With a start to a crazy season for all the WIAC teams, I'm interested how the year will play out.
UW- Oshkosh is 4-3-1 with a loss to MSOE who UWW beat. But yesterday had a rather impressive tie (almost win) over Loras.
UW- Platteville is 3-3-2 with a rather bad start to their year but have got hot lately.
UW- Superior is 5-3 with an overtime win against Finlandia?
UW- Whitewater is 4-2-1 with a loss to Simpson who Superior beat and a tie to Dubuque who both Platteville and Superior beat.
And then there is Finlandia who battled Superior valiantly.
This is becoming a very interesting and open race battle heading into Conference play soon.
It has been a wild start with some headscratching results for WIAC teams. With that, more than likely one team will make the NCAA tournament with an independent Pool B bid. Who will it be?... No frontrunner as of now that's for sure. The conference season should help explain some things, but with only 4 conference matches per team, it's hard to determine who is best. This is how I imagine they'll finish at season's end.
1. UWO
2. UWW
3. UWS
4. UWP
5. Finlandia
I completely agree, it is to early to judge this years race. It will all come down to conference play again. Oshkosh with another loss tonight against North Park. Platteville goes out to Wartburg tomorrow and Whitewater plays Carthage at home tomorrow. Both interesting games. I believe it will be a three way race between Superior, Oshkosh, and Whitewater. I also could see two teams possibly making it this year. Oshkosh is young but fiery when they get going. Superior seems like they have a couple of goal scorers. And whitewater is hard to judge.
Good points. From what it looks like, Oshkosh is playing the toughest schedule would should prepare them nicely for the conference season. Whitewater has some tough ones coming up as well. In order to the Warhawks to be in the mix for the Pool B bid, they need to get a signature win I think. A win or two over Carthage, North Park, Chicago, St. Norbert could do a lot as all are teams with decent seasons going. Superior will be in the mix due to their grittiness (borderline dirtiness), and they have some quality players who can make things happen. But that Finlandia overtime win worries me. Platteville will make the top three work for it and may nick a win or a draw against one, but they don't have the squad to run the table.
Havent seen much of the other teams in the WIAC but UWW might play the ugliest form of organized soccer that I have seen in years. They play with a sweeper and anyone in the defense or midfield look like they are instructed to kick it as far as they can as soon as they get the ball on their foot. Against Simpson they struggled to connect more than two passes without a panic "boot" up to the forwards. All chances seem to come off long throws when they target their 6 6 center forward. To their credit they do generate a lot of throws in the attacking third. Hopefully the kids shoulders can take all the throws this season.
I do agree with causalfan though. UWW needs to bolster their resume with a few key wins. In 2011 UWW was 8-0 in conference with a subpar non-conference record (4-7), with only quality wins against IWU and UST. This could be shaping up to be the same kind of season.
@wiacwatcher so they've adopted the Loras style? Sweeper hangs back and backs blast it forward for everyone to run under?
UWW loses a 4-3 ot decision to Carthage last night. Down 3-0, come back on 3 long throw-in goals to tie it 3-3. Carthage gets a red right before overtime. Then the Red Men take down the Warhawks 3 minutes into overtime. Devastating result I'm sure.
UWP gets a decent result with a 0-0 tie with Wartburg.
UWS beats Hamline 2-0 in a game they should win.
Looking forward to the weekend, we have an interesting conference matchup between UWS & UWP which should explain where each of these teams currently stand and provide us with who will compete in conference.
Then, UWO takes on Concordia-Wisconsin who seem to be struggling so should be a comfortable win for the Titans. They've gone through a rough stretch of games recently with some disappointing results, but it could prove to be valuable later in the season.
UWW has an away match on Friday at Augustana and then come home Saturday to play North Central. Two CCIW opponents back to back days with a roadtrip in there as well. Could be a tough way to get 2 wins.
To a certain extent. Anyone who is not a forward has authority to blast it forward. As casualfan said... they scored all 3 of their goals on long throws against Carthage
About midway through the season and here's how the WIAC stands.
