Gustavus played their first preseason game yesterday, 5-1 win over NAIA Viterbo. Admittedly not the strongest opponent, but a convincing win none the less.
GAC looks to be a very young squad this year - only 2 seniors and 5 Juniors on the varsity roster. They look to have brought in a strong recruiting class wth several freshman seeing significant minutes last night.
The non-conference schedule appears to be a notxh or two stronger from last season, so hopefully the boys will be better prepared for the grueling conference fixtures.
How are the rest of the MIAC teams shaping up?
Good to see the MIAC board up and running this year!! It's always a gustie who starts it. And for some odd reason it wasn't started last year. I guess no one likes to brag about 7th Place!!! Anyways, I wouldn't get excited about a win over viterbo in which you concede a goal.
Enough about the gusties, who I suspect will round out the playoff picture in 5th or 6th place (why there are 6 teams???, I'm still waiting for a good explanation.) Here's a few comments I have on each MIAC team this year.
The favorites:
Macalester: It will take some time for them to come together. Their relentless defensive pressure fits their personnel and their field. They should be tough to beat.
St. Thomas: Year after year, they are the most athletic and the most talented, but they never seem to put it all together. I think this might be the year, but I've said that before.
St. John's: The most gritty team in this league. They should factor in to the title race.
Playoff teams:
CarlEton: They lose 11 seniors but are still very pace-y up front. They won't play the prettiest soccer but should be an exciting team this season.
St. Olaf: No scoring threat for them this season and the Ole defense has never been among the MIAC's best. They do return some talent though.
GusDavis: let the gusties toot their own horn
Won't roll-over:
Dogsburg: Should be in the playoff race, but even the 6 team bracket has not been large enough for them
Bethel: Always have a signature win.
Hamline: Lose their star forward but the program has been improving of late.
May roll-over:
St. Mary's: their 2015 play left something to be desired
Concordia: it's never easy to travel to Fargo
So that's it! I see the league being anyone's for the taking this year. I couldn't pick out one favorite if I had to do so. St. Thomas is the most talented team, but I don't think any sober man would bet on them. What do others think?
A real tough guy for a first time poster...
GAC was certainly in the dumps last year, but the CarlEy's weren't exactly setting the world on fire in 2015 either.
Looking to this year the Knights have a very weak non-conference schedule. And lost McGarrity who was far and away their best player. Tough void to fill...
St Thomas will chock, per usual. I wouldn't expect any better from them.
MAC was a bit of a surprise last year. They return several key guys. Will be interesting to see if they can sustain last years level.
Oof ... what a horrible opener for the Johnnies. Dominated between the 18s, but they couldn't finish and are really missing Lebahn in the net. Keeper gave up an ugly tying goal in 2nd half. It was windy as heck but I could not tell if he was way off his line or just fooled. Until then, I couldn't imagine why any shooter would go high ... his footwork was terrible. But he looked completely baffled out there.
Rarely will SJU have such as technical edge in the field and they wasted it with a lack of finishing ability -- of 31 shots, nine were on frame (vs. 9 of 11 for a mediocre Carroll team).
It gets a lot tougher tomorrow with MSOE. Maybe Haws was letting his older keeper play himself out of the job ...
----
Sunday update -- So they put the freshman in goal and ... a clean sheet win vs. MSOE. A flip of how I thought the weekend might go.
Interesting 1st week with some things that caught my eye.
The Good:
Macalester: good OT win over UWS then go to Whitewater and tie. Strong start for the MIAC champs
Hamline: surprising 2-1 start with wins over Carroll and MSOE. Something the Johnnies couldn't do.
The Indifferent:
UST: 1-0-1 at their own tourney, a real nothing start
St. John's: 1-1 in Wisconsin
St. Mary's: they beat Martin Luther
Concordia: took CC to 2OT but struggled with Buena Vista
The Bad:
CarlEton: Looked great with 3-0 win over UM-Morris then failed to show up for Luther and couldn't close out win over weaker North Central squad
Augsburg: 0-2 out west, not real surprising
Bethel: got embarrassed by Simpson 4-1
The UGLY:
St. Olaf: tying Northwestern!!! Then 3-0 losers to Dubuque!!! What is happening on the other side of Northfield?!
