hawk Cup to Whitewater for the first time.
Loras 2-1 UWW
I also think this is the scoreline but does Loras ever have 65% possession anymore? I'm sure the swarm will give UWW fits all night but I don't see the midfield being the key to success.
I see Rummelhart going at the outside backs of UWW most of the night with quite a bit of success. Hottsmith will likely do the same at the other end for UWW. If the Warhawks can gain a fair amount of set pieces in dangerous areas, I could see UWW pulling it out. Stanko is just a monster in the area and then hits a nice driven free kick as well. I'm not sure if Loras can cope on set pieces with the wrecking ball that he can be.
Could be an overtime kind of game. It's always hard to win at the Rock Bowl and that's why I go with 2-1 win.
Little late to this discussion, I have Loras 3-1. I think their high pressure, speed, and playing at home on turf will rise tonight. UWW has been in a recent slum of barely beating mediocre teams as of late. With all that said, it should be a very interesting team. The king of the North will be crowned tonight.
I hope you're right and Loras can find 3 goals in the 2md half Goose. I wasn't able to see the goal by UWW, but Loras has had some good looks with no results.
Touché to Loras for this outstanding feed but this commentating is beyond bad. The kind of guy you know never played the game at a decent level. Some bias to the Duhawks which is expected. But some just odd phrases and terms that do not relate to the game. Expected better.
Absolutely beautiful volley from 20+ from Gordon to tie it up. Starters are resting for the final 10 min so this one is going to be interesting!
Great goal from Loras. Well hit son.
UWW's goal came off a long throw that was deflected around and hit off the goalies hand. Another goal, which happened almost the same way, was called off for a foul. Loras had a chance in the first half, but missed the goal completely. So far I can't tell if Loras hasn't shown up tonight, or if UWW has figured out how to play against their style. I think it is a little mix of both. I must say UWW's defense is playing extremely well.
And as I say all of this, Mike gordon drills an upper 90 lol
UWW is really turning up the heat, lots of set pieces and throw in's. Plus they missed two sitters, one diving header from point blank as well as a break away that was sky-ed over.
Dylan hottsmith literally just dribbled through the entire Loras defense and put it away side netting. Incredible individual effort.
Hottsmith, welcome to the Hawk Cup. Unbelievable sequence to score that goal. Splits three defenders then tucks in a far post finish with 3 min left!
Maybe just me but I thought the announcer was absolutely fine.
Think it's safe to say that UWW is the top team in the region, as well as of the top's in the nation. Finally have an offense (Dylan Hottsmith) that can help their terrific defense out. Loras will be just fine, they will bounce back.
Quote from: NCAC New England on September 30, 2015, 11:01:24 PM
Maybe just me but I thought the announcer was absolutely fine.
One of the better one's i've heard so far this year... :)
UWW scores a late goal on a confusing throw in and comes away with an extremely rare visitor's win at the Rock Bowl. Loras thought it was theirs and the AR even agreed, but the center lets it go and upholds the goal. Loras had so many missed opportunities to go up and just couldn't convert. A very hard fought battle between these two teams. Not the end of the world DuHawks, just need to find the back of the net a bit more and the ship will be righted again.
Quote from: casualfan on September 30, 2015, 10:25:05 PM
Touché to Loras for this outstanding feed but this commentating is beyond bad. The kind of guy you know never played the game at a decent level. Some bias to the Duhawks which is expected. But some just odd phrases and terms that do not relate to the game. Expected better.
I think he does a great job. Since when did playing the sport become a prerequisite for being a good announcer? Check every major sport across the board and the majority of announcers are non players. The color commentator is the ex-player.
Fair enough. I would think a second guy would have helped the cause. He was passionate so I'll give him that. Just needed a bit of substance I think. The video feed is up there with the best I've experienced. Well done.
I'm on your side casualfan. Had to mute the feed when they played Wheaton, had to mute the feed last night. Very passionate announcer, just after watching Champions League and PL matches I wish every match I watched was called by Ian Darke ;D
If we are talking about the same guy who has been doing Loras' games the past few years, I find no problem in his announcing. The feed is so good that you kind of just block him out. I usually lower the volume because to me he is a little loud but he does have a passion for his team which is commendable.
Just to put the announcer thing to bed, he isn't the same announcer from 2 or 3 years ago. That was the former SID and he was a fantastic announcer, not as biased as you would expect. The new announcer and also the new SID may not have the same player based background, but is still quite knowledgeable about the game and does a better job than 90% of other teams announcers I have heard. If you are looking for EPL quality commentating you might want to stick to EPL matches.
Some schools don't even have announcers, so anything more than nothing is certainly an improvement.
Lol Kickin I love a solid D3 match just as much as the next guy, it's just that the Loras announcer is just not my flavor. Plus I have ties to UWO so my bias versus the DuHawks will always be present!
North Park 1 - 0 UW Whitewater last night. Very hard fought game by both but in the end NP came out on top with the W. Lots of jawing going on during the match. CR stop the game several times to keep peeps under control.
https://youtu.be/tuO0_EZarDo
Quote from: Wisco21 on October 01, 2015, 11:26:58 PM
Lol Kickin I love a solid D3 match just as much as the next guy, it's just that the Loras announcer is just not my flavor. Plus I have ties to UWO so my bias versus the DuHawks will always be present!
I hate you Wisco21, how dare you not be a lover of the DuHAwks! ;)
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 02, 2015, 05:43:09 PM
Quote from: Wisco21 on October 01, 2015, 11:26:58 PM
Lol Kickin I love a solid D3 match just as much as the next guy, it's just that the Loras announcer is just not my flavor. Plus I have ties to UWO so my bias versus the DuHawks will always be present!
I hate you Wisco21, how dare you not be a lover of the DuHAwks! ;)
Number one reason I stopped lurking and made an account for these boards, love the banter!
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 02, 2015, 05:43:09 PM
Quote from: Wisco21 on October 01, 2015, 11:26:58 PM
Lol Kickin I love a solid D3 match just as much as the next guy, it's just that the Loras announcer is just not my flavor. Plus I have ties to UWO so my bias versus the DuHawks will always be present!
I hate you Wisco21, how dare you not be a lover of the DuHAwks! ;)
Kickin I'm giving you + karma on this and I LOVE Wisco21! After my team, I am rooting for Loras, UW-W,Brandeis or SLU to win the national title.
And Kickin, do you think your top players out there in the Central and North Regions are OVERRATED or UNDERRATED? Any thoughts on East Coast bias?
I'll chime in to this question as well, if you don't mind NCAC :) . I tend to think the East Coast bias only aids in helping all of the midwest's soccer programs just in the fact that not many teams know of the teams that well. It adds a flame under our butts if you will, and only adds to the satisfaction when the teams we root for can fly under the radar and do well in the national tournament. With the exception of Loras and Wheaton (both of these two teams' storied success this last decade have not gone unnoticed), not many Easterners could name a couple competitive teams or even players from the Midwest. Teams like St. Johns, St. Olaf, Carleton, MSOE (although the rise of the Andryk brothers has helped them), Wartburg, Luther, and Univ. of Dubuque often don't get the recognition they deserve. I'm confident that if the above 7 teams went out East and played some teams out there, the competitiveness of these teams and the scorelines would catch a lot of people off guard.
Quote from: NCAC New England on October 02, 2015, 07:19:32 PM
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 02, 2015, 05:43:09 PM
Quote from: Wisco21 on October 01, 2015, 11:26:58 PM
Lol Kickin I love a solid D3 match just as much as the next guy, it's just that the Loras announcer is just not my flavor. Plus I have ties to UWO so my bias versus the DuHawks will always be present!
I hate you Wisco21, how dare you not be a lover of the DuHAwks! ;)
Kickin I'm giving you + karma on this and I LOVE Wisco21! After my team, I am rooting for Loras, UW-W,Brandeis or SLU to win the national title.
And Kickin, do you think your top players out there in the Central and North Regions are OVERRATED or UNDERRATED? Any thoughts on East Coast bias?
I do think there is an East Coast bias, but there's also a super majority of the DIII players and fans to support them. Loras (and other North & Central Region teams for that matter ) has had many players left off of AA squads because of this. The numbers are so lop sided that you have to be an Uber player to even be considered. The past 5 years Loras has had a handful of 2nd team and Hon Men AA and I believe 1 1st teamer. You place those 2nd team and HonMen in the East Coast and they are 1st teamers. One example is last years IIAC Defensive POY from Loras Mike Pizzello. He was also the leading scorer in the conference with 14 goals. A man child that dominated matches. He would have been a 1st teamer, but being in this Region I believe kept him out of the top slot.
Quote from: Medicated Pete on October 02, 2015, 03:25:08 PM
North Park 1 - 0 UW Whitewater last night. Very hard fought game by both but in the end NP came out on top with the W. Lots of jawing going on during the match. CR stop the game several times to keep peeps under control.
https://youtu.be/tuO0_EZarDo
NPU dominated the match. The Vikings had the run of play and UWW was only able to get the ball into the forward third a scant few times throughout the match. The Warhawks mustered only one shot on goal all night, and really only had one good chance (a Warhawk couldn't quite align a backside tip off of a corner). Most of their offense consisted of thunderous free kicks from distance by 6'8, 240 behemoth defender Justin Stanko.
The Warhawks defense is very good, and they did an outstanding job of holding NPU at bay for 89 minutes and 50 seconds, but I'm a little surprised that the Vikings didn't get on the scoreboard earlier than that. They certainly had multiple opportunities. As for the jawing and the contact, yeah, it was a chippy affair, but it was more a matter of how badly the two squads wanted it than it was of dirty play or inherent animosity. (Coach Born and Coach Guinn have great respect for each other.)
UW-Whitewater went deeper into the bench than it did the night before against Loras, as Coach Guinn had a regular shuttle going in and out in order to keep his people as fresh as they could possibly be, considering the circumstances. The Warhawks' road-weariness was balanced out by the fact that North Park is a M*A*S*H unit right now, with multiple injuries and illnesses being suffered by key NPU personnel.
Great match to watch, even on a night when most of NPU's student section (Foster's Finest) was unable to make it to the stadium.
Regarding possible East Coast bias in the All-American teams, here's a simple tally of the D3soccer.com All-Americans since they started naming teams in 2010.