SCHOOL WIAC POINTS OVERALL PCT. HOME AWAY NEUTRAL STREAK
UW-Superior 2-0 6 7-3 0.700 1-2 4-1 2-0 W2
UW-Platteville 1-1 3 4-4-3 0.500 2-1-1 1-2-2 1-1-0 W1
UW-Whitewater 0-0 0 6-3-1 0.650 2-2-1 4-1-0 0-0-0 W2
UW-Oshkosh 0-0 0 6-4-1 0.591 3-2-0 3-2-1 0-0-0 W2
Finlandia 0-2 0 3-5 0.375 0-1 2-4 1-0 L3
Superior ended up beating Platteville 3-1 after going down a goal early. While Platteville, a game before, tied Wartburg. Oshkosh tied a stumbling Loras team, lost to North Park, and destroyed both Concordia Wisconsin and Carroll. Whitewater lost to Carthage 4-3 in overtime, and then beat Augustana and North Central a day after one another. Oshkosh and Whitewater seem to get things finally going and Superior is staying strong. Looking forward to this Superior Oshkosh battle this weekend.
I would hardly say that Loras is "stumbling". At 8-1-1, Loras has gone through a tough non-conference and once again seems like the "Top Dog" in the region.
A sweep of the CCIW teams would have been impressive this last week for UWW, but falling short to Carthage is hopefully not a theme for the rest of the season. UWW could add to their resume over their next 6 games as they play St. Norbert, Chicago, UW Superior and North Park. To be a tournament contender they will have to go at least 2-1-1 if not 3-1.
UWS plays UWO this weekend and then plays St. Olaf a week later. Two wins will get people talking about this team.
UWO needs to not lose another matchup or get a lot help to be a contender. They have beat up on lesser competition but have not delivered in their big games 0-2-1 (GAC, Loras, NP).
UWP still has Wheaton, Loras and Luther all on their schedule. Only positive for them is that all these matches are at home. Good luck UWP, may the odds be ever in your favor
To be fair, despite the 8-1-1 record, Loras has not been up to par compared to their previous seasons.
Through 10 games, Loras has only managed three shutouts and has allowed 13 goals. For reference, in 2013, Loras allowed 15 goals total, with five of those 13 coming in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, Loras allowed 11 goals, with three coming in the NCAA Tournament.
I'm 100 percent sure at this point what has been the reason for the dropoff in the defense. As a fan, I should be happy with the 8-1-1 record, but am having a hard time adjusting to the fact that they are giving up a lot of goals.
Like Puerco stated, an 8-1-1 record is impressive but the way that the Duhawks have gone about that is not Loras-like. Too many goals given up to this point which does not translate well going into conference play. Luther has looked stout in defense as usual and Wartburg able to score at will. We'll see how the Duhawks can turn it around defensively.
I'm just beginning to think that the WIAC has 3 pretty good teams without a top dog that can compete with the region's best teams. Superior, Oshkosh, and Whitewater can all beat teams that they should, but each have failed to get a signature win. Yes, Oshkosh got a tie at Loras which is a decent result. But aside from that, all 3 squads have yet to win a big game. I don't imagine more than one team making the NCAA tournament. And to be honest, that one team will probably have a first round exit.
As of now, it's hard to pick a front runner but I'll go with UW-Superior right now because of their two remaining conference games are at home against UWO and UWW.
Conference Tournament starts tomorrow
Predictions
UWO - Platteville 3-1
UWW- Superior 2-1
Can't see Platteville, who is missing leading points getter Mbodje due to 5 yellows, and starting GK due to a red vs UWW, getting anything going against UWO. 3-0 sounds more like it unless they get a cheap goal once UWO puts their subs in. Also predicting a fight in this game. A frustrating season for UWP culminating in a potentially embarrassing loss away could get the better some UWP players, or should UWP keep it close a desperate UWO team could get a bit chippy. Either way should be a physical battle.
2-1 sounds like a good score line for UWW/UWS but that will all depend on which Superior team shows up: the beginning of the year Superior or the slumping 4 straight losses (one against Lawrence University) Superior. Regardless of current form though, Superior is sure to get up for this game as it's their last chance to salvage anything from this season.