GAC: 0-3, 10 GA, does it get worse than this?
WTH is going on with GAC? 5-3 loss against Wartburg, a pretty darn good team, but not a team that should score 5 goals on you. 4-1 loss against St Scholastica which does have fire power, but again just a good team, and then the icing on the cake is 1-0 loss to Knox!?! I am sorry but Know is not even a good team. I guess I am just used to putting GAC in a higher light, they were alway a force to be reckoned with. Maybe just one of those cyclical things, there has to be a down period at some point.
GAC is definitely in a rebuilding phase. Not sure why recruiting quality dropped off for a few years, but they have some strength in the Sophomore and Freshman classes, and in pretty good numbers.
GAC looks pretty good when in possession, but got beat up in the back pretty good in the first two matches.
GK's were badly out of position on two of Wartburg's goals, and the outside backs got caught ball watching a number of times leaving a Wartburg player wide open on the far post too often. Wartburg should be pretty solid this year. I suspect they will finish toward the top of the IIAC.
CSS has some fire power up tope. But I felt GAC really beat themselves in this one. The goals they conceded in the first half were weak. from the video feed, it looks as though a GAC header put the ball in the net. I didn't get the see the second half.
Missed the Knox game, but I think they are a better side than they get credit for. Good speed, and play high pressure. GAC's backline seems to have improved, only giving up 1 goal, but the Gusties couldn't find the net themselves.
Martin Luther is on the schedule for today. This should be a good opportunity for GAC to notch their first win before heading out East for some interesting non-conference matches.
Certainly disappointing to see GAC in the dumps. Hopefully they can build off the young talent and continue to get those guys valuable game minutes this year.
I'll be interested to see how the MIAC teams perform this weekend. A few interesting match ups:
MAC vs. Lake Forest (2015 MWC Champs)
St. Johns vs. Wartburg & Luther
Olaf vs. CSS
GAC vs Salisbury
CarlEton faces off with Crown tomorrow on the road!! It should be a test for the Knights who are coming off a thrilling win over Simpson. Hopefully, I can make it out to St. Bonifacius for the tilt!!
Conference play kicks off today!
MAC at GAC
St. Olaf at Bethel
St. Thomas at St. John's
Hamline at Concordia
St. Mary's at Augsburg
MAC at GAC and Tommies at Johnnies are probably the most compelling of today's match ups.
The MAC vs GAC games isn't really close on paper. MAC should run away with it. But this has always been a heated rivalry, and they are on the Gusties home pitch. A GAC win or draw, although unlikely, but be huge for the psyche of this young team.
UST at SJU should be a fast paced, fun game to watch. I'm thinking we'll se a handful of goals in this one...
Good call on the pace of the Tommie-Johnnie game, even though goals did not follow in 1-all match. Intense throughout.
It would be interesting to see a possession clock. Shots were 24-5 SJU with corners 9-1 (UST did not have one until second OT). And SJU had one disallowed, while UST scored on PK. Fun game to watch.
MAC vs GAC was a very defensive game.. GAC put one off the post late in the second half. Gusties felt they earned a Pk as well on a no call, handball. Couldn't see from the camera, so no opinion on that one.
Generally speaking, neither team looked very potent in the attack. Both teams did a nice job working the ball up field, usually wide, but services to the box were met with only 1-2 players trying to win the ball against 6-7 defenders in front of goal.
MAC goal came when their striker got in behind the GAC defense. The Gustie keeper made the initial breakaway save, only to have the ball rebound right back to a trailing MAC player who had a look at open goal from about 20 yards out.
I have to be honest that no score really surprised me. Mac are good because they are tough to score on and play as hard as anyone in the country. They play a lot of close games and rely on their grit to win many of them. Olaf tying Bethel goes along with each of these teams up and down starts. Hamline and Augsburg take advantage of weak opponents to get 3 points. The shot disparity and corner kick disparity in SJU's favor strikes me in their match with UST. And CarlEton is still sitting pretty at 0-0.
