UAA 2016

[NEsoccerfan]

Bloots, did you get a chance to watch the Deis game today? I was following along with the stats and saw they were doing well until the Ocel red card. Looks like it was a straight red, what happened?! Regardless, given that they played a man down for 60 minutes, I'd say this was an okay result for Brandeis.

[Mr.Right]

I'm curious also...Straight Red...Ocel is a big loss for their next game. The game had more cards than SOG....Must have been chippy all game.

[blooter442]

Bloots, did you get a chance to watch the Deis game today? I was following along with the stats and saw they were doing well until the Ocel red card. Looks like it was a straight red, what happened?! Regardless, given that they played a man down for 60 minutes, I'd say this was an okay result for Brandeis.

I'm out of town in Chicago - actually considering going to Wheaton vs. North Central tonight - so I didn't have a chance to see the game itself. However, I did notice from the live stats that - if they are to be believed - he was given two consecutive yellows, which leads me to believe that he probably committed a foul and then got another for reacting to it/subsequent fracas/etc. My homer instinct says that it smells of a card-happy ref, but my logical brain knows that a ref generally won't give two yellows in quick succession, so it must have been something pretty extreme.

Apparently the opening goal was after a PK (also from Ocel) which was the second rebound after he missed the kick itself. The equalizer was a free kick that Woodhouse - who usually has solid hands - dropped over the line. He had some issues commanding his area at first last year but has done much better in that respect, although it appears that the loss of Lanahan has had a bigger effect than I'd have thought on the Brandeis defense as a whole.

While the three losses and tie against WPI have been damaging I don't think WPI, Babson, or Wheaton will be regionally ranked at the end of the year, so Brandeis' RvR doesn't seem too bad, although you never know. You always want to win, of course, but a tie against a good team who was perfect at home up to today (and 7-1 overall) is OK, but I think it is too early to tell whether or not it will do enough to halt the skid that Brandeis has been in since early September. Either way, playing with 10 men throughout the second half and OT is tough, especially when you're losing arguably your best player, and especially considering Carnegie is a difficult place to go I would say that an away draw there is a decent result.

[blooter442]

Rochester – Wash U  is an absolute barnburner of the game. Rochester was up 2 at half and looked home and dry, the visitors got back to 2-2, Rochester scored in the 84th to make it 3-2, Wash U tied it again 57 seconds later to make it 3-3.

[Scoring Machine]

For Wash U to come out with a tie is enormous. While they may have come in seeking a win, to have the goalie get a red early on and then give up an own goal and yet score three goals and hold off Rochester for the most part and even look the better team at times all with ten men for 95 minutes is truly impressive.

[blooter442]

Rochester - WashU finishes 3-3. I had opined before the game that I didn't think that Rochester had been truly tested this year - as a look at their schedule will tell you that they frontloaded the schedule with easier teams while the back end is much more demanding - and I think that was perhaps proven tonight. (Apologies for patting myself on the back  ).

When I saw that Rochester had stormed into a 2-0 lead at half I thought that maybe I didn't give them enough credit. Turns out the first goal was a PK and the second a WashU own goal and the shots were relatively even so I realized that Rochester wasn't perhaps as dominant as the scoreline indicated. Saw that WashU got a goal back in around the 60th, then made it 2-2 in the 78th. I looked again at the score on my phone and I was shocked to see it was 3-3. While the nature of Rochester's goals may have been fluky, Apple will be furious with throwing away a two-goal lead in the second half, not to mention conceding 57 seconds after taking a late lead, especially at home. Credit where it is due, both teams are still unbeaten, and if I had to pick two sides who I thought have the best chance to hand consensus favorites Chicago a blemish, it would be these two.

For Wash U to come out with a tie is enormous. While they may have come in seeking a win, to have the goalie get a red early on and then give up an own goal and yet score three goals and hold off Rochester for the most part and even look the better team at times all with ten men for 95 minutes is truly impressive.

Did not see that the goalkeeper got a red. Wow. Denial of a goalscoring opportunity? Either way, playing a man down for 90+ mins makes the result all the more impressive for WashU.

[Scoring Machine]

Did not see that the goalkeeper got a red. Wow. Denial of a goalscoring opportunity? Either way, playing a man down for 90+ mins makes the result all the more impressive for WashU.

Wash U got caught with a higher line and the forward managed to push his touch in the box past the keeper as he dove for it and he took out the forward instead. The PK was the first goal given up by Wash U all year as well so really unfortunate way to see that streak go down.

[Gregory Sager]

Bloots, did you get a chance to watch the Deis game today? I was following along with the stats and saw they were doing well until the Ocel red card. Looks like it was a straight red, what happened?! Regardless, given that they played a man down for 60 minutes, I'd say this was an okay result for Brandeis.

I'm out of town in Chicago - actually considering going to Wheaton vs. North Central tonight

I hope you didn't actually make that choice, since Wheaton was at North Park.

[blooter442]

I hope you didn't actually make that choice, since Wheaton was at North Park.

Yes you are correct, I realized after the fact, but by that point I had gone to Lou Malnati's instead.

