CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 2, Wheaton 0, late in the second half.  NPU has totally dominated this game.

Announcer Greg Sager cracked a joke that I wonder how many comprehended.  His halftime comment about "Victory Auto Wreckers", based in Bensenville, drew chuckles from the press box and myself, as another announcer introduced a Viking senior from Bensenville during halftime as tonight was Senior Night.

it's actually Vikings freshman left mid Angel "Tarzan" Barriga who is from Bensenville (and Fenton HS). I announced it during live action.

It probably didn't mean anything to the NPU parents watching overseas and the Wheaton parents all across the U.S., but anyone who's ever spent time in Chicagoland with the TV turned on would instantly get the reference.

Announcer Greg Sager cracked a joke that I wonder how many comprehended.  His halftime comment about "Victory Auto Wreckers", based in Bensenville, drew chuckles from the press box and myself, as another announcer introduced a Viking senior from Bensenville during halftime as tonight was Senior Night.

It was a pleasure to be able to attach a voice to the frequent poster.  Now, if only we could get voiceprints for Mr. Right, PaulNewman, Shooter McGavin, Blooter, Falconer, Flying Weasel, etc....

Always glad to find out that other posters are watching our livestreams!

[Gregory Sager]

North Park won the CCIW title outright with a resounding 3-0 victory over Wheaton in the annual archrivalry showdown in front of 1,500 noisy fans at Hedstrand Field. The Vikings (15-2, 7-1) completely dominated the match, outshooting Wheaton (10-6-1, 5-3) by a 25-6 margin while putting 12 shots on frame to Wheaton's one. NPU thus owns the top seed and will host on Wednesday and again on Saturday if the Vikings beat #4 seed North Central at Hedstrand Field, while Wheaton drops to the #3 seed and will have to travel back to Keller Field in Kenosha, where the Sons of Bean beat Carthage in double overtime on Wednesday.

I said that NCC's Wednesday win over Augie was strictly for pride, because I didn't think that there was any way in the world that Millikin would lose at home to lowly Carroll and fumble away that fourth seed. Well, guess what? The Pioneers went to Lindsey Field in Decatur and came away with the 3-2 upset on a Jake McChryrstal goal off of a throw-in in the 76th minute that broke a 2-2 tie and won the match, despite their being outshot by the Big Blue 19 (9) to 12 (5) and outcornered 7-5. So lowly Carroll plays spoiler and ends the season at 3-13-2, 2-6, while Millikin, which at one point this season was all alone in first place in the league at 3-0, goes 0-4-1 in its final five matches to finish at 8-7-1, 3-4-1. The Big Blue, who were fourth in the region in this week's regional ranking, won't even make the postseason.

North Central wound up the regular season with a 2-0 non-con loss at UW-Platteville, which I'm sure doesn't bother the Cardinals at all in light of the unexpected largesse they were handed today courtesy of Carroll.

Carthage eased back into second place with a 3-1 win at Augustana that the stat sheet indicates the Red Men dominated. Carthage goes into Wednesday's tourney semi with a 10-8-1 overall record and a 5-2-1 mark in CCIW play. Augustana, which will end its season tomorrow with a contest at home against UW-Whitewater, is now 5-11, 3-5.

Finally, Illinois Wesleyan closed out its season well by taking down Elmhurst in the western suburbs by a 4-1 tally. The Titans finish in a fourth-place tie with North Central, but miss out on the tournament by dint of having lost to NCC. IWU winds up 11-5, 4-4, while Elmhurst closes a really forgettable season with a 4-14, 2-6 mark.

To sum up, on Wednesday it'll be:

#3 Wheaton (10-6-1, 5-3) @ #2 Carthage (10-8-1, 5-2-1)
#4 North Central (9-7, 4-4) @ #1 North Park (15-2, 7-1)

[Gregory Sager]

Peder Olsen's two assists tonight means that the North Park sophomore midfielder finished the CCIW slate with six of them, giving him the league's assists title. He is therefore the first player in CCIW history to lead the league in both goals (7) and assists (6), let alone do both in the same season. His 20 points in league play practically lapped the pack, as the next-highest total in points was 14 by Bradyn Nokes of Millikin. (Three of the five players who reached double digits in points in CCIW play wear North Park livery.)