Good points Warhawk Fan, I didn't realize Mbodje Sarr received his 5th yellow. That will be a tough loss along with Sibik. They'll be lucky to create any chances, and extremely lucky to not give one up. Could get ugly. 4-0 UWO.
It's likely that we'll see the Superior that always gives UWW trouble. They get up for big games, and they'll fight you til the end. UWW has potential to win this handily, but a low scoring affair is more likely. I'll go with 1-0 UWW, but I could see it going the other way with the same scoreline. Set pieces will be the determining factor as it has been most of the season for UWW.
Any predictions for the awards for the season? I'm guessing they're based on the regular season and do not include the conference tournament so I'll throw mine out there.
Offensive POY: UWW Boo Gottwald.....hard to argue against 7 goals and 11 assists, true playmaker for the Warhawks
Defensive POY: UWW Ryan Reid....quality center back who can get into the attack and finishes at a high rate, 7 goals!
Coach of the Year: UWO Wytse Molenaar....1st place in regular season with a 3-0-1 conference record, although he's kind of a nut
As a guy who watches the IIAC often I think plattevilles Goalie deserves a look. He single-handily got them the Wartburg tie and the Loras win. However, I realize that it is hard to give that to a guy who is on a losing team.
Fair point, Durantula. Sibik showed he possesses skill on a relatively weak UWP side. Unfortunately he gave up 6 goals to the top 3 teams and went 1-3 in the conference, along with receiving a red card against UWW. He has a small chance for first team all-conference, but second team is more likely.
Sam Gabrilska & Josh Rohde are in a tight race for 1st team all-conference. I'll go with Gabrilska first team, Rohde second team.
Also, casualfan I've got a scenario for you. I think that in our quadrant of the bracket the North region will get two hosters for the NCAA tourney and then the Central Region (who I think we will be paired with) will get two. So I think the top two in our region will host the first round. Obviously one will be Loras. If UWW and Wartburg wins I would say Wartburg definitely retains their number 2 position in the region but what if they both lose or UWW wins and Wartburg loses. Who will host? Or do you think I am completely off in this?
I guess I could also see us getting paired with the texas region again maybe for some reason just like last year.
I would agree that if Wartburg takes down Loras that both IIAC schools will host. If UWW were to win and Wartburg were to lose, there's a chance UWW could host as the 2nd ranked team, and they have an outstanding grass field. Personally, I prefer having NCAA tournament games played on grass. I don't think GAC has done enough to host.
In the Central, it's likely that Calvin & Wheaton will both host. I want to say that they've shuffled one of these two pods around to be with an Ohio pod making room for the Texas (Trinity) pod to join with the midwest road to the final 4. So I could be wrong, but I would predict that Calvin's pod gets shifted out of the Midwest, leaving Trinity as the Sectional #1 seed.
Ideally that would leave Loras, UWW/Wartburg, Wheaton, and Trinity as your Regional Hosts.
I thought of that but that would be a crazy hard quadrant and I don't think they would try to put 3 number one in the regions in the same quadrant would they? Nationally trinity is 2,2 loras is 7,8 and wheaton is 10,10 (d3soccer, nscaa)
actually that doesn't sound so crazy now that I look at it haha
It does make for a difficult sectional but in actuality it's about right.
The matchups in the Sweet 16 would likely look like this.
Loras pod winner. v. Wheaton pod winner.
Trinity pod winner v. UWW/Wartburg pod winner.
Obviously it's all speculation at this point.
I don't think UWW can host as they don't have streaming video (pretty sure this is an NCAA requirment to be able to broadcast all NCAA games).
I think that's why UWO (who was #2 in North region last year) traveled to Wartburg (#3 last year).
So, Wartburg may host regardless of the outcomes this weekend.
I doubt that 2 Iowa schools will get to host.
I could see the MIAC winner hosting, due to geography/travel costs (GAC/SJU, St. Scholastica, MWC Winner, UWW, possible pool C from MIAC?)
Quote from: Homegrown Harry on November 06, 2014, 04:40:17 PM
I don't think UWW can host as they don't have streaming video (pretty sure this is an NCAA requirment to be able to broadcast all NCAA games).