Tomorrow will be interesting... The Scots, Tommies, and Johnnies all have winnable games so it'll be interesting to see if they can take care of business. GAC v Olaf looks to be the game of the weekend for the neutral. A couple up and down (or mainly down for the Gusties) starts, a couple leaky defenses, and St. Zero's cabbage patch of a field means that this one should be full of excitement. Augsburg v CarlEton is shaping up as a classic MIAC fixture- the two teams share a great enthusiasm for the season and a mild, Minnesota competitive spirit, meaning that this one should be occasionally chippy but ultimately friendly. My guess is that the Carls take a hard-fought match 1-0 thanks to a stingy defense and timely finishing.
What's gotten into the Johnnies? I mean their record wasn't great before this weekend but they were at least hanging in there with some decent teams (Luther, Wartburg, UST). But they've laid a fat egg with their last two results. Now they are 1-3-3.
Other news: Augsburg losing to Northwestern? How is Northwestern this year? They've forged results against the Oles and the Auggies and certainly ran a scare thru the Tommies. They've got CarlEton at home tomorrow. I guess I won't expect 9-0 affair like when the Knights visited a few years ago.
RE: SJU -- Dominated Simpson but lose on an own goal in OT. Ouch!
RE: Seems like it's one of those years for them. I expect luck to swing their way as the conference season continues.
Some interesting MIAC matches this weekend....
Hamline vs MAC - The pipers are maybe the biggest surprise of the year so far...If HU can muster a tie or even a win in this one, it would be HUGE. Hammies are scoring at will leading the MIAC with 24 goals scored on the season.
Carelton vs SJU - SJU looking to rebound. They seem to have been in every game so far, with the results just not falling their way. Carleton also looking to pick up their first MIAC win of the season.
GAC vs St Thomas - Gustavus needs a W. Hopefully UST is starting their annual slide back to mediocrity a little early this year.
St. Marys vs Bethel - Meh...
Concordia vs St. Olaf - Ditto
Glad to see SJU finally show up with a league W, although it appearerd like another tie might be fair. Wondering how it was getting to that game with the early arriving football tailgaters for the 16K at Clemens.
Looks like the Johnnies had an exciting match down in Dubuque, but weren't able to hold on for the result.
MAC draws with St. Olaf, putting UST in the drivers seat. UST still has MAC, Olaf and Carleton and a few bottom table teams on the conference schedule. So certainly some opportunity to drop points.
GAC with an important win over Carleton. Gusties have a pretty favorable schedule to close out conference play and can hopefully continue to improve and build on these last two victories to close out he season strong and get into the MIAC tourney.
Carleton on the other hand, could very well miss the conference tournament without some HUGE wins down the stretch. The CarlEy's still have to play, MAC, UST, Olaf and St. Mary, who all sit at the top of the conference currently....ouch
Things are looking a little grim at the moment for the Knights, but I suspect the group will turn things around in a hurry and qualify for the playoffs. If not, the Knights will look back at some of the close games thus far and kick themselves that they couldn't salvage better results.
Here is where I think everyone will finish
1. MAC: The most consistent and best team in the MIAC
2. UST: right there with MAC, impressive run of shutouts
3. Gustavus: they'll emerge as #3 in the standings and gain some momentum with the friendlier back half of their schedule
4. St. John's: another solid campaign
5. Carleton: the game at Bell vs. Olaf will be large, I suspect it will swing in the Knights favor on alumni weekend
6. St. Olaf: jury is still out on this side who were none too impressive out of conference
7. Hamline: Don't let their poor record fool you. They are still contenders.
8. St. Mary's: I just don't buy it. Not yet.
9. Augsburg: they've actually only won 3 games this year
10. Bethel: they'll muster up a few more points but not playoff contenders
11. Concordia: Halfway through the season and they haven't put the ball in the net yet. Has there ever been a scoreless MIAC season??
Unfortunately tuned into the 2nd half and OTs for the CarlEton vs Hamline match today. Slow and boring game, finished 0-0. Neither team looked very positive. The Knights had a little bit more of the ball but couldn't connect anything in the final third. Their only offense was forcing the ball up each wing and sending hopeful balls into the penalty area. And the service was terrible today. Nonetheless, a draw is better than a loss for the Knights who are very much alive with 8 points and 4 matches remaining.
