Quote from: CC United on November 08, 2024, 10:00:39 AMKuip, for what it's worth, I appreciate what you do. I know many others who do as well. Keep it up.

Re: the NCAA championship and the West, I'm no expert in D3 Soccer bracketology, but based on past brackets, I predict CMS will be sent to Trinity (Texas) for the first round. Trinity will have the #1 seed and will probably play someone like Pacific Lutheran. CMS will play the winner of the ACS, probably Hardin Simmons, but that is not a certainty. Assuming Trinity and CMS win their first games they will play each other in the second round.  That will be a game to watch because both teams are skilled and have crafty players on the ball. But more importantly, Ed Cartee was a long time assistant coach at Trinity before taking the job at CMS.

Thanks CC United.  Appreciate the kind words.

As for the pod/brackets, who comes out ahead between Colorado College and Trinity in the SCAC (assuming no upsets) will raise the question of whether top seed should host or whether geography comes first.  I'll have a SCAC preview out later this morning in time for the St. Thomas-Colorado College game (which has its own interesting storylines), but I agree that a CMS-Trinity game in San Antonio would be a great story.

Per a SCAC Xitter post this morning, the conference championships stream will only be available with a FloSports subscription.

SCAC Semi-Finals today

St. Thomas v. Colorado College 5 pm Central

Colorado College is 15-1-3, with its only loss to Mary Washington, and 10-0-1 in the SCAC with its only blemish a 1-1 tie to Trinity.  St. Thomas has had a more up and down season, but it has a decent 10-5-2 record and a 6-3-2 record in the SCAC, which includes a victory over Concordia TX and 0-0 ties to Southwestern and Texas Lutheran.  Nevertheless, UST only made the conference tournament by the skin of its teeth after Concordia TX and Texas Lutheran tied on the last game of the regular season and UST leapfrogged them both for the fourth spot.  Colorado College is fantastic on defense, allowing only two goals in conference games - one to Trinity and one to Austin College in a 6-1 win when they were already up 5-0, and only 6 goals overall.  St. Thomas has been a prolific scorer in past seasons, but less so this season (it only scored 33 all season).  Colorado College has been far more potent offensively, scoring 55 goals, but it generated a lot of those goals in 5 games against weaker opponents where it scored 5 goals or more (Fontbonne, Concordia MN, Austin, Schreiner, and Dallas), all of which were played at altitude in Colorado Springs.  Against stronger opponents, it tended to win by shutting out the opponent rather than by outscoring them in a goalfest.

Head-to-head, Colorado College beat St. Thomas on 9/28, but it was only by a 1-0 score and it was played at Colorado Springs.  CC dominated possession and shots in that game (28-4 and 16-3 on goal), but didn't score until the 67th minute.  So, UST has shown that they can play a bunker style and withstand pressure reasonably well when it wants to do so.  One factor that could help UST engineer the upset is that although CC is the nominal home team as the higher seed, the game is being played on UST's home field in Houston.  Last year, CC lost to UST in the SCAC semifinals on the very same field in Houston by a 2-1 score.  Daniel Castro scored a brace for UST in that game, including the winner in the 73rd minute, after Colorado College won 1-0 in the regular season against St. Thomas.  Therefore, if you believe history repeats itself, UST has a chance.  This is a very different UST team with a different coaching staff and tactical approach, but Daniel Castro continues to be the focal point for the team on offense, and if it's not Daniel, it's his younger brother Tony Castro.  Colorado College is more dangerous offensively precisely because they don't have one or two players who the defense can focus on shutting down. 

Southwestern v. Trinity 8 pm central

Trinity is 15-0-3 and 10-0-1 in the SCAC, while Southwestern is 11-2-4 and 6-2-3 in the SCAC.  Trinity has been almost as good as Colorado College defensively - only conceding 8 goals all season (5 in SCAC play) - but it has been even more potent offensively, scoring 64 goals.  After a shaky opening weekend in which it had consecutive 1-1 ties to Methodist and Hendrix, Trinity has scored 2 or more goals every game except one the rest of the season.  Of course, the one team that held them to only 1 goal was Colorado College in the 1-1 tie game held in Colorado Springs.  Southwestern is no slouch defensively, holding opponents to 14 goals (10 in SCAC play), but it has only scored 31 goals all season.