D3soccer.com All-Americans (2010-2014)| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 22 | 5 |
| East | 20 | 8 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 27 | 13 |
| South Atlantic | 23 | 8 |
| Great Lakes | 20 | 7 |
| Central | 15 | 5 |
| North | 24 | 7 |
| West | 14 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 165 | 55 |
2014 D3soccer.com All-Americans| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 6 | 2 |
| East | 2 | 0 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 3 |
| South Atlantic | 3 | 1 |
| Great Lakes | 4 | 1 |
| Central | 7 | 4 |
| North | 3 | 0 |
| West | 2 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2013 D3soccer.com All-Americans| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 5 | 0 |
| East | 5 | 0 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 5 | 3 |
| South Atlantic | 7 | 4 |
| Great Lakes | 2 | 1 |
| Central | 2 | 1 |
| North | 4 | 2 |
| West | 3 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2012 D3soccer.com All-Americans| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 5 | 2 |
| East | 6 | 3 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 2 |
| South Atlantic | 1 | 1 |
| Great Lakes | 4 | 1 |
| Central | 1 | 0 |
| North | 6 | 2 |
| West | 4 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2011 D3soccer.com All-Americans| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 3 | 0 |
| East | 5 | 3 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 4 | 1 |
| South Atlantic | 4 | 0 |
| Great Lakes | 7 | 3 |
| Central | 2 | 0 |
| North | 5 | 2 |
| West | 3 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2010 D3soccer.com All-Americans| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 3 | 1 |
| East | 2 | 2 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 4 |
| South Atlantic | 8 | 2 |
| Great Lakes | 3 | 1 |
| Central | 3 | 0 |
| North | 6 | 1 |
| West | 2 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
Based on those numbers, I'm not sure you can make a strong case for any east coast bias. The West Region hasn't gotten much, but let's be honest, the West has been pretty poor over that time period. The Central is the next lowest represented, which may be somewhat surprising, but Wheaton wasn't a top team again until the last couple years and the region lost some of it's better teams to the creation of the North Region back around 2008 or so. The North Region got their share it would appear. The North got more overall than New England, the East, and the South Atlantic, and had an average number of 1st Teamers. The Mid-Atlantic leads in total and 1st Team selections, but that's probably mostly due to a dominate Messiah team more than a bias in favor of that region as a whole. When the NESCAC fans see this they will scoff at claims of east coast bias when their region was on the low end of 1st Teamers and only middle of the pack overall.
Quote from: Flying Weasel on October 03, 2015, 12:53:54 AM
Regarding possible East Coast bias in the All-American teams, here's a simple tally of the D3soccer.com All-Americans since they started naming teams in 2010.
D3soccer.com All-Americans (2010-2014)
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 22 | 5 |
| East | 20 | 8 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 27 | 13 |
| South Atlantic | 23 | 8 |
| Great Lakes | 20 | 7 |
| Central | 15 | 5 |
| North | 24 | 7 |
| West | 14 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 165 | 55 |
2014 D3soccer.com All-Americans
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 6 | 2 |
| East | 2 | 0 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 3 |
| South Atlantic | 3 | 1 |
| Great Lakes | 4 | 1 |
| Central | 7 | 4 |
| North | 3 | 0 |
| West | 2 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2013 D3soccer.com All-Americans
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 5 | 0 |
| East | 5 | 0 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 5 | 3 |
| South Atlantic | 7 | 4 |
| Great Lakes | 2 | 1 |
| Central | 2 | 1 |
| North | 4 | 2 |
| West | 3 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2012 D3soccer.com All-Americans
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 5 | 2 |
| East | 6 | 3 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 2 |
| South Atlantic | 1 | 1 |
| Great Lakes | 4 | 1 |
| Central | 1 | 0 |
| North | 6 | 2 |
| West | 4 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2011 D3soccer.com All-Americans
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 3 | 0 |
| East | 5 | 3 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 4 | 1 |
| South Atlantic | 4 | 0 |
| Great Lakes | 7 | 3 |
| Central | 2 | 0 |
| North | 5 | 2 |
| West | 3 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
2010 D3soccer.com All-Americans
| Region | Total | 1st Team |
| New England | 3 | 1 |
| East | 2 | 2 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6 | 4 |
| South Atlantic | 8 | 2 |
| Great Lakes | 3 | 1 |
| Central | 3 | 0 |
| North | 6 | 1 |
| West | 2 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 33 | 11 |
Based on those numbers, I'm not sure you can make a strong case for any east coast bias. The West Region hasn't gotten much, but let's be honest, the West has been pretty poor over that time period. The Central is the next lowest represented, which may be somewhat surprising, but Wheaton wasn't a top team again until the last couple years and the region lost some of it's better teams to the creation of the North Region back around 2008 or so. The North Region got their share it would appear. The North got more overall than New England, the East, and the South Atlantic, and had an average number of 1st Teamers. The Mid-Atlantic leads in total and 1st Team selections, but that's probably mostly due to a dominate Messiah team more than a bias in favor of that region as a whole. When the NESCAC fans see this they will scoff at claims of east coast bias when their region was on the low end of 1st Teamers and only middle of the pack overall.
I love the stats FW, but it actually demonstrates exactly my point. The "East Coast" isn't the East Region, I was speaking more geographically and the density of D3 schools in the East vs North & Central. That being the reason why they are getting more looks and more AA. Splitting up the teams longitudinally into sectors instead of regions show a much larger disparity, but as I said it will because of the pure density of D3 schools in that area (307 schools to 111 schools). I split the Great Lakes region giving 26 to East Coast and 26 to Midwest, I am cutting off the Western "Appendix" (no real use for them anymore besides Trinity :)) because it wasn't part of the original question. Averages out to a little over twice as many AA and 2 .42 times as many 1st Teamers.
Than perhaps I misunderstood something, but the term "bias" was being used and you said that you did believe an "East Coast bias" existed. If there are more schools in the east than the east should be expected to get proportionally more AA's. And when that happens, it's not
bias at work, its
proportionality. I know what you meant by "East Coast" in the broad sense. I just stuck with the traditional eight regions to quickly see if there was proportional representation in the AA selections or not. If there is proportionality when broken up by region, there will continue to be proportionality when grouping regions, and if there is proportionality, then that is evidence (not proof) against the existence of bias.
So, let me take your East vs. Midwest ratios of AA's and 1st Teamers and compare them to the ratio of teams in the East and Midwest and see what that ratio is. If it's larger than the ratios of AA's and 1st Teamers, the Midwest is getting more than its proportional share; if it's smaller, then the East is getting more than its proportional share.
Using your 50/50 split of the Great Lakes . . .
EAST COAST vs. MID-WEST (Great Lakes split) |
No. of Teams |
Total AA's |
1st Team AA's |
| Total (All Teams) |
416 |
165 |
55 |
East (N.E., East, Mid-Atl.,
S. Atl., 1/2 Gr. Lakes) |
267
(64%) |
102
(62%) |
38
(68%) |
Midwest (1/2 Gr. Lakes,
Central, North) |
111
(27%) |
49
(30%) |
16
(28%) |
| Ratio (East to Midwest) |
2.41 |
2.08 |
2.42 |
And before discussing the results, I also did the comparison neglecting the Great Lakes altogether . . .
EAST COAST vs. MID-WEST (Great Lakes neglected) |
No. of Teams |
Total AA's |
1st Team AA's |
| Total (All Teams) |
416 |
165 |
55 |
East (N.E., East, Mid-Atl.,
S. Atl. ) |
241
(58%) |
92
(56%) |
34
(62%) |
Midwest (Central &
North) |
85
(20%) |
39
(24%) |
12
(22%) |
| Ratio |
2.84 |
2.36 |
2.83 |
Looking at the numbers, the East gets a hair less than their proportional share of AA's (-2%), but a little more than their proportional share of 1st Teamers (+4%). And the extra 1st Teamers are not coming at the expense of the Midwest but rather the West. The Midwest is getting a little more than their proportional share of AA's (+3 to 4%), and hair more than their proportional share of 1st Teamers (+1 to 2%).
I'd venture to guess the Messiah factor explains the East's extra 1st Teamers, but it must be repeated that those extra 1st Teamers did not come at the expense of the Midwest which still got a hair more than their proportional share. To the contrary, when looking at total AA's, it's would appear that the Midwest's extra selections (+3 to 4%) are coming at the East's expense (-2%) resulting in the East only getting twice as many total AA's as the Midwest (2.08) despite actually having almost two and half as many teams (2.41).
Midwest bias!!!!!!! ;) :P
I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to find when I did the tallies in my earlier post, and I wanted to see if this
perception of east coast bias could be borne out by the data or debunked. While it might be a little strong to definitively say no bias exists based solely on these numeric computations and comparisons, this evidence certainly runs contrary to the argument that bias exists. And in rather small margins, it suggests the Midwest has been getting a little more than its proportional share of AA's.
Quote from: Flying Weasel on October 03, 2015, 10:20:08 AM
Than perhaps I misunderstood something, but the term "bias" was being used and you said that you did believe an "East Coast bias" existed. If there are more schools in the east than the east should be expected to get proportionally more AA's. And when that happens, it's not bias at work, its proportionality. I know what you meant by "East Coast" in the broad sense. I just stuck with the traditional eight regions to quickly see if there was proportional representation in the AA selections or not. If there is proportionality when broken up by region, there will continue to be proportionality when grouping regions, and if there is proportionality, then that is evidence (not proof) against the existence of bias.
So, let me take your East vs. Midwest ratios of AA's and 1st Teamers and compare them to the ratio of teams in the East and Midwest and see what that ratio is. If it's larger than the ratios of AA's and 1st Teamers, the Midwest is getting more than its proportional share; if it's smaller, then the East is getting more than its proportional share.
Using your 50/50 split of the Great Lakes . . .
EAST COAST vs. MID-WEST (Great Lakes split)
|
No. of Teams |
Total AA's |
1st Team AA's |
| Total (All Teams) |
416 |
165 |
55 |
East (N.E., East, Mid-Atl.,
S. Atl., 1/2 Gr. Lakes) |
267
(64%) |
102
(62%) |
38
(68%) |
Midwest (1/2 Gr. Lakes,
Central, North) |
111
(27%) |
49
(30%) |
16
(28%) |
| Ratio (East to Midwest) |
2.41 |
2.08 |
2.42 |
And before discussing the results, I also did the comparison neglecting the Great Lakes altogether . . .
EAST COAST vs. MID-WEST (Great Lakes neglected)
|
No. of Teams |
Total AA's |
1st Team AA's |
| Total (All Teams) |
416 |
165 |
55 |
East (N.E., East, Mid-Atl.,
S. Atl. ) |
241
(58%) |
92
(56%) |
34
(62%) |
Midwest (Central &
North) |
85
(20%) |
39
(24%) |
12
(22%) |
| Ratio |
2.84 |
2.36 |
2.83 |
Looking at the numbers, the East gets a hair less than their proportional share of AA's (-2%), but a little more than their proportional share of 1st Teamers (+4%). And the extra 1st Teamers are not coming at the expense of the Midwest but rather the West. The Midwest is getting a little more than their proportional share of AA's (+3 to 4%), and hair more than their proportional share of 1st Teamers (+1 to 2%).
