We can talk about IIAC, oops, I mean ARC soccer here. And in case you hadn't heard, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is no more. With the addition of Nebraska Wesleyan and hopes to expand into other states, the IIAC is now dubbed the American Rivers Conference. It's not a bad name and geographically appropriate but it's going to take a while to get used to the ARC moniker.
Story here: http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2018/8/7/american-rivers-conference.aspx
And to get back on topic I predict Loras will win the ARC this year.
http://www.iowaconference.com/news/2018/8/13/loras-mens-soccer-tabbed-preseason-front-runner-by-american-rivers-conference-coaches.aspx
It will be interesting to see how quickly Matt Travis can turn around the Coe program.
Preseason coaches picks were...
1 - Loras
2 - Luther
3 - Dubuque
4 - Wartburg
5 - NWU
6 - Simpson
7 - Central
8 - BVU
9 - Coe
Agree? Disagree?
Looking forward to the GAC @ Luther match up tonight. Should be a good game between two teams looking to prove they are best the North this year.
Prediction- GAC 2 Luther 1
Well GAC v Luther wasn't close with Luther putting 3 in the net in the first 15 minutes. Luther now is sitting at 5-0 and looks good. Loras dominated St Olaf in a game that felt like it could have erupted in fisticuffs at any moment in the last 10 minutes of the game; Loras should get credit for keeping their cool. The St Olaf keeper owned the box like he should and kept them in the game. From the early going it looks like it will again be Loras and Luther at the top of the IIAC, oops... ARC this year with a showdown on October 6. I expect that this weekend's games against Carthage and Chicago will give us a lot more insight as to what sort of team Loras actually is. I'm reserving judgement.
Luther came out flying and looked like a very polished side. possessed well, finished well. GAC looked completely flat, lots of passes right to defenders feet. Not the performance I was expecting, and definitely the worst they have played in the early part of the season.
I haven't seen Loras yet this year, but they seem to be coming out strong. I was impressed by Luther, they were big, fast and skilled. Should be an exciting IIAC season.
My thoughts on Loras so far... They are deep and can play 25 players without suffering too much dropoff so expect the same high pressure style. The keeper position looked to be a question mark as what I saw against St Olaf did not inspire much confidence. They have two big bruisers in Simon and Broderick who have size and skill up front and could give defenders issues. Pacholski and Berardi will again anchor a defense; both are very solid and dependable but I'm not sure who will step up to join them in the back; Lenke might look like he's about 5 feet tall but he's impressed me on defense. I was disappointed to see that a couple of my favorite players to watch from last year who were skillful contributors are not apparently on the roster (Galvez and O'Connell). I'll be interested to see how freshman starter Talbot develops. He's definitely got potential. And again despite a high level of skill it appears it will be rare for Loras to string together more than a couple passes...
Standings so far:
SCHOOL A-R-C ALL
Luther 1-0 8-1
Loras 1-0 5-1
Simpson 1-0 6-2-1
Wartburg 1-0 4-4
Buena Vista 0-0 0-9
Neb Wesleyan 0-1 4-4
Central 0-1 3-6
Dubuque 0-1 2-5
Coe 0-1 0-7-1
Four ARC games tonight:
Wisconsin-Whitewater @ Wartburg - UWW is always a strong team but I think they are down this year with already having three loses. Same with Wartburg and they are at 4-4 this year. Should be a decent game but considering UWW only lost by 1 to Luther (4-3) and that's the only game Luther gave up more than 1 goal, I'm thinking they will nudge Wartburg in the game. 3-1 UWW
Iowa Wesleyan @ Loras - Don't know much about Iowa Wesleyan but this should be a easily handled game by Loras as long as their 2-0 win over UD doesn't get to their heads and they come out lax. 3-0 Loras
North Park @ Dubuque - North Park seems like a decently strong team course they haven't played many quality teams besides U of Chicago, which they lost 2-4. UD seems a bit down this year compared to years past starting the season at 2-5 I don't think this is the game they turn the season around. 2-0 North Park
Waldorf @ Simpson - Who??? 4-0 Simpson
Loras took it to Iowa Wesleyan, scoring 6 goals in the first 45 minutes and 1 more after the half. It was a good opportunity for Loras' deep bench to get some playing time. Loras just about doubled their season scoring and maybe they can springboard off this confidence-booster and their 2-0 win over UD and make a nice run through the conference. Loras-Luther is coming up in just over a week!
Luther v Loras on Saturday in the Rock Bowl in the game that likely will determine the regular season ARC title. Hopefully there is a little break in the weather and the rain stays away. After last night's win over BV Loras now has 21 goals on the season, scored by 15 different players with nobody having netted more than 2. Nobody has more than 5 points total. It's nice to have balance, but will the lack of someone who seems able to shoulder the burden of scoring and being the go-to guy hurt the team in the long run?
DuHawks are layin' the smack down on the Norse! 2-0 with 8 minutes to go. Don't come in the RockBowl with an attitude cause if you do you're going home with an L.
I watched the game tonight. Can you give any insight on the Spanish play by play. Just curious.
Quote from: 4samuy on October 06, 2018, 10:54:04 PM
I watched the game tonight. Can you give any insight on the Spanish play by play. Just curious.
Spanish commentary was a part of the Latino Heritage Night that the team co-sponsored with the Intercultural Program Office.
Got it. Thanks!