Don't know what to think about the Jays: Lose at home to Bethel and win on road at GAC. From what I've seen they are just inconsistent in the attacking third.
Looks like the Gusties were a bit flustered, but I didn't see the match. Stats don't seem to support Mike's claim of second-half domination. Interesting card stats, though it sounds like the first red was tactical:
GACM #3 John Anderson Red card 19:41
GACM #5 Jack Conroy Yellow card 32:50
SJU #15 Ryley Sullivan Yellow card 47:44
GACM #12 Arthur Parens Yellow card 72:06
GACM #9 Henry Brose Yellow card 86:34
GACM #9 Henry Brose Red card 86:54
I was able to catch a good portion of the match...
Game started pretty even until the take down in the box, awarding SJU the PK and a Red card to Gustavus. From the video feed, the call looked legit. The Johnnies had control of the rest of the first half.
Second half, Gustavus came out with a slightly different formation, and had probably 60%+ possession, but were only able to muster a couple of good scoring opportunities. The Johnnies seemed content to sit in and counter. I suspect with the 1 goal lead they didn't see the need to press, and GAC couldn't seem to get enough players forward to get on the end of some decent crosses.
Although the distribution of cards seems really uneven looking at the box score, I would say that both teams were pretty chippy as the game wore on.
Unfortunate result for GAC as a win would have put some separation between them and the rest of the pack, and put the Gusties in a very good spot for MIAC playoffs.
Johnnies did what they needed in this one to get the W, and in my mind this was a must win for them if they are to qualify for the MIAC playoffs, as they still have MAC and STO left to play in conference. Two games that will be very tough to sneak out some points.
Mammoth road win for the Knights! Great goal from Griese who has 6 points in the Knights last 3 fixtures (2G, 2A). It was clear that Mac had an athletic advantage at several positions but the teams were very even technically. So a good result for the Knights.
Mac has several solid attacking players but they don't combine to do anything dangerous. The team lacks an elite distributor to put their size and speed in the right attacking positions. Everyone is forced to create their own offense individually. They can't seem to get any shots off and everything from 35 yards and in turns into a scrum. Winning the scrums in front of goal and the set piece is the extent of their attack.
It was better tonight from CarlEton, which had a lot to do with the return of 3 key starters (including both captains). There was a lot more patience on the ball all over the field with the freshman Younkins continuing to take charge of the midfield. They moved it from side to side, got the ball into the wide areas, and were always looking to shoot or play a dangerous ball. Playing with the lead definitely helped. Keep in mind this Knights team has allowed just 8 goals in 14 games. This includes 4 consecutive shutouts and just one game that they've conceded multiple goals. Impeccable!!! Especially considering the amount of change in the Knights back line due to injuries. CarlEton has started 7 different defenders and only 1 defender has started every game this season. A large part of the defensive success is a credit to Brandon Hilliard, whose presence in net has been outstanding! The junior goalkeeper played the part again as he confidently intercepted crosses and covered up the ball in the penalty area countless times. The Knights are tough to beat with Hilliard in goal and when they defend this tough.
That said, the game was very even, with Macalester having 3 legitimate scoring chances in the last 20 minutes. The Knights were coming undone as Scots were streaking wide open on set plays. Macalester found another gear that they usually bring much earlier in the match (It was lackadaisical from the Scots for most of this one.) The best chance came with ten minutes left when a looping cross was met with a thumping heading from 6 yards out that skidded off the crossbar and over and went begging into the brisk St Paul night. CarlEton survived the barrage for a 1-0 win.
The result really clears our view of the six playoff teams! We'll just have to see if they each hold up and how the seeding shapes up in the coming weeks.