I'd venture to guess the Messiah factor explains the East's extra 1st Teamers, but it must be repeated that those extra 1st Teamers did not come at the expense of the Midwest which still got a hair more than their proportional share. To the contrary, when looking at total AA's, it's would appear that the Midwest's extra selections (+3 to 4%) are coming at the East's expense (-2%) resulting in the East only getting twice as many total AA's as the Midwest (2.08) despite actually having almost two and half as many teams (2.41). Midwest bias!!!!!!! ;) :P
I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to find when I did the tallies in my earlier post, and I wanted to see if this perception of east coast bias could be borne out by the data or debunked. While it might be a little strong to definitively say no bias exists based solely on these numeric computations and comparisons, this evidence certainly runs contrary to the argument that bias exists. And in rather small margins, it suggests the Midwest has been getting a little more than its proportional share of AA's.
All good points and valid statistics, especially given the high number of schools there..... East Coast bias???????
I forgot one thing at the end of my last post and that is that after looking at the proportional representation in the AA selections, any argument that a bias against the Midwest and in favor of the East exists now requires making the case that the Midwest is stronger and deeper than the East and on that basis deserves a disproportionately greater number of AA selections. Not sure if anyone wants to try to build that case or not.
So, returning to KICKIN's claim that got me started down this path:
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 02, 2015, 10:00:44 PMI do think there is an East Coast bias, but there's also a super majority of the DIII players and fans to support them. Loras (and other North & Central Region teams for that matter ) has had many players left off of AA squads because of this. The numbers are so lop sided that you have to be an Uber player to even be considered. The past 5 years Loras has had a handful of 2nd team and Hon Men AA and I believe 1 1st teamer. You place those 2nd team and HonMen in the East Coast and they are 1st teamers. One example is last years IIAC Defensive POY from Loras Mike Pizzello. He was also the leading scorer in the conference with 14 goals. A man child that dominated matches. He would have been a 1st teamer, but being in this Region I believe kept him out of the top slot.
Since it has been shown that the East is clearly
not getting a disproportionately greater number of AA selections than the Midwest, do you stand by your statement that
many North and Central players have been overlooked due to east coast bias? Do you stand by your statement that "the numbers are
so lopsided that you have to be an Uber player to get considered"?
Quote from: Flying Weasel on October 03, 2015, 11:58:40 AM
I forgot one thing at the end of my last post and that is that after looking at the proportional representation in the AA selections, any argument that a bias against the Midwest and in favor of the East exists now requires making the case that the Midwest is stronger and deeper than the East and on that basis deserves a disproportionately greater number of AA selections. Not sure if anyone wants to try to build that case or not.
So, returning to KICKIN's claim that got me started down this path:
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 02, 2015, 10:00:44 PMI do think there is an East Coast bias, but there's also a super majority of the DIII players and fans to support them. Loras (and other North & Central Region teams for that matter ) has had many players left off of AA squads because of this. The numbers are so lop sided that you have to be an Uber player to even be considered. The past 5 years Loras has had a handful of 2nd team and Hon Men AA and I believe 1 1st teamer. You place those 2nd team and HonMen in the East Coast and they are 1st teamers. One example is last years IIAC Defensive POY from Loras Mike Pizzello. He was also the leading scorer in the conference with 14 goals. A man child that dominated matches. He would have been a 1st teamer, but being in this Region I believe kept him out of the top slot.
Since it has been shown that the East is clearly not getting a disproportionately greater number of AA selections than the Midwest, do you stand by your statement that many North and Central players have been overlooked due to east coast bias? Do you stand by your statement that "the numbers are so lopsided that you have to be an Uber player to get considered"?
FW, so do you now think based on your data that the Midwest is benefiting from "Midwest bias"? If not, your logic may be faulty in suggesting that a response "now requires" showing that the Midwest has a larger number of better players.
I don't think that has to be the case. I started this to some degree by asking Kickin if he thought some players in other regions were overrated or underrated and if he had had any opinion on "east coast bias". He did indeed respond by referencing the AA stuff and a specific player from Loras. But the discussion/debate, from my POV doesn't have to be reduced to AA lists. Your data and conclusions (and I question your conclusions) are limited to the D3 soccer AA lists from 2010 to 2014. Yes, the data are interesting, but what do they reflect beyond the lists themselves?
In other words, I am going to suggest that there is a correlation error in your analysis. AA lists, as well as all-conference lists are notorious for "spreading the wealth." That's how I interpret the distribution and the fact that we see players chosen from schools most of us didn't even know existed or from normally weakly advertised area. Not sure we can extrapolate this one list as proving or disproving whether any region enjoys a bias....not even with respect to just the D3 AA lists, if the panel who decides makes some intentional effort to "spread the wealth" or makes selections based on any number of perhaps other unintended factors/influences. Facts are facts. But why certain facts are used or how they are interpreted often is far from clear.
All this discussion really makes me wish that the resources were available to consistently pit teams from the midwest, north, and west against eastern teams. Maybe one day when money starts to grow on trees ;)
Anywho here's my stab at predicting tomorrow's regional rankings:
1.) UW Whitewater 11-2. Knocking off Loras College should warrant the #1 spot. DA Loras, LA North Park.
2.) Loras College 6-3-1. Even at their current record, the DuHawks deserving of at least top 3. LH UWW, DA Central.
3.) College of St. Scholastica 10-1. Only beat 3W-8L Minnesota Morris 1-0 this past weekend, was expecting more from goals-galore CSS. DA Minn Morris.
4.) UW Oshkosh 9-1-1. Handled St. Norbert's 3-0 midweek. True tests on 10/7 home vs. Wheaton (Ill.) and on the road 10/11 at Scholastica. DH St. Norbert.
T5.) Macalester 6-0-4. Still undefeated Scots could either go above or below the Johnnies. Solid two wins at home. DH Luther, DH St. Olaf.
T5.) St. John's 8-1-2. Could either go above or below Scots. DH Augsburg, DA UW Superior.
7.) Dubuque 7-2-1. Two away wins since last Tuesday sees the Spartans above the Tommies. DA Monmouth, DA Simpson.
8.) St. Thomas 7-3. Loss at Hamline puts a blotch on Tommies' resume. DH Concordia-Moorhead, LA Hamline.
9.) Luther 7-3-2. Most likely Pool A or bust (sitting 2-0 in conference), could winning out attest for an at-large? LA Macalester, DH Buena Vista.
10.) UW Superior 10-3. UMAC's weak conference not doing the Yellowjackets any favors. DH Northland, DA Crown, LH St. John's.
Score predictions of matches that I'll be following this evening:
UWW 5
Central 0
UST 3
Carthage 2
Wheaton 1
UWO 1
Aurora 0
MSOE 4
Dubuque 3
UWP 1
St. Thomas loses to Carthage 1-0 in the 89th minute. Stats looked about even.
Wow goals hard to come by this Wednesday! Surprised at the MSOE-Aurora result!
Quote from: Wisco21 on October 08, 2015, 12:03:56 AM
Wow goals hard to come by this Wednesday! Surprised at the MSOE-Aurora result!
I was surprised too, especially after looking at Box Score. 19 shots for MSOE vs. 4 for Aurora. Obviously, it only took one! Must not have been the Andryk bros day.
I was able to see the 2nd half of MSOE-Aurora live. Walked up as Aurora was celebrating their goal right before half. From the murmurs in the crowd, it sounds like it was quite the goal for Aurora.
Second half, Aurora was content to sit in and counter. They have 2 forwards who are big, strong, and fast which allowed for them to have a half-chance or two in the second half but it was all MSOE other than that.
But with Aurora packed in, MSOE seemed content with serving balls in from distance that Aurora was able to deal with fairly easily. Set pieces are always a danger for opposing teams against the Raiders as Logan Andryk hits a perfect serve just about every time. They also have 2-3 guys who are fairly good in the air, Skow & Cwiok in particular.
MSOE did have a penalty shout with 10 minutes or so left that I felt was warranted. Judging by the angle the referee had, he may not have been able to see it. Braden Andyrk was tripped up from behind just as he was about to strike one on goal from about 10 yards. AR was on the far side and had no view of it either.
1. Whitewater (12-2) with a rough 1-0 win against Central at home
2. Loras (7-3-1) with a 4-0 and 2-0 win both at Central and Wartburg
3. St. Scholastica (11-1) with a huge game today at home against (4.)Oshkosh (9-1-2), this will be the ultimate test for both teams. If Scholastica wins, you can almost write the Pool B bid to UWW. If Oshkosh wins, then that showdown against UWW looks very interesting.
5. Macalester (7-0-5) pulls 3 goals late for their 7th win at St. Thomas. Reminds me a lot of 2013's Oshkosh team, they have a lot of ties but no loses.
5. St. Johns (9-1-2) barely gets by Bethel 1-0. They will have a huge test against GAC coming up.
7. Dubuque (9-2-1), continues to roll. But still lack a key win.
8. St. Thomas (7-5) have just dropped 3 straight losses (including hamline). Unless they win the MIAC tournament, their post season activities look dull.
9.Luther (7-3-3) with a tie against Simpson. Play Dubuque later on this week. Like St. Thomas, are really hoping from a conference tournament championship to have any hope.
10. Superior (11-3) with no key wins. Only hope is to win the UMAC conference tournament. If that were to happen, (which I don't think will) I see Scholastica having a hard case to make it into the NCAA Tournament as an "at large bid"
My thoughts so far,
I think Loras, UWW, Oshkosh, Macalester, and Scholastica are looking pretty.
Loras because they have an extremely tough schedule and have had some really good results. And also I see them cruising in the conference tournament.
UWW- Have some good wins (possibly 4 regional ranked wins). Would still have to play Oshkosh, depending on how today's game goes, could have serious implications with regards to the pool B. But I see this as a year where Oshkosh and UWW take the Pool B and a Pool C bid, all dependent on the national conference tournament time.
Macalester, they haven't lost and have had a couple key wins. Need to grab another couple wins to not worry about winning the conference tournament.
Scholastica, as long as they win there conference tournament (which they easily should) will make another tournament appearance.
With all that being said, MSOE just dropped their second straight. One against Dominican, their conference rival. Which really has serious implications when regional rankings come out, because in my opinion that drops them out of the top 5 central rankings. Which takes a W out of UWW and UWOs regional win column.
I had the chance to watch Dominican at Rockford, and was in shock of how much the level of play Dominican dropped. They only won 2-0 against a young Rockford team. That being said, I think Rockford played extremely well for their normal level of play. But Dominican looked young, inexperienced, and like a team that would struggle in the North.
Nice analysis, goose.
Thanks New England!
Currently watching the Scholastica/Oshkosh game.
I'll be the first to admit that I have undervalued Scholastica's level of play. Both these teams play beautiful soccer. Scholastica had more opportunities in the first half, I did miss the Scholastica goal. But Oshkosh has picked up the pace and has gone more direct. Oshkosh's goal came off a rebound in the box off a free-kick/corner.