Although Southwestern has only scored 1 goal against the other top 5 SCAC finishers combined this season (Colorado College, Trinity, St. Thomas, and Texas Lutheran), that goal was against Trinity in a 2-1 loss on 10/13.  Raghav Sharma, who is one of their top players, scored first in the 12th minute, before Trinity scored two more goals to win the game.  Southwestern won't take much solace in looking at past results, though, because just as the UST-CC semifinal is a repeat of last season on the same field, the Southwestern-Trinity semifinal is also a repeat of last year's semifinal on the same field -- a semifinal game in which Trinity won 3-0.  Southwestern will have to try to contain Adam Knutson (14 goals) and Hunter Cain (11 goals), while Trinity will want to keep an eye on Michael Grimm (especially on free kicks, where he can shoot or put it on a platter for a teammate, given the size disadvantage for Trinity's goalkeeper) in addition to Sharma. 

A development to note in the St. Thomas - Colorado College game is that neither Daniel nor Tony Castro is in the starting lineup.  Not sure if they are hurt or they just want to start with a more defensive lineup, but those two account for 19 of the team's 33 goals this year. It would hurt if they were not available.

UPDATE:  Daniel Castro just came in in the 29th minute, so it must have been a tactical decision to start the game more defensively and allow him to use his speed against legs that are a little less fresh than his.

UPDATE:  St. Thomas 1 - Colorado College 0

The Castro sub worked well because he came right on and scored a beautiful free kick over the wall and into the near post to give the Celts the lead.  Only the third goal Colorado College has given up all season in SCAC play.  It resulted from a CC foul outside the box, one of 8 in the first half.  Colorado College has had the more dangerous chances thus far, but hasn't been able to put them away (in part because of strong GK play by St. Thomas) and St. Thomas capitalizes on their first real opportunity.

HALF:  St. Thomas 1 - Colorado College 0

Whether it was to keep Castro fresher so he could pick his spots or for some other reason, UST certainly benefited from bringing him on as an impact sub in the game as he was able to use his speed to menace the defense and his skill to score on the free kick in his 16 minutes in the first half.  Now, Colorado College is in the unfamiliar position of having to chase the game in the second half, which could leave them susceptible to UST's pretty strong counter attack.  I expect CC to come out aggressively to negate that advantage as quickly as possible.  The longer UST has the lead, the more likely they will start to engage in the dark arts to slow down the game and keep the clock moving.  One thing they won't get away with is a ton of hard fouls.  The ref has already handed out three yellows (2 to UST and 1 to CC) in the first half.  Plus, he stopped play to have a conversation with the UST coach at one point and called UST for a simulation offense near the box.  He seems determined to keep control of this one, having already called 9 fouls on each team.

UPDATE:  At the 54 minute mark, the dark arts have begun as the UST GK has appointed himself groundskeeper and is trying to stomp down grass and replace divots before taking goalkicks.  The ref appeared to caution him about delay.

UPDATE:  St. Thomas 2 - Colorado College 0 in the 88th minute

As I surmised, CC left itself open to the counter as it it got more desperate and Daniel Castro and his brother Tony worked it really well with two switches.  Even then, CC had two guys on Daniel Castro, who split them in the box and was taken down in the box for the PK.  Daniel Castro finished the PK for his second goal of the game and this one is just about done. 

FINAL:  St. Thomas 2 - Colorado College 0

For the second year in a row, St. Thomas beats Colorado College in the semifinals of the SCAC tournament.  It was a well-earned victory and one where I have to tip my hat to UST Coach Ramirez, who sat the Castro brothers at the start and brought them in later where they could do more damage.  Most of the rest of the team isn't as creative, but they play with a lot of hustle and fight, which is better suited to the kind of slide tackle/emergency defending necessary to beat Colorado College.  It wasn't a game where UST was just fouling though.  The livestats went down during the game, so I'll have to check the box score later, but CC may have committed at least as many if not more fouls and was shown probably just as many cards, including a yellow on the last play that probably should have been a straight red since it came from behind on a breakaway.

This sets up the possibility that UST will be a bid stealer.  There was always going to be at least two teams from the SCAC qualifying (Trinity and Colorado College), but UST certainly has the experience to win the championship.  Moreover, although they were ranked 111 coming into this game, I wonder how many QWB points and strength-of-schedule boost you get when you beat the team ranked #9.  Plus, the SoS will increase if they play Trinity in the finals.  It will be interesting to see how much they move up with this victory.  Not sure if UST could qualify even if it doesn't win in the finals, but they certainly increased their chances.