My wife and I loved the Latino Heritage Night last night and the Spanish broadcast. It was a great atmosphere and turnout in the Rock Bowl! Hopefully it becomes an annual thing! Luther is good and quite skilled but Loras weathered Luther's few good chances and had the better opportunities and capitalized on them. The Duhawk are definitely in the driver's seat for the home field advantage through the conference tournament. They've got another good test coming up Tuesday night against UW-Platteville. There were a few Pioneers at the game last night and there won't be any surprises; the teams are full of players who know each other well.
Quote from: Dubuquer on October 07, 2018, 02:25:23 PM
My wife and I loved the Latino Heritage Night last night and the Spanish broadcast. It was a great atmosphere and turnout in the Rock Bowl! Hopefully it becomes an annual thing! Luther is good and quite skilled but Loras weathered Luther's few good chances and had the better opportunities and capitalized on them. The Duhawk are definitely in the driver's seat for the home field advantage through the conference tournament. They've got another good test coming up Tuesday night against UW-Platteville. There were a few Pioneers at the game last night and there won't be any surprises; the teams are full of players who know each other well.
From what I know, it was the first time the IPO office had tried something like this. Seemed like it went over well with the campus and fans in attendance.
As for what happened on the pitch, there's no question that Luther is talented, but I think they're too talented and try to do too much. Then as soon as the PK was whistled for, they lost their heads. Need some more senior leadership because it's not always roses and lillies.
Looking forward to Tuesday night. If the Duhawks can earn back-to-back quality wins, certainly brings them into top-3 discussion in the North Region, IMO. Still think they're a 20-25 team nationally, not much higher than that.
I was unable to see the Luther game but I was surprised they closed the game out at 2-0 after seeing they only out 4 on BV.
Would have liked to see how Loras did with Whitewater, though that team isn't up to standards of previous teams that travel and playing there can sometimes put a disadvantage against visiting team. Would have been a good test.
UWP played Luther and just comparing the stat sheet it looks like Luther controlled that game similar to the Loras one. Luther had 10 shots with 8 on goal and one going in compared to 7 shots 4 on goal with 2 goals for UWP vs Luther having 16 shots with 5 on gal and 0 going in compared to 8 shots 4 on goal and 2 goals for Loras. Should be an interesting game to watch.
I agree with Dubuquer and Loras having a lot of players in the score column is nice for players confidence in themselves and others but not having one rising higher above the rest can be troublesome when the time for a standout is needed to put a tough game away.
Loras-UWP game rescheduled for 10/21 due to the predicted storms tonight.
:o :o :o Wow! Simpson stomped Loras 5-2! :o :o :o
Maybe this will be the kick in the pants that Loras needs, like their Nebraska Wesleyan game last year that launched them on a long win streak leading to NCAAs? I didn't watch the game but I remember being impressed with Simpson last season. I'm not terribly shocked by the result with Loras coming off a hard-fought win over Luther last week. They are good, but definitely not great.
I can understand that. It's been a wacky season this year in the ARC. I mean Simpson tied Buena Vista last week. Luther tied Wartburg yesterday. It's been another wacky year!!
Loras ekes out a 2-1 win over Wartburg in OT despite playing a man down for 65+ minutes and without Pacholski anchoring the defense. I hope he's not hurt. That would be a big loss for the Duhawks.
Host Knox knocks off (sorry) Loras 1-0. From what I saw (most of the second half), it looked like a fair result. Knox hit a couple off the crossbar, and looked the better team on the day.
Quote from: Ommadawn on October 18, 2018, 05:56:16 PM
Host Knox knocks off (sorry) Loras 1-0. From what I saw (most of the second half), it looked like a fair result. Knox hit a couple off the crossbar, and looked the better team on the day.
Watched the match, sure doesn't look like there was any cohesiveness on the pitch today for the Duhawks.
No composure whatsoever out there. Someone needs to take control and pass, yes pass the ball around instead of pounding it 50 yards down field and hoping for some type of mistake.
They have plenty of talent but not being utilized to its fullest for sure.
This game hurts, a win would of helped them move up the Regional Rankings :o
Loras had a rough finish to the season. Once the heart and soul of their defense (Pacholski) went down to injury they started giving up goals by the bucketful. It didn't help when Pacholski's replacement is now out for the season. I think Loras will be lucky to win the ARC tournament.
Though they were regular season champions, which congratulations are due since that is never an easy feat, it's looking like the only way for Loras, as well as all ARC teams, to make the NCAA's is to win the ARC tournament.
For Loras with a couple of defenders down, that may be a tough fight. Good thing they had a first round bye to get some legs under them and some extra coaching to fill the gaps. Hopefully the extended time off doesn't make them lackadaisical...
Wartburg vs Lurther @ 7
Central vs Loras @ 7:30
The last three games of the season should all be interesting games.
The Luther v Loras rematch we expected is now on tap for Saturday. I didn't see much of the game last night between Loras and Central but from what I did see Loras did not look like they were seriously threatened. Pacholski was back, which was good to see and undoubtedly helped the Duhawks. He'll be critical if Loras is to beat Luther again. I wish I could be there to watch the championship games (men and women) in the Rock Bowl on Saturday!
Any up and coming players for next year? Love hearing about incoming freshmen and POY candidates for the following season.
The season is fast approaching. Anyone have any thoughts on the ARC for this upcoming season?
Quote from: DuhawkFan on August 16, 2019, 07:34:53 AM
The season is fast approaching. Anyone have any thoughts on the ARC for this upcoming season?
Welcome aboard.