Scholastica has some really good offensive threats and can score goals, whereas Oshkosh won't blow a team out of the water but are extremely hard to score on.
As I am typing, a slotted ball across the box finds an Oshkosh player from about 10 yards out on the right side of the box and slots it to the opposite side netting. [/b]
Predictions for tomorrow
1.) UWW - no change
2.) Loras - no change
3.) UWO - beat CSS
4.) CSS - lost to UWO
5.) Macalester - still undefeated but holy 5 draws
T7.) UD - lack a key win
T7.) SJU - lack a key win
9.) Wartburg?
10.) Luther?
My opinion: The top 3 are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. CSS will be fine with AQ. The mess in Minnesota is very real with Macalester, Dubuque, and St. Johns all in the same boat. UD has two matches left to really make a statement vs. the two top dawgs in the north, University Of Water That Has Absence Of Color and the DUHAWKERS & CO. SJU is @ Macalester on 10/27 -- could be fun. Don't forget about St. Olaf who are 4-1 in conference. Is it too late for anyone in the MIAC get anything else besides an AQ???
It's been a long day lads, waiting until Tuesday for these rankings is really killing my Monday vibes
Completely agree with your rankings and analysis Wisco.
The top 3 in UWW, Loras, and UWO are not only the top teams in the region, but also the nation. I do think Loras has taken a step down from where they have been in years past, but still are a deadly team.
The Minnesota conference is and always has been chaos. They have so many talented teams that beat up on each other and struggle to set themselves apart from one another. I think there will be only one AQ from that conference as well, I can't see a team from that conference who doesn't win an AQ receive a Pool C over either UWW/UWO (whoever doesn't receive the Pool B).
As for Dubuque, they can either win that conference tournament against Loras/Wartburg/Luther, or can win against UWW and Loras to close out the season. And that would make a good case for the NCAA tournament.
St. Olaf's only chance is to win the AQ. 6-5 and only real wins are in conference among each other.
So my predictions for tournament bids (so far):
UWW: Pool B
Loras- will make it regardless of AQ
UWO: Pool C- Far superior than any other team battling for a Pool C (even across the nation)
CSS: Should win conference against a Superior team that lost 10 players
And then there is everyone from the MIAC for that one spot. Even if Macalester were to lose, they may have an outside chance depending on how many pool c's are still open and how they finish out.
As for the IIAC, UD will probably have the best chance to get an at-large depending on how they finish out and if Loras wins the tournament. But if Wartburg/Luther wins the conference tournament, Dubuque would be out.
And then the MWC with all those average teams, only one AQ will come from that.
Goose and others, just curious to how you see the IIAC playing out.
Goose as you posted
"As for the IIAC, UD will probably have the best chance to get an at-large depending on how they finish out and if Loras wins the tournament. But if Wartburg/Luther wins the conference tournament, Dubuque would be out."
Loras - safe to say they are in the dance regardless of the rest of the season
UD - must they get the AQ? Not sure about their SOS. They do have two tuff matches left and could conceivalbly drop both.
Wartburg - in theory have a good chance to run the table the rest of the regular season, weak SOS and loss to UW-S could hurt them. Do they need the AQ to get in? Stranger things have happened such as Luther last year not getting an at large.
Luther- probably need to get the AQ.
So, if Loras wins the AQ, are they the only IIAC team to represent??
Mr. Harry, this is my prediction for the IIAC:
I'll preface this by saying the only I have only seen Loras, Dubuque, Wartburg, and Central play this year either in-person or via stream.
Loras - The swarm will take care of teams most of the time. However, with 6 matches still to play in two weeks, can the DuHawks stay healthy through the end of the season and conference tournament? I believe Loras has already punched their ticket to go dancing.
Dubuque - I saw them take on MSOE and Wartburg via video feed. Their last six games have been: WWWWWW. Still have Luther, UWW, Loras. They will need to get a W in at least TWO of these matches to even have some sort of chance at Pool C. The subjective NCAA committee loves SOS and results against regionally ranked opponents- two categories not in UD's favor. I believe Dubuque must win the IIAC tournament.
Wartburg - I miss the smashmouth Wartburg of last year. This year's team is too inconsistent for me. That being said, they still have the tools to salvage the end of the year conference tournament. This is the Knight's only way in. I believe Wartburg must win the IIAC tournament.
Luther - Have not see them yet this year. They have 5 matches left, 4 of which look pretty tasty (Dubuque, Loras, UWO, Wartburg). Like Dubuque, the Norse are up against it for a Pool C. I do not see them getting an At-Large. I believe Luther must win the IIAC tournament.
Only Loras will receive a Pool C bid if things get shaky and the DuHawk favorites lose in the IIAC conference tournament. Luckily for us viewing at home, end of the year conference tournaments are almost always shaky!
Love this time of year.
Wisco
I agree with you assessment.
Last year's Wartburg being smashmouth, I think last year they only way they got in was to win the AQ.
They had like 6 draws last year.
They did some good things and some bad as Loras last weekend.
For them to win the AQ, they need to figure out a few things out like scoring/finishing.
They have their highlights (if you can call it that) up on their website and they show two pretty good chances but couldn't put the ball in the net.
Overlooked Wartburg's schedule a little bit. They have six matches remaining, all of which are very winnable. That would put them at 14-4-1 if they win out, with momentum into the IIAC tourney. Five blemishes with losses to Loras, Dubuque, Colorado College, UW Superior and a draw with undefeated Macalester.
Is 5 blemishes too many? I think they're right on the bubble, the Knights have no room for error if they wanna make some noise
Hey guys!
I completely agree with Wisco's analysis with the IIAC. I think Wartburg is in an extremely tough spot, regardless of how they close out the regular season. Their 5 blemishes have been to good teams,the problem there though is that these are the teams they need to beat for "regional wins". Hypothetically, even if they win out, put their record/results against an Oshkosh or Dubuques, or even a MIAC team that finishes second, I don't think would look favorable.
The rankings by NSCAA/D3/Massey/HEROsports have been published for the last week, very interesting.
UWW: 11/10/34/29
LORAS: 14/20/30/10
UWO: 17/23/28/12
CSS: 23/NR/81/49
So obviously NSCAA/D3 are what we are accustomed too. NSCAA is a coaches poll, so some bias can interfere with rankings. The D3soccer.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of coaches, Sports Information Directors and D3soccer.com staff, and is published weekly. And both Massey and HERO are calculated approaches including: SOS, OFF ranking, DEF ranking, Estimated wins/losses, home advantage, and "heat"".
Goose and others,
Going of off these rankings that Goose has so nicely laid out for us, I will be venturing out on a limb....what are the chances one or more of these four teams (or other north region squads) can make a deep run into the NCAA tournament? Elite 8? Final 4? Ambitious, I know, but with the season playing out like it has so far, what's stopping any team from saying, "hey, we really have a chance to blow this thing open, this national title is anyone's for the taking!"
Would be very interested to hear everyone's opinions on this!
Hey Wisco21,
The chances for each of the four teams mentioned are good. I would even throw the MIAC victor into the mix as well. Problem is that we all are clumped together in the same region and we beat up on each other. Normally a couple teams will slip else where into one of the other quadrants (North Park last year). If you look at last years Sweet 16, it was Wheaton/ Wartburg/Loras/ Trinity TX.
Obviously this year, UWW/UWO/Loras all have the tools to be in that mix. Problem is that they will be going up against the best of the central region (Wheaton/WashU/Chicago/Calvin/North Park) and they love to throw Trinity our way too.
Down goes Oshkosh!
Ugh, me too NCAC. I was at the match, UWO simply didn't show up today. Platteville wanted it more and they deserved the victory. The lads need to figure it out quick as they have two MUST WIN matches this upcoming week at home vs. Luther and UWW if they want to stay in the mix.
Hopefully this is one of those losses that can help them refocus, mind you, Oshkosh hasn't experienced a loss since September 1st at the hands of Loras. Under these circumstances, it will be interesting to see how the regional rankings look this Wednesday, St. Scholastica did win today.
Just left the Luther-Loras game with 30 minutes left. Loras was up 5-0. It looked the nice guys from Decorah were bent on ensuring a successful Senior Day in the Rock Bowl for the Duhawks.
I mean I absolutely hate to do this, but what happens if Platteville finishes strong? They are 8-3-3 and have UWW at home, Wartburg at home, and away at Loras....
Hypothetically, if they were to win out, that Pool B could be calling their name (with head to head wins against UWO/UWW)
My honest prediction is that although they will show up and play tough against all the teams, they may win 1 and grab a tie. Still the biggest game of the year comes down to UWW/UWO. But this goes to show, you have to show up each and every night.
UWW has the ball in their court, but still has a tough test with their 3 road games: Dubuque, Oshkosh, Platteville. For the pool b bid, they MUST beat or tie Oshkosh. I think regardless of those other games, they are in a good spot.
I'll leave this here....... What happens if UWO beats UWW, and then UWW beats Platteville??????
and down goes Loras, Tommies with the 2-1 victory :o
Hmm I'm both surprised/unsurprised at this result. Surprised in how Loras dominated on Saturday and then wasn't able to ride their momentum into today. Possibly a senior night hangover? Unsurprised in how the Tommies had the DuHawk's number last year and now again this year. Maybe Loras made the same mistake as UWO did this past weekend of overlooking a 5 loss St. Thomas squad. It's easy to get hyped for the Saturday night conference match, not so easy to do the same on a Monday afternoon.
As I said before (not to take away from St. Thomas/UWW/Depauw/St.John's), Loras is not the same team they have been in years past. It shows in their roller coaster of a season. Not to understate their talent, because on any single night they can beat any team in the nation, but they are very streaky and are unpredictable.
With both Loras and UWO losses, UWW is even sitting prettier as the top dog.
My regional rankings:
1.) UWW - Win vs Simpson (2-1)
2.) Loras - Win vs Coe (4-0), Win vs Luther (5-1), Loss to St. Thomas (2-1)
3.) Macalester -Win to St. Mary's (3-0), win at Carleton (1-0)
4.) UWO - Loss at Platteville (3-2)
5.) CSS - Win to UWS (3-1), win to Bethany Lutheran (2-0), tie to Carleton.
Wartburg- Win vs. Buena Vista (9-0), win vs Central (3-0), loss at St. Olaf (1-0)
Luther- Win vs. Dubuque (3-0) and loss at Loras (5-1)
St. Thomas- Win at St. Olaf (2-1), win vs Loras (2-1)
Platteville- Win vs Edgewood (3-0), win vs Oshkosh (3-2)
UD - Loss at Luther (3-0) and Win to Buena Vista (4-0)
SJU - Win vs. GAC (1-0) and Loss at Concordia Moorehead (1-2)
Finlandia- Win vs Northland (1-0), Win vs Robert Morris (6-0), loss to Fontbonne (3-0)
I could only do top 5, because beyond that point I have absolutely no idea. St. Thomas has the best shot to crack the rankings because of their current hot streak. Then more than likely one of the remaining IIAC teams will also sneak in, that is up for debate.