Quote from: Kuiper on November 08, 2024, 06:20:18 PMA development to note in the St. Thomas - Colorado College game is that neither Daniel nor Tony Castro is in the starting lineup.  Not sure if they are hurt or they just want to start with a more defensive lineup, but those two account for 19 of the team's 33 goals this year. It would hurt if they were not available.

UPDATE:  Daniel Castro just came in in the 29th minute, so it must have been a tactical decision to start the game more defensively and allow him to use his speed against legs that are a little less fresh than his.

UPDATE:  St. Thomas 1 - Colorado College 0

The Castro sub worked well because he came right on and scored a beautiful free kick over the wall and into the near post to give the Celts the lead.  Only the third goal Colorado College has given up all season in SCAC play.  It resulted from a CC foul outside the box, one of 8 in the first half.  Colorado College has had the more dangerous chances thus far, but hasn't been able to put them away (in part because of strong GK play by St. Thomas) and St. Thomas capitalizes on their first real opportunity.

HALF:  St. Thomas 1 - Colorado College 0

Whether it was to keep Castro fresher so he could pick his spots or for some other reason, UST certainly benefited from bringing him on as an impact sub in the game as he was able to use his speed to menace the defense and his skill to score on the free kick in his 16 minutes in the first half.  Now, Colorado College is in the unfamiliar position of having to chase the game in the second half, which could leave them susceptible to UST's pretty strong counter attack.  I expect CC to come out aggressively to negate that advantage as quickly as possible.  The longer UST has the lead, the more likely they will start to engage in the dark arts to slow down the game and keep the clock moving.  One thing they won't get away with is a ton of hard fouls.  The ref has already handed out three yellows (2 to UST and 1 to CC) in the first half.  Plus, he stopped play to have a conversation with the UST coach at one point and called UST for a simulation offense near the box.  He seems determined to keep control of this one, having already called 9 fouls on each team.

UPDATE:  At the 54 minute mark, the dark arts have begun as the UST GK has appointed himself groundskeeper and is trying to stomp down grass and replace divots before taking goalkicks.  The ref appeared to caution him about delay.

UPDATE:  St. Thomas 2 - Colorado College 0 in the 88th minute

As I surmised, CC left itself open to the counter as it it got more desperate and Daniel Castro and his brother Tony worked it really well with two switches.  Even then, CC had two guys on Daniel Castro, who split them in the box and was taken down in the box for the PK.  Daniel Castro finished the PK for his second goal of the game and this one is just about done. 

Did the SID staff abandon the press box again? Live stats stuck at 65:25.

Thanks for the updates - the live stats froze in the 66th (as noted).  What a shock to see CC give up more goals in the semi to the fourth seed than they did in conference play combined.

Now, can Trinity stay focused in the nightcap in order to have one final chance to exorcise the Celt daemon that has haunted them these last few seasons?

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 08, 2024, 08:17:55 PMThanks for the updates - the live stats froze in the 66th (as noted).  What a shock to see CC give up more goals in the semi to the fourth seed than they did in conference play combined.

Now, can Trinity stay focused in the nightcap in order to have one final chance to exorcise the Celt daemon that has haunted them these last few seasons?

Something must have happened with the press box feed at the stadium because not only did LiveStats go down in the 66th, but the NCAA box score stopped there too.  I was trying to check on fouls and cards, because they were coming out fast and furious.  In fact, a few plays before Castro's PK to ice the game with his second goal, he went down in the box after beating his man on the end line and was given a yellow for embellishment/simulation.  Castro was for sure the difference in this game.  He has that little bit of swagger and "try stuff" attitude that CC's defenders couldn't handle when they were left on an island with him.  I haven't seen it as much this year (perhaps because he was fatigued or carrying a knock), but he was motivated tonight.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 08, 2024, 08:17:55 PMThanks for the updates - the live stats froze in the 66th (as noted).  What a shock to see CC give up more goals in the semi to the fourth seed than they did in conference play combined.

Now, can Trinity stay focused in the nightcap in order to have one final chance to exorcise the Celt daemon that has haunted them these last few seasons?

Southwestern won't be an easy match for Trinity, but assuming they aren't looking ahead and take care of business it definitely would be fun to see that rematch with St. Thomas in the championship game.  I said it during the game thread, but you don't want to let St. Thomas get ahead because they are the kind of kids who just play with a lot of heart on defense.  Colorado College had one shot in the second half during a scramble in the box that seemed like it was for sure going in until a St. Thomas player came out of nowhere (seemingly from inside the goal) to clear it off the line.