[blooter442]

Certainly an eventful first weekend of UAA games. Since each conference game has a direct impact on who wins the conference (and not just what seed you get for the conference tourney) it is relatively common to see UAA games be 1-0 or even 0-0 battles. The fact that no fewer than two goals were scored in each match is quite interesting, and I wish I'd watched Rochester and WashU's 3-3 draw.

Chicago is rightly the favorites right now, and are an impressive 11-0 and - if not for Trinity (TX) and its identical record - would be #1 in the NSCAA poll. The Maroons are home for the next four games but finish the season with three road tests at Case, Carnegie, and archrivals WashU. Getting through the regular season undefeated would be some accomplishment, but it won't be easy. That said, Chicago has talent in all areas of the pitch, and are dominant.

Was interested to see that NYU beat Case on the road. They have been rather insipid since winning the UAA in 2010, but have a good GK and are capable of pulling off the big result every once in a while. Regardless, winning your first UAA game on the road is certainly a confidence-booster, so it will be interesting to see if they can go forward from here.

I really like Jack West of WashU. A very good, skillful player who is difficult to track. Had two assists against Rochester and was instrumental in getting the Bears back to 2-2 and then 3-3. Having him back this year is giant for WashU and I really think they could do some damage with him, Sproule, Witte, and others - by my estimation, they are a Sweet 16 team, although they could well surpass that. Hopefully they do not suffer too much with Geanon out for the next match, although it sounds like the stand-in goalkeeper had a good match despite giving up three goals.

Update: Not trying to turn this into the Jack West thread, but I just found out that he's not just attending grad school at WashU - he's attending law school. While any grad school program will be demanding, the fact that he's playing soccer while attending a top 20 law school is very impressive (and the fact that he got into said law school while playing soccer at a top 20 university is equally commendable).

[midwest]

Re:  law school and sports -- there was a Notre Dame football player who was a 1st year law student at ND his final year of eligibility.  Left law school to go to the NFL, then came back and finished law school. 

[Central Region Follower]

Rochester 1 Chicago 2 - I think this is an interesting game and Rochester will give Chicago a challenge, but I don't see Chicago losing at home

Emory 0 Wash U 1 - Emory is better than people are giving them credit for but their defense is a weak point and Wash U will find a way to put one away

Carnegie 2 NYU 0 - Coming off a surprising win at CWRU, NYU comes back down to earth against a strong Carnegie team. 

Case 1 Brandeis 1 - Predicting a draw because I have no idea how to call this one. Both Case and Brandeis have been wildly inconsistent this year.

[blooter442]

Chicago 2-1 Rochester - I do see Rochester scoring, but I don't see Chicago losing at home, although I did say that I think Rochester or WashU would be one of the two UAA teams with a chance to take points off Chicago.

WashU 2-0 Emory - WashU is for real, I think, and their spirit in last week's draw was commendable.

NYU 0-1 Carnegie - Carnegie gets a big win after last weekend's blemish against Brandeis. Must say that NYU's win at Case was impressive.

Brandeis 2-2 Case - As the poster above alluded to, both teams have been extremely inconsistent this year, particularly defensively. A high-scoring draw.

[blooter442]

UChicago takes down Rochester, extending its perfect record to 12-0 while giving the Yellowjackets their first loss of the season. Rochester got the lead in the 16th minute before Chicago got 2 in around 2 minutes in the second half and held on. 2-1 final - just like I had predicted.

Carnegie was dominant on the road today, scoring 3 times in the second half for a 3-0 win at NYU. Emory upset WashU on the road, and much like Rochester did, WashU took the lead only to be hit twice in the second half.

Brandeis vs. Case finished 0-0. Case was dominant with a 14-4 shot advantage, while Brandeis hit the bar and had a good chance in 2OT.

[blooter442]

A bit early, perhaps, but figured I'd have a swing at this weekend's games:

Chicago 2-0 Brandeis - Brandeis has been "in" every game it's played this year, but I am still not convinced by the defense. At 12-0, Chicago will be too much.
Emory 1-0 Case - Emory is a difficult place to go, and the Eagles will have too much for a Case side that has seen both highs and lows this season.
Rochester 2-1 Carnegie - I have been critical of Rochester and even opined that they hadn't been seriously tested prior to the start of their UAA schedule. The first two UAA games saw the Yellowjackets blow a two-goal lead against WashU at home and then fall on the road to Chicago, but I think Rochester gets it done against a solid Carnegie side.
WashU 3-1 NYU - WashU will look to rebound from last weekend's defeat to Emory.

WashU 1-2 Brandeis - My upset pick, and may well be a homer pick, but Brandeis almost pulled off a win at Carnegie, suggesting that they might be able to pull off a big road result. Moreover, the Judges have won on their last two visits to St. Louis (2012 and 2014), and will look to avenge their only conference lost of last season, a 2-0 home setback against the Bears.
Rochester 2-1 Case - Despite the fact that they haven't dazzled, Rochester is significantly stronger than Case at this point IMHO.
Emory 1-2 Carnegie - Carnegie seems a bit more dynamic than Emory, and I think they sneak this one.
Chicago 3-0 NYU - Chicago has too much for the visitors. Where have we heard that one before?