First Regional Ranking is out and no bones with what they have in the North except for Knox.
Weak schedule but great record. I think one of the MIAC or IIAC schools with a lesser recorder but stronger SOS would be warranted.
Yea I am really surprised by the Knox selection. Luther/CSS/MIAC teams would be a much better selection.
UWW with a huge win on the road at Dubuque, and UWO drops a 1-0 defeat at home to Luther.
UWW 14-2- Key Wins- MSOE, Carthage, Loras, Dubuque, St. Olaf Blemishes: On road to NP, at home in overtime to a good Concordia Wisconsin Team (13-2-1) SOS: 577
UWO 10-3-2- Key Wins- MSOE, North Park, CSS Blemishes: loss at home to Loras, Loss at Platteville, loss at home to Luther. Tie at Wheaton, tie at Williamette SOS: 549
Think it's safe to say that UWW has taken the Pool B bid, regardless of their match with Oshkosh this Saturday.
Goose, do you think a win at home vs. UWW could warrant a Pool C bid for a dilapidated UWO side?
If that were to occur they would still have an SOS around 550 (I would assume UWW and Finlandia's SOS's would cancel each other out) and would hold a RvR of 3-1-1 or 3-1-2 (if Luther wins out could see them being regionally ranked)
W: MSOE, NPU, UWW
T: Wheaton (Ill.)
L: Loras, [Luther]
A loss or draw would surely see the Titan's final season to an end.
I think UWO would deserve a bid if they can knock off UWW at home.
Like you mentioned, 12-3-2 with an SOS around .550 and a good record against regionally ranked opponents.
It would be a great story to see UWO get in the tourney in their final season.
A UWO team in the NCAA tourney with a bunch of guys passionate about their program in their final season could spell trouble for many squads.
UWW should be in safely now, but would likely need to win at least 1 of 2 remaining in order to host the first two rounds. They could possibly host the first 4 rounds if they win both.
I agree casualfan,
UWW's Fiskum Field is a terrific venue with a natural grass surface and a stellar video feed. Would love to see them host. I think after the season they've had this year they deserve it.
http://uwwsports.com/news/2013/9/26/FAC_0926133040.aspx
Beautiful facility from what that picture shows. Would be a great hosting venue.
Hey Wisco,
I'm right there with casual fan.
Right now UWO is sitting at 2-1-1 with regionally ranked games. I think either Luther/CSS will drop into that 7th spot, either giving UWO another win or loss in their regionally ranked games. If UWO beats UWW, they should make the tournament. If they were to tie, that could be still alright. A loss would make their chances very slim, but hypothetically they could end up 3-3-1 (with a loss to UWW but CSS jumps into the rankings) then that is a completely different story.
But I completely agree with you guys that UWW should host. Absolute beautiful pitch with a great atmosphere and facilities.
I definitely agree that UWO would deserve a bid if they could beat UWW but they've once again put that decision in the hands of a committee (one that screwed them last year by giving Dominican a bid instead).
That game is sure to be a heated battle as it appears to be the last ever matchup between these two rivals, UWW looks to host in the tournament, and UWO looks to try to make a statement to #SaveUWOSoccer Not a game you want to miss!
The facility at UWW is first class aside from the fact there is no live video for our out of region friends. Maybe if they were to host this year, they could make it happen somehow.
The UWO-UWW rivalry is always heated and this one will be no different with even more on the line.
Looking forward to seeing it live!
In response to the field at UWW...it's immaculate. One of the best in D3 soccer. No actual restrooms though from the blurb I read...but they are working on that! ;D
Shooter, as of this spring there is a brand new restroom building nearby for both baseball and soccer.
The grass is always perfect as well which is what every pure soccer fan prefers in my opinion!
Quote from: casualfan on October 22, 2015, 03:03:20 PM
Shooter, as of this spring there is a brand new restroom building nearby for both baseball and soccer.
The grass is always perfect as well which is what every pure soccer fan prefers in my opinion!
Thanks for the update! +K if I was able to give it. Any one know when I can help their Karma out? Anyways. Yes I tend to favor a great grass field over turf. That field looks great. Good investment by them.
Loras with the 2-1 victory over UWP. PK given to the Pioneers with 1 min remaining that was suspect at best. Loras pretty much in control for the majority of the match. UWP keeper kept them in this one woth some nice saves as well as a defender clearing one off the line with his head. Loras also had a goal called back due to an offsides. All in all a well played match and a well deserved 'W".
Who says a 0-0 draw can't be exciting?! Classic UWW-UWO rivalry game! Plenty of action, lots of hard tackling, couple of reds and in the end a well-deserved tie. Warhawks knew a draw was as good as a win for them and played the OTs accordingly packing the box and holding on. Oshkosh now in a precarious position, but still have a potential bid depending on how the conference tournaments shake out. Would hate for this to be the last game these two teams play against each other, seems a shame that Oshkosh would cut their most successful program #SaveTheRivalry
Rank School
1 Amherst College---------------------------------#1 New England
2 Calvin College---------------------------- -------#1 Central
3 Franklin & Marshall College-----------------------#1 Mid-Atlantic
4 Thomas More College----------------------------#1 Great Lakes
5 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater--------------#1 North
6 Montclair State University-------------------------#1 South Atlantic
7 Trinity University (Texas)--------------------------#1 West
8 Kenyon College-----------------------------------#2 Great Lakes
9. Whitworth University------------------------------#2 West
10 Stevens Institute Of Technology----------------#1 East
11 Washington University (Mo.)--------------------#2 Central
12 Brandeis University-------------------------------#2 New England
13 Elizabethtown College----------------------------#2 Mid-Atlantic
14 Stockton University-------------------------------#2 South Atlantic
15 Hobart College-----------------------------------#2 East
16 Colorado College----------------------------------#3 West
17 Macalester College--------------------------------#2 North
18 Haverford College--------------------------------#3 Mid-Atlantic
19 Massachusetts Insititute Of Technology---------#3 New England
20 Loras College-------------------------------------#3 North
21 North Park University---------------------------#3 Central
22 Ohio Wesleyan University-----------------------#3 Great Lakes
23 SUNY Oneonta----------------------------------#3 East
24 Salisbury University------------------------------#3 South Atlantic
25 Wheaton College (Ill.)---------------------------#4 Central
Also receiving votes:
Lycoming College (12)----#4 Mid-Atlantic
Case Western Reserve University (8)----#4 Great Lakes
Carthage College (5)----#5 Central
University Of Chicago (4)----#6 Central
University Of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1)----IND
St. Lawrence University (1)----#4 East
College Of St. Scholastica (1)----#4 North
I copied this from the nation post, wonder what all of your thoughts are?
1. UWW- Win at Dubuque, Tie at Oshkosh
2. Macalaster- Win against Augsburg at home
3. Loras- Win at home to Platteville, Win on the road against Buena Vista
4. CSS- Win against Martin Luther, Win against GAC
5. Oshkosh- Loss at home to Luther, tie at home to UWW
I think the top 3 will be correct, I think St. John's will slide to number 4 (based off of last weeks rankings). Oshkosh will drop but likely stay in. CSS and Luther will both hop in, because both Knox and Dubuque lost.
Looks good Goose! I'm very interested to see the RvR and SOS numbers tomorrow.
Right there with you Wisco, that's where we will start to see some separation. I think SOS is such a crucial part, hence CSS/Knox/Superior schedules.
Platteville up 2-1 on Whitewater with about 20 left to play. From what I have seen so far, pretty even game overall. Whitewater's back line seems to be on their heels a little bit. Left hand side of their defense has committed some really costly mistakes and turnovers.
Whitewater's center back (Stanko) robbed with a flick that hit off the inside of the cross bar. Whitewater is starting to look extremely direct, whereas Platteville is running the center of the park.
Whitewater with a laser to tie things up at two a peice. Platteville missed an absolute sitter with the clock hitting zero at the end of regulation.
Overtime was much of the same, whitewater booting it to their offense and waiting for set pieces. Platteville won a defending set piece and passed around the trailing whitewater defenders to win in overtime. Have a feeling platteville may have a chance to slide into the regional talk.
So with the UWW loss to UWP how will the last Regional Ranking on Nov 4th pan out? Head to Head and losses UWW tops Loras (3 losses vs 4) which are the top 2 criteria, but the last 3 criteria of common opponents, ranked opponents, and SOS Loras tops UWW. Since there aren't any matches scheduled for either team before Nov 4th I would guess the ranking will stay the same.
Should Macalester bump up to the #1? Where will UWO sit? Will UWP jump in for Week 3?
Was in attendance at UWW/UWP game. Yes, UWP controlled central park, and UWW went direct. UWP played aggressively so hats off to them. Novak was out of the game (red at UWO), and several starters played 25 mins in match. Not sure if Guinn was giving freshmen sig. playing time, but many frosh registered 75-80 mins in this match. Would have liked to see both teams play at full strength!!
I think the only way Macalester bumps UWW is if they win out/do extremely well in the conference tournament. And same goes with Loras, because everyone knows that the committee does not rank conference tournaments games to seriously.
From what I watched with the UWW/UWP game last night (and also stats indicated) was that the starters were in the game for the first two goals scored on them; whereas the subs came in and scored on both occasions. It seemed like a lack of focus on UWW's part, as if they knew they were the better side but also confidently knew they were in the tournament. (In which we all knew they are securely in the tournament). Now this happens to a lot of teams, a lack of focus because you are so focused on the end goal of the NCAA tournament, and not the game ahead of you.
Let's not discredit Platteville however, they have now beat both Oshkosh/Whitewater. And from what I saw last night, Platteville was the better side on the night and deserved that win. But 8 times out of 10 UWW will win that game.
No disagreement with your points goose. I too saw a lack of urgency from some starters, and mistakes on left defense. Subs were in when goal was given up in OT, and I gotta think the defensive mids wouldn't have given up that middle so easily....
Quote from: KICKIN95 on October 29, 2015, 01:47:50 PM
So with the UWW loss to UWP how will the last Regional Ranking on Nov 4th pan out? Head to Head and losses UWW tops Loras (3 losses vs 4) which are the top 2 criteria, but the last 3 criteria of common opponents, ranked opponents, and SOS Loras tops UWW. Since there aren't any matches scheduled for either team before Nov 4th I would guess the ranking will stay the same.
Loras is 12-3-1 according to the Division III Committee (Loss to Div. I Western Illinois does not factor in to rankings).