Live stats are still dead in Houston.  According to a SCAC tweet Trinity leads Southwestern 1-0 at half.

HALF: Trinity 1 - Southwestern 0

I missed the first half, but kind of a hilarious discussion between the broadcasters at halftime.  Southwestern was really late getting to the field and the announcers speculated they hopped on the bus back to Georgetown considering how little they've had of the ball.  So, that's my only recap of the first half.

They did note, by the way, that this is the sixth year in a row that St. Thomas has made the SCAC championship game

UPDATE:  The announcers said the Trinity goal was scored with 2:43 left in the first half, so a defensive battle (although it sounds like Trinity had a lot of possession, but Southwestern were defending well until Trinity finally broke through).

UPDATE:  Still Trinity 1 - Southwestern 0 with about 16 minutes to go, but Southwestern just missed their best goal scoring chance of the period.  A great pass led the Southwestern striker into the box, but a risky slide tackle from behind by the Trinity defender was called a corner despite calls for a PK because of the contact.  On the ensuring corner, Southwestern got the ball to the far post, but the attacker shot it over the open goal.

Another dangerous attack by Southwestern in the 14th minute (the Southwestern attacker on the left is clearly faster than the Trinity right back), but the shot that was eventually taken went over the bar.  Trinity needs to get ahold of the ball and take the air out of the game.  Even with this offensive outburst, though, Southwestern still doesn't have a shot on goal in the game.

In the 11th minute, Southwestern is now bringing in 7 subs in an attempt to find some offense and energy.  That's a lot of subs!

UPDATE:  Still Trinity up 1-0 with 6:30 left.  Southwestern just put another ball over the cross bar, but it was much closer.

UDPATE:  Grimm with a dangerous free kick for Southwestern with a little under 2 minutes to go, but Trinity's Satpathy smothers it.

FINAL:  Trinity 1 - Southwestern 0

The rematch with St. Thomas was destined to happen.  Sunday at 2 pm Central

Yep, 1-0 TU.  About 4 minutes before the half, a 20-yard cannon shot on goal by Knutson that the goalie couldn't quite handle.  Thiess then tapped it just across the goal opening for the score.

Trinity seems composed and confident.  Good broadcast on FloSports.

The ASC live stats and stream had difficulty tonight as well. They use different platforms, but odd nonetheless.

HSU tops ETBU 4-1 to advance to their first ASC championship match since the 2021 season.

ASC Semi-Finals

Hardin-Simmons 4 - East Texas Baptist 1

After being delayed a day because of weather, H-S broke open a tight 0-0 game at halftime to score 4 unanswered goals in the second half, including a brace by Daniel Villagomez, before ETBU scored a consolation goal in the 84th minute. 

Hardin-Simmons will play LeTourneau in the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 pm central (the ASC site says it is on Saturday, but the date is Sunday and the H-S site says it's Sunday).

Apropos of nothing, as a result of yesterday's results in the Massey ratings:

• Trinity moves from 6th to 5th
• Colorado College drops from 8th to 14th
• St. Thomas moves from 63rd to 47th
• HSU moves from 107th to 96th
• LeTourneau (who defeated UMHB in PKs) somehow drops from 241 to 247

In terms of NPIs:

• Trinity - 11 (was 13)
• Colorado - 14 (was 9)
• St. Thomas - 74 (was 111)
• HSU - 78 (was 87)
• LeTourneau - 204 (was 206)

The answer to my question about the NPI effects of St. Thomas beating Colorado College are now known.

It went from #111 to #74.  That's the power of not only beating a team ranked #9 at the time, which is a SoS boost, but also of gaining QWB points, which St. Thomas did not have before.  Obviously, if St. Thomas wins against now #11 Trinity (which jumped ahead of now #14 Colorado College), it will gain the AQ and NPI rank won't matter for anything but seeding, but I wonder what the effect of a tie and a loss in PKs would do for St. Thomas' NPI rank.  Perhaps they get close enough for a Pool C bid.

On the other hand, the SCAC team that is creeping into contention for a Pool C bid ahead of St. Thomas is actually Texas Lutheran, which didn't even qualify for the SCAC tournament.  It moved from #52 to #46 partly because its QWB points increased. I'm not exactly sure why based just on yesterday's results, but it did beat Otterbein and Hardin-Simmons this season and tied St. Thomas, all teams that have done well while Texas Lutheran was sitting at home.