I think that's why UWO (who was #2 in North region last year) traveled to Wartburg (#3 last year).
So, Wartburg may host regardless of the outcomes this weekend.
If that is true, it must be very recent. I remember back in 2010 when both Oshkosh and Whitewater hosted the Regionals and Oshkosh hosted Sectionals.
Quote from: casualfan on November 06, 2014, 05:59:20 PM
Quote from: Homegrown Harry on November 06, 2014, 04:40:17 PM
I don't think UWW can host as they don't have streaming video (pretty sure this is an NCAA requirment to be able to broadcast all NCAA games).
I think that's why UWO (who was #2 in North region last year) traveled to Wartburg (#3 last year).
So, Wartburg may host regardless of the outcomes this weekend.
If that is true, it must be very recent. I remember back in 2010 when both Oshkosh and Whitewater hosted the Regionals and Oshkosh hosted Sectionals.
UWW women's hosted as recently as last year, so unless it was just implemented this year I don't think that's the case.
Oshkosh also has video you just have to pay for it. I do not believe that is a requirement
Now two years in a row heartbreaks for UW Superior against UW Whitewater. No wonder why they are leaving the WIAC ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q52KiB9husw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcI9SGqTjkw
Oshkosh with a big 1-0 win tonight. I imagine this secures their bid to the NCAA tournament via a Pool B bid.
It will be interesting to see if UWW gets a bid now with a record of 13-4-4. Have they done enough to jump Wartburg?
Or will UWW still receive the Pool B bid leaving Oshkosh out...
So a 1-2-2 Oshkosh record vs a 3-2-1 Whitewater secures the pool B? That will be interesting
You're right, it should be UWW. Too bad for Oshkosh there is no auto bid for their "conference"
I completely agree. Both teams are more than deserving.
Even with their win tonight, I can't see Oshkosh jumping Wartburg. If Wartburg loses tomorrow at Loras, their resume still looks much stronger still than Oshkosh's. It will be interesting to see how many Pool C bids will come from the North Region. Last year the region was a bit stronger and there were 3. I predict only 1 or 2 this year.
Interesting result tonight in Oshkosh with the Titans defeating UWW 1-0 at home. It makes for a close call between the two for the Pool B bid while the other remains on the bubble. It would be great to see both get in. I think UWW has proven that they can play with most of the region's better teams but seem to struggle against Oshkosh. UWW looked like a different team on turf as a few players did not play up to par tonight. Oshkosh looked okay and took advantage of their chance. Their backline looked solid with the return of Cheaney, he may be their best player.
Like Sir Victor mentioned, the region may have been a bit stronger last year. I think both Wartburg & Loras are safe. UWW looks good, but that head-to-head loss to UWO could hurt them. It will be interesting to see how the results of the other conference finals in the region go. It could affect whether or not both UWW & UWO get in..
Think UWW will still receive the pool B bid, with a more impressive record vs ranked opponents (3-2-1, 1-2-2). Although I think both teams are more than deserving. An interesting point is if UWO is given the pool B, UWW would be thrown in the mix for a pool C. Think they would be, behind the loser of Wartburg and Loras, the strongest team for a C bid among the North.
It will be interesting for the WIAC Conference awards this year.
Coach of the year: Wytse Molenaar- Team won conference
Offensive player of the year: Their are many players that could receive this award. I think it will most likely be shared between John Gottwald (7 goals, 11 assists) of Whitewater and Javier Simon (9 goals) of Oshkosh. I could also see Gio Rodriguez's (10 goals, 5 assists) name being thrown in the mix. Mbodje (7 goals, 2 assists) of Platteville has a strong case except his team fell short.
Defensive player of the year: Again, I think this award will be shared. I think the two names that stand out are the keeper from Oshkosh Sam Gabrilska (10 Shutouts) and Ryan Reid (7 goals, 11 team shutouts) the defender from Whitewater. Some other nominees could be Matt Cheaney and Karl Bock from Oshkosh.
For First Team and Second Team nominees, that is just to hard to tell. Oshkosh, Whitewater, and Superior will highlight the nominees.