Don't you go getting all technical with me there Mr. Prickly! I made a post and I'll be damned if anyone is going to point out a flaw!! >:(
NSCAA jumps Macalester to #1 in North Regioin and pushes UWW to #2 and Loras to #3
http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/4881
1 Macalester College
DH Saint John's University 2-1; DA Bethel University 3-0
2 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
LA University of Wisconsin-Platteville 2-3
3 Loras College
DA University Of Dubuque 2-1
4 College Of St. Scholastica
DA Northland College 11-0
5 Saint John's University
LA Macalester College 1-2; DH St. Olaf College 2-0; 5 12-3-2
6 University Of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
DA Finlandia University 5-1; 7 11-3-3
7 Luther College
LA Wartburg 0-1; DH Coe 4-0; 6 11-5-3
8 University of Wisconsin-Platteville
DH University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 3-2; DH Carroll University (Wis.) 3-0
9 University Of Dubuque
LH Loras College 1-2
10 Carleton College
DA University of St. Thomas 1-0; DH St. Mary's University of Minnesota 5-1
Gents,
Obviously we will have more information tomorrow with the NCAA rankings, but what do you think the tournament picture looks like in the North this year? I could see us getting one Pool C maybe two, but with the parity this season who knows!
My assumptions are that Loras, CSS, and Macalester are going to take an AQ, and UWW snags the Pool B over UWO and UWP. Who gets a Pool C?
UWW should be a lock. Conference tournaments can be messy: I feel confident in Loras and CSS, and I wouldn't be surprised if Macalester didn't get their AQ, but then they'd would for sure gobble up the At-Large bid no? I feel UWO is the only other team that has a shout at the Pool C, would the committee take Luther or St. Johns or even Dubuque if they have a good showing in their conference tournaments?
I think you make a lot of sense Wisco.
UWW will be the Pool B.
Loras is a lock and I think Macalester is a lock. Teams like UWO really need these 2 to win their conference tournaments.
CSS should win the UMAC conference tournament and likely would need to win it in order to ensure a spot.
I think the North deserves 1 at-large at the very least. I don't know the numbers but I'm sure there's been at least 2 at-larges from the North for majority of the years that the North Region has been around. Unfortunately, that's usually due to the strength of the MIAC & IIAC which I think are possible 1 team leagues this year unless Loras/MAC get knocked off.
Therefore, the teams remaining for the at-large bids would be.
UWO, UWP, St. Johns, Luther, Dubuque
UWO and UWP are very close, wish we could get 1 more game each to help decide. I think 1 of these teams surely gets in with UWO getting the nod.
Luther & Dubuque are fairly close, but I think St. Johns would be the more likely pick of these 3. If UWP is thrown in with this group, I think they come up short again.
So at the moment my predictions for Pool C bids from the North would be UWO & St. Johns.
note: with conference tourneys underway, this will surely change.
Wisco21 and CasualFan, you guys are right on the ball.
My question is in regards with hosting. The top two from this region will host, as of right now that is UWW/Macalester. What happens if Macalester/Loras both win out right, do you think that is enough to bump UWW out of hosting?
Also any predictions on tomorrow's games?
Luther at Dubuque Dubuque 3-2 overtime
Simpson at Loras Loras 4-0
St. Olaf at Saint John's Johnnies 3-1
St. Thomas at Macalester Macalester 2-0
Looks a little like 2012 with simpson squeaking by wartburg in the quarters before receiving a drubbing from Loras...only 3-0 this time around
UD seeks revenge and finds it with a 2-1 W
St. Johns 2-0
St. Thomas 2-1
Loras 2 Simpson 0
Dubuque 1 Luther 0
SJU 2 St. Olaf 0
Macalester 2 St. Thomas 1
Macalester has had just an incredible season that has been minimally noticed. Could see SJU winning and Mac getting an AQ without question.
Quote from: casualfan on November 03, 2015, 08:42:15 PM
Loras 2 Simpson 0
Dubuque 1 Luther 0
SJU 2 St. Olaf 0
Macalester 2 St. Thomas 1
Oh, those are predictions, not finals ;)
Still stick to comment about Macalester...yet another team other teams will be hoping gets their AQ.
My problem with Macalester this year is that they hid in Minnesota for all of their games except one. How is this team going to react when they have to travel to say UWW or Wheaton or Loras. Their best hope is to win the MIAC and hope they the committee has them host all the way until the final four.
Quote from: D3 Scout on November 04, 2015, 01:13:27 PM
My problem with Macalester this year is that they hid in Minnesota for all of their games except one. How is this team going to react when they have to travel to say UWW or Wheaton or Loras. Their best hope is to win the MIAC and hope they the committee has them host all the way until the final four.
I doubt they will host IMO.
I think UWW will host for sure and then it's just the committee's selection between Loras/Macalester.
NCAA Regional Rankings for today
North
1. Loras ;) 12-3-1 12-4-1
2. Macalester 13-0-5 13-0-5
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater 14-3-1 14-3-1
4. Saint John's (MN) 12-3-2 12-3-2
5. Luther 11-5-3 11-5-3
6. Wisconsin-Oshkosh 11-3-3 11-3-3
7. Wisconsin-Platteville 10-4-3 10-4-3
Pretty suprised UWW dropped 3 spots to a loss on the road to a "now" regionally ranked opponent.
So for sure locks:
Loras, Macalester, UWW (pool b), St. Scholastica (as long as they win their aq), Midwest Conference champion
Fingers crossed:
St. John's, Luther, UWO.
So my ? is, who do you think has the best odds to take an at-large bid? Because obviously if Loras/Mac lose their tournament, that will completely alter UWO's tournament bid. Would St. Johns/Luther outlast UWO if they both lose/tie but lose in penalty kicks to Loras/Macalester?
UWW dropping to #3 is an absolute head scratcher. Yes Loras is .008 points better SOS and 3 more wins vs. regionally ranked opponents but a head to head win on the road should be the defining factor.
Also I think Macalester should get the same treatment that Calvin is getting in the central. All three of their regionally ranked games have been at home. Their SOS is .30 points lower than UWW and UWW beat the #3 in the central and now the #1 team in the North.
Oles take out St. John's today 1-0 ;D
Double upset with St. Thomas takin out Mac tonight?? :o
With the loss to Olaf, St. John's post season dreams are over.
I think Loras deserves to be number one in the region, with a SOS of .602 and 5 wins against regionally ranked opponents.
The thing with Macalester is that they are undefeated. I don't care who you play, that's incredible. To your point Wisco, I agree. Their SOS is .561, which is relatively good in many respects. But with comparison to a UWW team who has one of .595, I'm confused. Macalester is probably on a tight bubble with being ranked second above Whitewater. Meaning that if they drop any of their tournament games, UWW will bump back up to second.
Jesus...watching the MIAC is like watching Big Ten basketball
Macalester down 1-0 at 71st minute...could make things more interesting...
Macalester down 2-0 w 5 mins left...Tommies scored on PK foul against goalie.
How I see it:
Pool B: UWW
Conference Winners: MIAC Winner (St. Thomas or St. Olaf), IIAC Winner (Loras or Dubuque), UMAC Winner (CSS or UW-S)
At Large Lock:
- Loras is in if they lose
Bubble:
- Macalester like it or not is on the bubble in my mind. If Loras wins then I believe they are in. If they lose does the North get 6 teams?
Out:
- UW-O
- St. Johns
- UW-P
I'm still not sure if the UW's have an advantage or disadvantage by not having a conference tourney and staying idle during the last 1-1.5 weeks of the season. Although a strong win would help them, a bad loss hurts them tremendously.
So I think UWW benefits from not playing as they are firmly the Pool B bid in many minds.
But I think both UWO & UWP may become an afterthought with the upsets that are occurring throughout the North/Central regions. As it stands, I would also predict that UWO & UWP fall short of the tournament.
Could be a very disappointing end to a strong program at UWO and a frustrating one for UWP who defeated both UWO & UWW.
I think Loras is a lock for hosting Regional rounds and a good possibly they could host the Sectional as well.
wanted to shout out a big "Atta Boy" to Coach Klosterman at North Central for taking out the Thunder in PK's!
Quote from: KICKIN95 on November 05, 2015, 11:16:05 AM
I think Loras is a lock for hosting Regional rounds and a good possibly they could host the Sectional as well.
wanted to shout out a big "Atta Boy" to Coach Klosterman at North Central for taking out the Thunder in PK's!
..and to a fellow Duhawk, Dylan Milkent, Graduate Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at NC
Quote from: Medicated Pete on November 05, 2015, 11:21:28 AM
Quote from: KICKIN95 on November 05, 2015, 11:16:05 AM
I think Loras is a lock for hosting Regional rounds and a good possibly they could host the Sectional as well.
wanted to shout out a big "Atta Boy" to Coach Klosterman at North Central for taking out the Thunder in PK's!
..and to a fellow Duhawk, Dylan Milkent, Graduate Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at NC
True, I inadvertently left him out
Quote from: casualfan on November 05, 2015, 11:02:38 AM
I'm still not sure if the UW's have an advantage or disadvantage by not having a conference tourney and staying idle during the last 1-1.5 weeks of the season. Although a strong win would help them, a bad loss hurts them tremendously.
So I think UWW benefits from not playing as they are firmly the Pool B bid in many minds.
But I think both UWO & UWP may become an afterthought with the upsets that are occurring throughout the North/Central regions. As it stands, I would also predict that UWO & UWP fall short of the tournament.
Could be a very disappointing end to a strong program at UWO and a frustrating one for UWP who defeated both UWO & UWW.
I wish the NCAA had the ability to implement a play-off between Pool B candidates (would never happen due to geography). With the Macalester and Wheaton loss last night, that more than likely pushes UWO and UWP out of the NCAA tournament picture. As a player, that would be extremely frustrating knowing you didn't make the tournament due to another team not taking care of business. Yes, one could argue: "as a Pool B candidate, they should have gotten results against big teams during their regular season schedule....they should of known" type deal, but I guess it's just not sitting well with me. Partially due to my bias with UWO, partially due to my knowledge that any of the Wisconsin schools could have made some noise in an NCAA tournament setting.
But, I digress. I'm thankful that I'm not part of the NCAA committee that has to piece together the tournament this year- my eagerness levels are through the roof these next couple of days. Best time of the year boys!
If Carthage goes on to win the CCIW, St. Olaf the MIAC and MSOE the NACC. Then UWW will have beat the IIAC, CCIW, MIAC and NACC conference champions.
As for hosting a sectional I believe that UWW should get the nod over Loras. They have a grass field (like the final four is played on) and they have a soccer specific (no football lines). Add the head to head win at Loras and I think it is a no brainer.
