MIAA

[d3fan1]

I wish Alma good luck. There are a number of MIAA team who seem to on the cusp of coming into there own - Olivet, Trine, and Kalamazoo to name a few. I am not ashamed to say I am a died in the wool Calvin fan, but it is also good to see other MIAA team getting stronger.

[Jim Matson]

Yes, the conference is getting stronger across the board, but Calvin and Hope are still the teams to beat year in and year out - except for Alma in 1997!

If Calvin keeps winning, I wonder if they'll hold the top spot in the polls?  They took 17 of the 25 first place votes this week, but CNU also keeps winning and they have a slightly tougher schedule.

[Dark Knight]

Yes, the conference is getting stronger across the board, but Calvin and Hope are still the teams to beat year in and year out - except for Alma in 1997!

If Calvin keeps winning, I wonder if they'll hold the top spot in the polls?  They took 17 of the 25 first place votes this week, but CNU also keeps winning and they have a slightly tougher schedule.

I'd guess it could go either way depending on how decisive the victories are. Margin of victory is still not a 4-letter word...

[Dark Knight]

I take it back. MofV is 4-letter word. I just saw Calvin totally dominate a team in the first half, go up by a couple of goals, and then go into defensive mode, not trying nearly as hard to score -- 21 shots in the first period, 7 in the second.

[Jim Matson]

They are still getting used to the success?

[KnightFalcon]

I saw Hope's new soccer stadium for the first time on Saturday while watching the Hope-Calvin game.  Fantastic venue for watching soccer ... best I've seen by far at D3.  Great atmosphere with over 2700 in attendance - and that seemed low.  Game was great too but Hope looked a little more energized by the crowd and their shot at the #1 ranked team.  Will be fun to watch the rematch later in October.

Anyone else watch that game?

[OC_SID]

Hope lost 1-0 to Trine today.

[KnightFalcon]

Hope lost 1-0 to Trine today.

All I can say is WOW ... talk about a letdown after a big game.  Hope didn't even get to enjoy being ahead of Calvin for even a full week.  Looks like Calvin beat Kalamazoo only 1-0

[Dark Knight]

I don't think I've ever before seen league standings with 6 teams tied for first and 2 tied for last. With no ties.

Looks like Calvin beat Kalamazoo only 1-0

Calvin did get off 17 shots to Kalamazoo's 3. And Kalamazoo is tied for first place. (Not that that separates them much from most of the league...)

[Knight2Day]

I don't think I've ever before seen league standings with 6 teams tied for first and 2 tied for last. With no ties.

Looks like Calvin beat Kalamazoo only 1-0

Calvin did get off 17 shots to Kalamazoo's 3. And Kalamazoo is tied for first place. (Not that that separates them much from most of the league...)

Was at the game and Calvin was in complete control. Had 5 or 6 very legitimate scoring opportunities before finally capitalizing. Saturdays game will tell quite a bit for the Knights as they take on Olivet.

[Jim Matson]

Crazy year.  As good as Calvin is, they probably were not a top 5 team early in the season.  The only thing is, they didn't overwhelm me last season, yet they played it all the way to the end.  Maybe they'll do it again?

I don't think Hope is as strong as is Calvin; that rivalry is huge enough that in any sport, the teams really play in a zone and get it competitive, regardless (usually) of their true relative strength. 

[Knight2Day]

Hope got dropped 1-0 vs Adrian last night. Looks like all that momentum they built up now just got squandered as they fall to 2-2 in league.

[sflzman]

Olivet tied Calvin....This week could definately drop Calvin in the rankings.

[Jim Matson]

It very well may drop them, except that so many teams ended up with ties this weekend!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Got to be a first - 4 MIAA teams in the top ten for the region:

http://www.nscaa.com/SeniorResReg.php?it=1265&dv=3&rg=Central

Of course right now the league standaings are also really tight with 6 teams within a single point of each other. 

http://www.miaa.org/mso/