Hamline and Concordia were the spoilers this weekend, Hamline spoiling the Johnnies' chances of a high-playoff seeding and Concordia spoiling Bethel's shot a .500 record and improving self esteem. Mac falls to third with a disappointing draw against a gritty Augsburg team but still has a reasonable chance at a first round bye with tuesday's 1v2 Tommies v CarlEton matchup. The Tommies' D-1 transfer-laden ship continued to run full steam ahead by brushing aside St Mary's and CarlEton's underperforming undergrads are starting to get hot at the right time with two big wins on the last two saturdays. UST ended CarlEton's season last year so the knights will be out for revenge. My prediction is 3-2 CarlEton. The Tommies will go up 2-0 but will be down to ten-men after Erickson is sent off with two yellows, one for excessive celebration and one for being a total dick. Without their spiritual leader the Tommies will crumble under sustained pressure with the a hat trick from Kevin DoyHole off 2 assists from Mark Moth and 1 from John PetMe making this the greatest day in Evanston history.
Another classic alumni weekend for the Knights! I have to praise my son for his insights but scold him for his vulgarity and crude humor. Amazing that CarlEton is in 2nd place with 2 games to go! It seems this team shows up when it matters most. That was true on Saturday when they made the Oles look like Northfield's middle school team. Although that is nothing new as the Oles have embarrassed themselves in their last 5 games at Bell Field.
Here's a reminder of the last time St 0 visited CarlEton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DZnw4S5_I). How did that go again? If you don't remember, they lost to the Knights in a down year and then they were embarrassed on their home field in the playoffs. Both spoiled their at-large chances. Haven't seen another hype video in a while.
I expect the Knights to keep the train moving against St Thomas (who still could blow the MIAC). I will take the Knights 2-0 and goals from Roth and Onuoha.
St. Thomas has secured the regular season championship. At worst, they would finish Co-Champs, assuming Carleton and/or MAC can win out and the Tommies lose their last two games (which is pretty unlikely).
Carelton certainly has found their stride at the right time, with the UST game shaping up to be HUGE.
The MIAC playoff's should produce some very tight and exciting matches over the next few weeks. Just a few weeks ago, I would have said its very unlikely that 2 MIAC teams make the NCAA. But it seems more feasible now that someone could upset UST and get the AQ, and leave the Tommies vying for a Pool C.
I agree that the MIAC will send 2 teams this year. It would take a Tommie-like collapse to keep UST out of the NCAA tournament. As long as they don't lose their last two regular season games, they should be fine.
Tomorrow is a big day for everyone. I've been pretty on point with my analysis all season so I'm going to put my money where my mouth is with some score predictions.
Hamline 3 @ Bethel 1
Concordia 0 @ Gustavus 2
Macalester 1 @ St. John's 1 -- 2OT
St. Thomas 0 @ CarlEton 2
St. Olaf 2 @ Augsburg 1 -- OT
Heydt with a great goal but he certainly is winning the award for the biggest bitch on the field.
I have to praise my dad for his insights but scold him for his vulgarity. He's not wrong, though.
The heat of the moment can change a man. What a weird day of MIAC results. Here's some winners and losers.
BIG Winners:
UST: Let's start with the top of the table as St. Thomas did just enough in Northfield to come away with a 1-0 win. With the win, they are outright MIAC champions and have homefield advantage in the playoffs. They are IN the NCAA tournament.
MAC: Turned things around in a slugfest in Collegeville with an OT winner to get the inside track on a first round bye.
Mark Heydt: Scored his 6th MIAC goal and surely locked up MIAC POY with an impressive offensive season from left back.
Look on the Brightside:
CarlEton: clinch a playoff spot on the day (10 years in a row!) and can clinch a home game with a win in Winona
St. Mary's: managed to have their best day in a while (by not playing). If they can somehow beat CarlEton, they actually have a good chance of getting in the playoffs. What is the world coming to?!
If only... if only...:
GAC: nice 2-0 win at home over lowly Concordia to clinch a playoff spot but can only think what could have been if things had stayed level in Collegeville
Bethel: the hiccup in Fargo..... Otherwise they'd be in 5th place right now. What is the world coming to?!
BIG Losers:
HAMLINE: WTF happened?! Could the mediocrity of the MIAC have helped you any more today?! St. Olaf, St. John's, and CarlEton all lose and you lay a fat egg against Bethel?!!!!! I don't get it.