North Region SOS
602 Loras
595 UW-W
577 Luther
571 St. John's (MN)
567 Dubuque
565 UW-O
564 Hamline
561 Macalester
559 St. Olaf
556 UW-P
554 St. Thomas
542 Augsburg
542 Carleton
535 Wartburg
532 GAC
525 Concordia-M'head
524 Simpson
521 Central (IA)
520 St. Norbert
519 Carroll (WI)
519 St. Mary's (MN)
509 Bethel (MN)
496 Lawrence
488 CSS
485 Monmounth (IL)
485 UW-S
479 Coe
478 Knox
477 Lake Forest
475 Grinnell
471 Minn-Morris
455 Buena Vista
453 Northwestern-St. Paul
449 Neb Wesleyan
444 Beloit
444 Illinois College
433 Cornell College
423 Northland
419 Bethany Lutheran
413 Ripon
409 Crown (MN)
405 North Central (MN)
398 Martin Luther
366 Finlandia
These are my teams that will make the tournament:
Loras (AQ/Pool C)
UWW (Pool B)
Macalester (Pool C)
MAC AQ (St. Olaf/St. Thomas)
CSS (AQ)
Midwest Conference Champion (Knox, Carroll, St. Norbert's, Lake Forest)
As far as any other Pool C's, I think Dubuque has the only other shot of winning in the Rock Bowl Saturday Night.
Luther/St. John's lost their bid yesterday with a first round lost.
UWO/UWP were screwed with not having a tournament.
Quote from: D3 Scout on November 05, 2015, 12:21:55 PM
If Carthage goes on to win the CCIW, St. Olaf the MIAC and MSOE the NACC. Then UWW will have beat the IIAC, CCIW, MIAC and NACC conference champions.
As for hosting a sectional I believe that UWW should get the nod over Loras. They have a grass field (like the final four is played on) and they have a soccer specific (no football lines). Add the head to head win at Loras and I think it is a no brainer.
Loras is #1 in the region so they will receive the hosting duties. They have hosted multiple times with no complaints by the NCAA. Field Turf is not loved by everyone, but for this climate at this time of year with the amount of games to be played in a short span it is a more logical choice.
Correct me if I'm wrong, UWW does not have the ability to stream their games at Fiskum Field. I don't know if this is a requirement to host, but seems silly to put NCAA Tournament games at a location that won't be able to stream.
Loras gets the +1 there for sure.
Loras would be perfect if got rid of those football lines.
Quote from: NCAC New England on November 05, 2015, 03:21:47 PM
Loras would be perfect if got rid of those football lines.
Let get out some spray paint and make it happen Puerco!
The lines do make it easy for the Center Official to step off his 10, though I have witnessed many times even with a kick directly in the center of the field where he will step it off and be a yard off and refuse to be shown the facts right on the ground in front of him.
CSS destroys Superior 5-0, St. Olaf up 1-0 at half to St. Thomas, Lake Forest beats knox 2-1. MSOE beats Dominican 3-1 (central region but could play in NCAA tournament)
For sure in: Loras, UWW, CSS, Lake Forest, St. Olaf/St. Thomas
Macalester with the only AQ
6 teams from the North region
St. Olaf wins 2-0 against St. Thomas.
AQ's: Loras, CSS, Lake Forest, St. Olaf
Pool B: UWW
Pool C: Macalester
Whoever draws Lake Forest/St.Olaf will have a pretty favorable opening game.
On a side note, UWW beat the IIAC, MAC, MCC, NACC conferences champions! With a possibility of the CCIW champion tonight (Carthage)
Quote from: Puerco Espin on November 05, 2015, 03:10:50 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong, UWW does not have the ability to stream their games at Fiskum Field. I don't know if this is a requirement to host, but seems silly to put NCAA Tournament games at a location that won't be able to stream.
Loras gets the +1 there for sure.
It's not a requirement to host. They've hosted NCAA tournament games in 3 out of the last 8 years.
Personal feelings aside (I hate turf, especially bad turf which Loras has) with the regional rankings as they are (and Loras winning 2 games since the last rankings) I would expect Loras to get the nod over UW-W. However, every year I seem to be surprised by some of the hosting decisions made by the NCAA so who knows!
I think Loras and Whitewater will both host.
Quote from: dontshootthegoose on November 08, 2015, 04:21:29 PM
I think Loras and Whitewater will both host.
Plot twist... does Macalaster host instead of UW-W because of proximity?
Potential Bracket:
Macalaster (Host)
Olaf
Scholastica
UWW
Loras (Host)
Westminster
Wash U
MSOE
Wheaton (Host)
Chicago
Carthage
Lake Forest
Trinity (Host)
Texas-Dallas
Whitworth
Redlands
I've always heard that the NCAA wants to avoid rematches between teams if at all possible.
Therefore, here are my predictions for hosts using the same teams that you have in your post:
Loras - Host
Carthage (163 mi)
Lake Forest (182 mi)
Scholastica (347 mi)
UWW - Host
Macalester (301 mi)
WashU (346 mi)
Chicago (117 mi)
Wheaton - Host
Westminster (361 mi)
MSOE (100 mi)
St. Olaf (387 mi)
As for the West, there is little the NCAA can do to avoid airfare, so I'm guessing how you have it set up will be how it goes.
Just got news that UWW's women's volleyball is hosting their 8 team regional for the NCAA tournament... that might spell trouble for UWW's hopes at hosting
And UWW women are hosting... not looking good for the Men
Wheaton, Loras, WashU?
Quote from: dontshootthegoose on November 09, 2015, 01:15:03 PM
Wheaton, Loras, WashU?
I believe WashU is in the same situation (both Vball and WSOC hosting)
IT'S TIMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from: WarhawkFan on November 09, 2015, 01:20:14 PM
I believe WashU is in the same situation (both Vball and WSOC hosting)
WashU WSOC is not hosting, my guess was that MSOC is, but vball could throw a wrench into the mix.
Quick! Who are the teams you guys are trying to draw for opening matches?!
WashU Vball is not hosting either. Opens up the possibility for Wash U Men to host.
Oshkosh ???
Loras getting a bye and Oshkosh made the tournament? Questionable decisions there. Committee clearly pitied Oshkosh for getting their program cut.
UWW beat the CCIW, MIAC, NACC and IIAC champions and they still do not host. Wheaton gets a gift after a sub par season.
Macalester Vs. CSS
St. Olaf vs Wis.-Oshkosh
Lake Forest vs Wheaton (Ill.)
Rose-Hulman vs Wis.-Whitewater
Quote from: Central Region Follower on November 09, 2015, 01:29:44 PM
WashU Vball is not hosting either. Opens up the possibility for Wash U Men to host.
Quote from: blooter442 on November 09, 2015, 01:25:27 PM
Quote from: WarhawkFan on November 09, 2015, 01:20:14 PM
I believe WashU is in the same situation (both Vball and WSOC hosting)
WashU WSOC is not hosting, my guess was that MSOC is, but vball could throw a wrench into the mix.
Looking at the brackets it appeared that both were hosting (based on the top team in the group being the host) but neither were... apologies
Looking at the North set up, I think the two best teams are in the Wheaton Quadrant with Wheaton and UWW.
Mac vs. CSS will be the best game of these teams. I think Mac has not really stepped outside of their comfort zone (their conference) and CSS has one of the easiest conferences in the nation. But I did watch CSS against Oshkosh, and if they play like that, this game could be a real good one.
St. Olaf and Oshkosh, I'm pretty confident in saying that the selection committee felt for Oshkosh. Not only by letting them in the tournament, but also for giving them Olaf. I think Oshkosh takes this one.
Wheaton vs. Lake Forest, this could be an ugly game. Lake forest is playing well, but it's tournament time at Joe Bean Stadium for the Thunder.
UWW vs Rose. Don't know much about Rose, but glanced over their schedule and was highly unimpressed. I think the land of Caucasian water will win this one.
Good luck to the Duhawks this tournament. Will the bracketology be set up yet again on the duhawk futbol page?
Rose Hullman cannot be overlooked by UWW. This will be their second time traveling to Wheaton this year and you have to think the familiarity with the location will help them out. Looking at the box score of their earlier trip they were completely outplayed in front of 1300 fans. I think there might be 130 in the stands for this first round match and RH's experience against quality opponents (Wheaton, Chicago, DePauw) will help them out in this game.
All in all though I believe that UWW should take care of business in this first game. They have showed they can make the transition from grass to turf (beating Loras at Loras) and their ugly style of beating teams to death with long throws and free kicks transitions very well come tournament time.
UWW 1 Rose Hullman 0
A win by UWW and Wheaton will set up for a rematch of the second round last year. Wheaton thumped UWW 3-0.
Oshkosh got lucky to get in, but past results don't matter anymore and they've got one heck of a reason to want to make some noise in this tournament. They're going to be a tough team to take down.
CSS has a high powered offense and is always a wildcard since it's hard to judge how good they really are coming out of that conference.
Mac has the home field, which is incredibly helpful and only have 1 loss. They've had 12 games decided by 1 or less goals (5 ties on the season) so it's always a game with them.
St. Olaf looks to be the team people might count out, but they're coming off a good MIAC tournament run in which they took down 2 teams they previously got beat by this season. It's hard to beat a team twice in one season and if they get past UWO (who has a bit farther to travel) they could have the chance to take down a 3rd team who had beaten them in the regular season (Mac).
UWW who until the last week of their season looked to be targeting the spot that Loras is in (hosting/bye), ends up having to travel down to Wheaton where they were knocked out of the tournament last year. They ended their season a little rough with a Tie @ UWO and a loss in OT @ UWP. But they've taken down some good teams this year including each of the CCIW, MIAC, NACC and IIAC champions. That plus seeing Loras get a bye should have them playing with a chip on their shoulder.
Rose Hulman is a team I'm not too familiar with but by the looks of their schedule they play to the ability of their opponent (1-1-1 vs tournament opponents all games decided by 1 or less goal... but not being able to easily handle weaker teams). I expect them to give UWW a good game.
Lake Forest is the team I see as being 1 and done. They didn't beat a single tournament team all season (although they did only fall 3-2 to UWW). I don't think their schedule has prepared them for this caliber of soccer, and they drew Wheaton away.
Wheaton at home is my favorite to come out of their group of 4. Of their 6 blemishes (3 losses 3 ties) 4 of them (2 losses 2 ties) were against tournament teams and the 2 losses were to Loras (a bye team) and Wash U (a hosting team). One of those ties was against Rose-Hulman who somehow hung in despite being outshot 34(15)-6(3).
Loras got the bye which I'm sure they were not expecting after their home loss to UWW, but they'll certainly take it. They beat 5 tournament teams during the season, and 2 of their 3 DIII losses were also against tournament teams. Loras is a program that knows how to play in the NCAA tournament, and home field advantage should see them through this pod.
Carthage is an unbelievably inconsistent team (that got lucky to make the tournament due to Wheaton losing in a shootout in the conference tournament) that beat Wash U, tied Chicago, and lost by 1 to UWW yet lost to teams like Concordia Moorhead and Illinois Tech. Who knows which team shows up against Ohio Northern, but even if they manage to get past them, I doubt they put two good performances up in a row and Loras trounces them at home.
