I am an extremely biased person when it comes to Wheaton, and I couldn't be happier about that match. Oh boy it was a wonderful match to watch. Broke out the ol' projector, hooked it up to my computer, and enjoyed a classic. Wheaton started off stronger, but once Loras got going, there weren't many clear chances for the Thunder. They had shots, yes, but most were from distance and were easily contained by Milkent in goal.

Tommy Fluegel (my pick for IIAC MVP) finished like a pro on that late break, and it seemed like Wheaton struggled to calmly defend set pieces against the Duhawks. Dillon Olson, Kutzke, and Rummelhart all missed one perfect opportunities. In regards to the physicality, I loved it. If people were going to complain about the physicality they could sign up their son up for women's soccer. It's a physical sport. Yes, it might have gotten a little heated, but it was going both ways. There's no need to frequently whistle every time there's some contact just so the flow of the match is disturbed.

I thought the stream was very well done, and I thought the commentary was great. That was, until Wheaton was still down towards the end of the match. Then it was the classic Wheaton complacency that we all know and love. Yes, Loras kicked the ball away a handful of times towards the end, but just about every team does that when they're up in the dying minutes. Want a couple of salt licks for that high horse of yours Wheaton? The Wheaton commentators thought it was worse than murder. My favorite moment had to be when Cavers pulled off his trademark meg on one of the Wheaton players and straight up embarrassed him only to have one of the commentators dismiss the skill and the reaction it drew because it was too far away from the goal. I was glad to hear his partner on the mic defend the move and its reaction by stating that it probably would have garnered a similar reaction if it were a Wheaton player who had done it.

All in all, the Duhawks started slow, but I thought they were in control for 87.53286% of the match, and played comfortably. Now on to the weekend where I'm predicting a 57-0 Loras College win over UD with Dylan Milkent scoring 42 of the goals and assisting on the other 15.

Wow. I didn't catch the Luther v. UW-P match (or, unfortunately, any Luther matches this year) since I'm in the middle of a move without the internetz yet. Did anyone get to watch? How was the overall match?

That's an awful result for them. I heard whispers that Garcia-Pratz wasn't even starting any more.

Excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong about that.

I was at both of the Duhawk games this weekend.

I left the first match disgusted with what I saw. While they indeed played like garbage, quality programs can scrap out wins even when they're not at their best, and that's just what Loras did. While St. John's wasn't as threatening as Carroll, like Puerco mentioned, they were not content with a pair of goals. TVDB played well during the match, that Alex Bradley kid is mad quality, and my IIAC MVP 2013 Tommy Fluegel has been doing that mullet justice.

It was good to see UD get the result over Illinois Wesleyan. I believe that Wesleyan has Eric Gilbert (on the Loras roster last season, but- obviously- transferred) in their squad.

My shot at the weekend's fixtures


Friday
Grand View 0 - Central 2
Fontbonne 1 - Simpson 2
Buena Vista 0 - Marian 3

Saturday
Carroll 0 - Loras 3
Wartburg 2 - UW-Whitewater 2
Ill. Wesleyan 3 - Dubuque 0

Sunday
Wartburg 1 - UW-Oshkosh 2
Central 1 - Augustana 2
St. John's 0 - Loras 5
Buena Vista 3 - Rockford 1
Luther 3 - St. Olaf 2

That was some of the sloppiest I've seen Loras play in a long time. If I didn't know better, I would just have assumed that Loras was playing without a midfield whatsoever. Every chance they got they just lobbed it down the field to no avail. I understand that the Duhawks love to push forward with some pace, but they do that best when they play through the midfield to connect the play from the back to the front. There also seemed to be too much over-dribbling (especially when they eventually got the ball to their midfielders) when an easy one-two was there for them to work in and out of the space.

You gotta give credit to UWO though, they defended rather well and were able to get a solid result.

As for the $8 to watch the match, that is just ludicrous. 

I think this weekend was a great illustration of why rankings this early in the season are completely useless. I wasn't able to catch the Friday afternoon matches at MSOE this weekend, but I was able to make it to the ever-so-entertaining match against NPU; and I am sooooooo glad that I did.

Loras was able to absolutely frustrate the living hell out off North Park, and took them completely out of their game. They couldn't build up whatsoever and often found themselves just dumping the ball up field for Dylan Milkent or Dan Figura to casually collect. All of Loras' goals where well deserved with the third one really doing a number on NPU's team moral. Then, of course, came the wonderful complacency of those North Park players who feel the need to whine and dive and complain about every little bit of contact. It's a miracle that about 4 of them went down rolling around and screaming bloody murder only to magically get on to their feet two minutes later, and start sprinting. They even resorted to verbally complaining that Loras didn't play soccer, and that it was only kickball. It was all a desperate attempt to find some excuse as to why they got completely and utterly outplayed.

Twas a wonderful game to be at.

That kid fell for the oldest trick in Caver's book. Poor guy. Looking forward to this weekend. Any predictions for the games in this MSOE Milwaukee tournament?

I see the Calvin and Loras match being a hard fought one with Loras coming out on top 3-1. With it being 2-1 most of the match until Calvin push for an equalizer, and the Duhawks countering to seal it.

MSOE: 0 NPU: 2 - I think that North Park should be able to get past MSOE with their quality.

In the finals a rematch of the second round game from last year's NCAA tournament. It'll be another close one, but I think it'll end up being the same score as the last time they met: 1-0 Loras winning with Dan Figura grabbing an unexpected goal.

Tommy Fluegel stepping up big after the Cavers injury, and had a great match. When I predicted Cavers with a brace, I didn't mean one for his arm. Here's to hoping he has a speedy recovery, but he will miss some big matches that are coming up for the Duhawks. We'll be able to see just how effective their renown depth can be.

Loras dropping down to #25 is absolutely ridiculous, especially considering (like Puerco noted) that Trinity barely fell after losing. Oh well, rankings are pretty irrelevant at this time of the season.

I'm excited to watch the Duhawks on the Rock Bowl tonight against UWP. Unless they get those unreal goals like they did  last year, I do not see them causing Loras too many problems. However, Loras has been letting in the odd goal even with dominating the play

My prediction: 3-0 Duhawks with Fluegel getting on the board and a Cavers brace.

There's no doubt in my mind that Loras will have a relatively easy time in the IIAC this year. I can see some tough matches, but overall they should be able to come out on top.

My picks for the awards:

IIAC MVP -- Tommy Fluegel's mullet
Top Scorer -- Johnny "I Can Read" Rummelhart
0 Goals against Dylan "Dylan" Milkent

Ya'll heard it here first.

Party on Garth.