Greg Holker: with the win over Olaf, Augsburg has false hope once again. He'll have to keep fighting for an 8 team playoff to find room for the Auggies
St. Olaf and St. John's: two more gut-wrenching losses to add to these subpar seasons. Each team's season could be on the line in Northfield this weekend OR the loser could still make the playoffs with 13 points. What is the world coming to?!
Look at the MIAC site, it looks like on UST, MAC and GAC have clinched playoff berths so far, and will play their final game of the season for seeding.
My prediction for how the playoff picture shakes out...
1. St. Thomas - Win Lose or Draw in the final game, they've got it locked up
2. MAC - Must win hosting Bethel. They should win this game, but they way they've been playing lately, anything can happen. a Loss or draw opens the door for GAC to finish 2nd.
3. GAC - A win vs. Hamline guarantees a top 3 finish.
4. Carleton - Carleton should take care of biz on the road vs. St. Mary's
5. St. John's - A win vs. STO allows the Johnnies to edge out the Ole's for the 5th seed
6. St. Olaf - Sneaks in to the playoff picture...
Of course a few unpredictable results and we could see 3 entirely different teams jump into spots 4-6 determined by tie breakers, as we'd have a cluster of teams at 14 points.
If you go through tiebreakers and scenarios, the Knights automatically finish 6th with a loss.
That very well could be. Truthfully, I haven't taken a deeper dive into the tie breaker scenarios. I just went off what the MIAC website shows. I also suspect that those tie breaker scenarios aren't too likely as each of the remaining games has a pretty clear-cut favorite, with the exception of the SJU vs Olaf match. That one could go either way.
I was wrong in that CarlEton actually could finish 5th with a loss, which would be the most likely outcome. SJU vs. Olaf should be interesting even though I suspect both will still make the playoffs. Interestingly, if SJU loses, they would need help from UST, MAC, GAC, and CarlEton, whereas the Oles would only need help from UST and GAC. The Johnnies have their bizarre season to thank for that as they lost to both Bethel and St. Mary's.
Rough day for GAC and Carleton.
Auggies played excellently today.GAC played them tough, but Auggies deserved the win. They moved the ball nicely and put away two solid goals, early.
GAC got one back in the first half and missed a great chance to tie it up in the early minutes of the second half. Header over the bar from just a few yards out.
Tomorrow's rematch with St Thomas should be entertaining.
Surprised to see the Johnnies rout Carleton like they did today, 3-0.
good season for the Knights! Return to the playoffs for the god knows how many years in a row now!!
And an exciting future for the Knights, too! Only two (or potentially three) of this year's juniors look set to play big roles next year, meaning that the freshmen and sophomores who gained a lot of experience this year will be forming the backbone of next year's team. This sets CarlEton up well for two years of cohesion, allowing the team to grow together over multiple seasons. Even if the ball didn't roll the Knights' way this year, an eleventh straight top-4 finish shows that the kids are alright on the East side of NoFo (can't say the same about our friends across the river).
Meanwhile the final between MAC and UST looks to be a great game. The two most consistent and talented teams meet in the final, just as it should be. Looking for MAC to come out flying and not allow the Tommies to settle into a passing rhythm. 2-1 Scots
Why is the E capitalized in Carleton?
Quote from: Wisco21 on November 03, 2016, 04:28:32 PM
Why is the E capitalized in Carleton?
That is something that goes back about 7 years (maybe more). I can't remember who exactly was the originator may have been double deuce, Garbagegoal, or someone from that time frame. But from what I recall it was a Carly supporter who made one too many comments about Carleton being misspelled (leaving out the "e") by people on the site, so in the gamesmanship style that it was back then the "E" became the emphasis and was pointed out early an often, much to the dislike of the initial plaintiff. I vaguely remember the whole thing, but it obviously stuck.
St. Thomas with the 1-0 result, Macalester maybe on the outside looking in when the selection is announced on Monday.
Too bad for Mac. Always difficult want to team puts together that nice of season but comes up just short. You have to question the committee choosing the Dubuque over Loras and Mac. Makes you think that they do not consider margin of victory to be important as dubuque has A few big losses on their resume. In the end, there was just nothing signature about Mac's season and one different result could've changed everything. Best of luck to the Tommies who finally put it together this year!