Ohio Northern is another team that didn't play a lot of tournament teams this year (although several teams that must have fallen just outside of the bubble). I can see them taking Carthage, but again falling to Loras in the Rock Bowl.
Rose Hulman is a team that finds success from working together. They like 9/10 players behind the ball and hold a low line of confrontation, but they have the ability to strike quickly from the counter. They are very disciplined and like to keep possession, but have no problem giving up possession to superior teams (Wheaton) in order to keep their shape. They have yet to play a team this year with the direct style of play like uww. They will be able to score once or twice off a counter from a uww set piece, but will it be enough in the end? I look forward to seeing two completely different styles of play going head to head.
Onu vs Carthage will be a matchup between two teams that have yet to consistently live up to the potential their teams possess. I have a feeling we will be seeing quite a few goals in Ada on Thursday with the polar bears coming out on top.
WarhawkFan and Goose, I like your predictions.
Regarding the decision to give UWO a bid, I just want to say one thing, put it to bed, and enjoy the feast of matches this month. While I acknowledge that the Titans may have been "lucky" or "pitied", I also believe they were deserving of a bid. Not trying to put words in your mouth and say you guys don't think they are. It's just that I can pick out 25-30 teams who are deserving of those 19 spots, and I wish that all had a chance to finish out their season in the dance. And for the record, even I counted out UWO after Macalester and others were upset in their conference tournaments!
Predictions for the weekend:
UWW 3, RH 1 - Like most of you, I haven't the slightest idea of Rose. Footy, appreciate the insight! I feel after a rocky end to the season, UWW finds their rhythm once again.
Wheaton 3, Lake Forest 0 - After a frustrating conference tournament, I believe (like UWW) Wheaton starts to really turn it on.
UWO 0, St. Olaf 0 - UWO's possession style gets caught in the physical MIAC muck. This match screams OT and penalties. I hope UWO can pull it off but I always get the heebee jeebees when it comes down to PK's. Undecided.
Macalester 2, CSS 2 - Have a feeling this one may get wild, always hard to beat a team twice. I think Mac's organization exposes the Saint's subpar defense, but Scholastica's attackers will find a way through as well. Taking CSS on penalties.
Wisco21 don't get me wrong, I actually think it gives the tournament a little extra excitement and they can definitely handle their own. I'd like nothing more than for this to help them keep their program. I think them losing their program is bad for the former WIAC, bad for local soccer, and bad for D3 soccer in general. I would hate to see the rivalry that UWW and UWO have disappear as it was always the game I had marked on my schedule when I was playing.
I too cannot believe that UW-Oshkosh made it in the tourney, but they've found themselves with a favorable pod in my opinion. I believe their pod is better draw than the pod that UW-Whitewater received. Wouldn't at all mind a UWW-UWO game in the Sweet 16!
UWW 2, Rose-Hulman 1 (OT) - I think Hottsmith finds himself in good positions for most of the match and comes away with at least 1 and a set piece goal to win in OT. UWW can be scored on through the counter & Footy31 mentions R-H can score through the counter-attack. Not at all confident in this pick.
Wheaton 2, Lake Forest 0 - Think this one is much worse than 2-0 but Lake Forest keeps it relatively close. Wheaton advances without much of a challenge.
UWO 1, St. Olaf 0 - Despite St. Olaf's improbable run to make it this far, I think UWO will have their way with them. UWO doesn't give up many goals, but I don't see them blowing St. Olaf out either.
Macalester 0, CSS 1 - Somewhat of an upset, but I've been waiting for CSS to put it together to make somewhat of a run in the tourney. I think this is their best chance thus far as Macalester seems to always find themselves in close games and CSS is a physical team who can score goals. Sounds like a bad matchup at this point in the year.
Games for tomorrow,
UWW 2, Rose-Hulman 1. This will be a better game than I once thought. Did some research on Hulman and they don't get scored on easily. But they will struggle with UWW's dead balls and direct style. For being a highly ranked regional team, this was not a respectable draw for UWW.
Wheaton 4, Lake forest 0- I think this is one of the most lopsided games in the tournament. It's tournament time for the Thunder.
UWO 2, St. Olaf 0. UWO has a very stingy defense and they can move the ball well. Plus they have something to play for.
Ohio Wesleyan 3, MSOE 1. Although I think Wesleyan is a little overrated, MSOE plays 11v2 every game. The andryk brothers are extremely impressive, but that's all I can really say about MSOE.
How did Loras get a bye?????
Quote from: d3fan1 on November 12, 2015, 09:48:30 PM
How did Loras get a bye?????
#1 in the region and a very high SOS. You seem to think they aren't deserving of any credit or respect, but others with vast knowledge and history on these boards have them either winning it all or at least in the final 4
I knew that would get a rise out of you Kickin, I haven't been on here for a few years, so I thought I would start things off w.ith a bang. I know very well that Loras has a great program with a great tradition. I do wonder though how the number 1 team in the nation, Calvin, doesn't get a bye and has to travel to OWU.
Quote from: d3fan1 on November 13, 2015, 08:58:21 AM
I knew that would get a rise out of you Kickin, I haven't been on here for a few years, so I thought I would start things off w.ith a bang. I know very well that Loras has a great program with a great tradition. I do wonder though how the number 1 team in the nation, Calvin, doesn't get a bye and has to travel to OWU.
My guess would be location (Calvin is a bit farther for the teams to travel and miles is money) and facilities for their lack of hosting. All weather fields are getting the nod more often these days.
I will be at the Loras - Carthage game Sunday. Good luck to all you Duhawk fans, especially you Kickin. I expect to hear you going wild!
Quote from: d3fan1 on November 13, 2015, 11:02:29 PM
I will be at the Loras - Carthage game Sunday. Good luck to all you Duhawk fans, especially you Kickin. I expect to hear you going wild!
I'll be there for sure!
Kickin, I will be wearing a state championship hat, come by and say hi.
Game time Kickin!!!
Is it just me, or does Loras just score #espntop10 type of goals?
Loras cruising right now up 2-0, no sign of life from carthage
I think when the Duhawks recruit for defenders, they go to kickball games.
Congratulations to Loras, the played very well, and look tournament ready. I tried to find you after the game Kickin. I talked to Puccini and Rothert for a while and the said I just missed you. Good luck in the tournament.
Quote from: dontshootthegoose on November 15, 2015, 02:41:26 PM
I think when the Duhawks recruit for defenders, they go to kickball games.
Might not be pretty, but effective. They have the talent to play possession, but are smart enough to know who and when to do it.
Quote from: d3fan1 on November 15, 2015, 09:09:59 PM
Congratulations to Loras, the played very well, and look tournament ready. I tried to find you after the game Kickin. I talked to Puccini and Rothert for a while and the said I just missed you. Good luck in the tournament.
I looked for your hat, I was standing on the aluminum part of the concourse on the west side of the stands talking to some former players and with Coaches wife. I was on the field after the game for about 30 minutes playing with my son and some of the other kids. I talked to Rothert and Pucci for a couple minutes but they got called up top and had to run. I will most likely be there friday.
Quote from: dontshootthegoose on November 15, 2015, 02:10:23 PM
Is it just me, or does Loras just score #espntop10 type of goals?
That was a sweet volley by Lenke. The shot that would have brought the house down sailed just high and wide. Absolute missle that went over the fence, it might have bent the frame if it would have been 1' lower.
7 Hour Road Trip to Kansas City!!! Letzgo Duhawks :o IIAC Representing
A little late but here is the All Regional North teams
First Team
Pos. Player Class School Hometown
K Zeke Vainer Jr. Macalester Melrose, Mass.
D Charles Edemba Sr. Knox Gale, Ill.
D Kevin Krueger Jr. Wartburg Prior Lake, Minn.
D Justin Stanko Jr. Wisconsin-Whitewater St. Charles, Ill.
M Jacob Hernandez Jr. Wisconsin-Oshkosh Appleton, Wis.
M Branden McGarrity Jr. Carleton Wilmette, Ill.
M Alan Schembri-Winsmayer Jr. Macalester Rochester, Minn.
F Kyle Farrar Jr. St. Scholastica London, England
F Dylan Hartman Sr. Lake Forest Phoenix, Ariz.
F Gonzalo Hernandez-Cascante Jr. University of Dubuque Madrid, Spain
F Nathaniel Logie Sr. Knox Galesburg, Ill.
F Johnny Rummelhart Sr. Loras Iowa City, Iowa
Second Team
Pos. Player Class School Hometown
K Jacob Peterson So. Loras River Forest, Ill.
D Joey Gustafson Sr. Wisconsin-Superior Anoka, Minn.
D Mark Heydt Sr. St. Thomas (Minn.) Brookfield, Wis.
D Myles Norville Jr. Luther Bridgetown, Barbados
M Thomas Corcoran Jr. St. Scholastica Warrington, England
M Alex Niederloh Jr. Saint John's Maple Grove, Minn.
M Francisco Sajuan Sr. Carroll (Wis.) Waukegan, Ill.
M Miles Stockman Willis Sr. St. Thomas (Minn.) Ann Arbor, Mich.
F Alex Bradley Jr. Loras London, England
F Kevin Skrip Sr. St. Olaf Naperville, Ill.
F Charlie Spurr Jr. Macalester Seattle, Wash.
Third Team
Pos. Player Class School Hometown
K Scott Sibik Sr. Wisconsin-Platteville Onalaska, Wis.
D Joe Chell Jr. St. Scholastica Ascot, England
D Danny Daniels So. University of Dubuque East Bethel, Minn.
D Pat Hehir Sr. St. Norbert Hickory Hills, Ill.
D Ben Henry Jr. Augsburg Manitowoc, Wis.
M Charlie Adams Sr. Gustavus Adolphus Stillwater, Minn.
M Michael Hurley Sr. Grinnell Homewood, Ill.
M Paris Martins Jr. Wartburg Coralville, Iowa
M Jorge Simon Sr. Loras Appleton, Wis.
F Marco Delbecchi So. St. Norbert Greenville, Wis.
F Abbai Habte Sr. Hamline St. Paul, Minn.
F Dylan Hottsmith So. Wisconsin-Whitewater DeKalb, Ill.
And here are our 3 representatives for All-American:
1st Team
F Kyle Farrar Jr. St. Scholastica London, England
3rd Team
D Justin Stanko Jr. Wisconsin-Whitewater St. Charles, Ill.
F Johnny Rummelhart Sr. Loras Iowa City, Iowa
I think we probably should of had a couple more players, considering where Loras/Macalester/UWW finished out the season ranked. Suprised to see Macalester being snubbed here. And I think you can make a case for both Stanko/Rummelhart to be second team