Middlebury have looked tepid since going behind, very little indication that they will be able to pull something out of this one unless they increase the level substantially in the last 15 minutes.

Quote from: camosfan on November 19, 2023, 01:28:12 PM
At pasture number 2, Amherst takes a 1-0 lead at midway of the first half!

And now very fortunate to continue to have 11 on the pitch, Madden with a second ill-timed tackle in a matter of 5 minutes and gets a talking to from the official. Having seen the tackle, it appeared to be one that would have warranted a yellow card based on previous decisions. Living on the edge a bit for the Panthers.

Just to look at this weekends matchups from Massey ratings:

Calvin (6) v Chicago (11)
St Olaf (7) v UW-EC (18)

ONU (38) v CC (21)
Tufts (4) v W&L (31)

MW (3) v WC (33)
Montclair (9) v Conn (8)

Amherst (5) v Oxy (16)
Cortland (10) v Middlebury (1)

The lowest rated team is 38th (and that's a team in ONU that won the OAC and just knocked off a top-5 team in Messiah), although this past weekend's matches would have impacted those scores a bit. 11 of those 16 are within the top-16, and a the rest aren't too far outside.

With regional considerations, and the fact that there are only 16 teams remaining after the opening weekend, I think strong matchups in the second weekend should be expected. Frustration can certainly be understood when big matches come earlier than desired in the tournament, but I don't think the Chicago v Calvin matchup was particularly unfair to either team in this case. It was a top-15 matchup in the Sweet 16 which feels appropriate.

Quote from: calvin_grad on November 17, 2023, 03:32:58 PM
Schau gets pulled down on a mini-break with 9 seconds left outside the box.  Red card for Chicago defender.  Resulting free kick goes high and we are headed to PKs.

Probably a game-saving tackle in the grand scheme. Schau was in on goal and could've won it in the last 10 seconds, and the resulting man advantage was not worth much considering the timing. Calvin bow out in penalties 5-4, and the Maroons live to fight another day. A really excellent game to watch, and the Knights showed their determination in coming back from a deficit against a strong Chicago defensive unit.

Unreal save from Wunder with 5 minutes left on the 1v1 chance from Baldwin. Goal seemed inevitable from that position, but just turned outside of the post by a big left hand.

Quote from: calvin_grad on November 17, 2023, 03:00:40 PM
Yep.  Box score gave the goal first to Akintade, now to Garrett, but neither of those are correct.

Totally agree. Regardless, I have been really impressed with Garrett and his development this season. He has grown a lot in his ball retention and his dribbling instincts and it has led to some much improved performances. Still needs some work on letting the game come to him after making a long run and getting his head up a second earlier, but those skills will inevitably continue to develop.

Quote from: Hopkins92 on November 17, 2023, 02:56:14 PM
Curious what you mean by second phase set piece. Back to goal set piece... I'm having trouble picturing it.

Just meaning the initial ball was cleared away, defense stepped up, and then the ball was sent back in leading to the chance. It was an excellent step as any one player caught ball watching could have prevented the offsides decision.

Knights ramping up the pressure. Vanderlugt with a brilliant finish but he is marginally offsides coming from a second phase set piece. A couple moments later, Ryu able to manufacture a shot from a tight angle that is just about blocked away for a corner. 10 minutes left in regular time in this one.

Quote from: calvin_grad on November 17, 2023, 02:29:04 PM
Akintade with a goal to tie it in the 57th minute for Calvin.

Looking back at the goal on the stream, I'm pretty confident that was Jacob Ryu who got the last touch from Foster Garrett's assist.

Windy city is living up to its name in the Calvin-Chicago match. The Knights had the wind at their backs in the first half, but Chicago weathered the pressure well and were able to get a goal to take an advantage into the intermission. Chicago was very solid defensively and Calvin also was a step off in the crucial moments in the final third. The Knights can take some solace in the fact that the deficit isn't greater, but they did have some chances themselves to even things up.

Curious to see what tactical changes Coach Souders makes in the second half. The outlet for the Knights seems to have been their outside backs who have been very involved in the build-up, but haven't been as tidy or clinical as they may have needed to be offensively. Also, when fighting the wind, some of the attempted through balls particularly from Alex White won't be as effective and some new avenues will have to be explored. As for Chicago, they will most likely continue to play physical and prevent the Knights from letting their dangermen such as Akintade and Schau from being able to carry the ball into dangerous positions, and will look to use the wind to create some confusion for Calvin's backline and get another tally.

Wow, Denison should've won it there at the end. Just not enough composure from Krueger there in a 1v1 situation, looked like the touch let him down at the crucial moment.

Couple of scrappy goals in the GAC - Wartburg match leaves it even halfway through the first half. GAC scored very early but Wartburg have taken advantage of set-pieces and second chances to leave it knotted up.

In some interesting news from the MIAA, Olivet lost in their last regular season match to Calvin 10-1. After this shellacking, they managed to turn things around and upset Trine and Hope, the 2 and 3 seeds respectively, in the tournament and have earned themselves a chance to avenge their 9-goal defeat tonight against Calvin. Maybe one of the more surprising conference finalists in a while?

Calvin finish off Hope 3-1, scoreline flatters the Knights. Hope made things very uncomfortable, forcing Wunder into several saves including a PK stop with 2 minutes left. Calvin struck early in the second half with a goal from Schau after a neat interchange with Akintade, and scored their third via an PK with 3 seconds left, won and scored by Akintade.

Calvin have the hallmarks of a solid defensive team, with tall and experienced CBs and GK, but all have mistakes in them that have come back to bite the Knights on several occasions so far this year. They also don't have the solidity in the midfield to provide a shield for the back line, which means further chances for opposition. Scoring goals has not been a problem, and they certainly have potential to make a run towards the end of the year, but defense in the tournament is crucial when you need to tough out a result.