Go ahead and name somebody besides Peder Olsen the CCIW Player of the Year, coaches. I dare you.

[blooter442]

It was a pleasure to be able to attach a voice to the frequent poster.  Now, if only we could get voiceprints for Mr. Right, PaulNewman, Shooter McGavin, Blooter, Falconer, Flying Weasel, etc....

There may well be archived audio of Blooter doing color commentary on Brandeis audio broadcasts from years past, particularly from 5:43-5:55 here (apologies for the terrible audio quality, and I definitely do not consider myself to be a good commentator). There are other segments in that broadcast but that was the one I could find immediately where the feedback wasn't interfering with the broadcast. Regardless, I can tell you first-hand that Blooter's voice is nothing special.

[Ommadawn]

Regardless, I can tell you first-hand that Blooter's voice is nothing special.

Thank you, Blooter!  I will now be able to "hear" all of your posts in a conversational tone.

[Gregory Sager]

An unusual goal is an unusual goal in any language.

[mr_b]

An unusual goal is an unusual goal in any language.

Now that was a real golazo.

[Gotberg]

An unusual goal is an unusual goal in any language.

Now that was a real golazo.

That's one of the better goals you'll see at ANY level.  If that were Beckham or Ibra, we'd see it played globally again and again.  Too bad the outstretched arms came into the picture.

[Gregory Sager]

An unusual goal is an unusual goal in any language.

Now that was a real golazo.

It certainly was.

I don't use the term on the air myself, because my NPU men's soccer broadcasting predecessor Marcos Craft used it a lot. I realize that it's common for Spanish-speaking broadcasters everywhere to refer to a great goal as a golazo, but everybody who watches NPU men's soccer associated it with Marcos's call and I didn't want to step on his toes. (Same reason why I don't use his catchphrase of referring to a clever and well-executed exchange that doesn't involve a long ball over the top as a "cheeky little pass.") I suppose that it's now been so long since I took over for Marcos that the statute of limitations has expired and I can start distinguishing particularly picturesque scores as golazos.

(Incidentally, hat tip to Marcos, who works at Univision Chicago, for passing the clip of Ulrik Lund's goal to the Univision sports anchorman. But it was the anchorman's decision, not Marcos's, to not only include it in his weekly Top 5 but to put it at #1.)

That's one of the better goals you'll see at ANY level.  If that were Beckham or Ibra, we'd see it played globally again and again.  Too bad the outstretched arms came into the picture.

The outstretched arm belonged to the mother of a North Park player who shall remain nameless.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park broke open a close match with a four-goal flurry in the space of eight minutes to run away with a 6-2 victory over North Central this evening in one CCIW tourney semi. It was a strange match. First, there were multiple reversals on the calls of the first two goals, as the referee seemed eager to tag NCC with an own goal on one of them, if not the other (replays confirmed that the Vikings scored both of them rather than having them be handed to them by the Cardinals, although it wasn't established until after the match that Shatil Khoury scored the first one). Second, North Central got away with a handball in the box in the second half, as the referee explained to an irate NPU head coach John Born that the Cards defender "hit it with his hand, but it wasn't a handball." Third, in spite of North Park's dominance (26-14 in shots, 15-8 in SOG), the Cardinals had ten corner kicks while the Vikings only had three; four of those ten came in the space of a minute and a half in the opening stanza in which the Vikings couldn't clear the ball and Matthias Stulen was forced to make a pair of great saves. And, finally, the Vikings didn't play with as much desire or vigor as the Cards did for much of the match; the Cards scored on a penalty kick to make it 2-1 North Park early in the second half, and for the next 25 minutes the 1,300 Vikings fans present had to sweat out a one-goal lead, as NCC had some good chances during that interval. Then Tarzan Barriga fed Joachim Hoff with a perfect diagonal just outside the crease, in the same spot where Hoff had whiffed on a cross sent in to him when he had NCC keeper Marco Soto off to the side of the net, and Hoff got his redemption goal. That opened up the floodgates, as the Vikings turned the close match into a laugher.

The fifth NPU goal, from a Stulen heave at the top of the box all the way to the NCC side of the pitch, where Peder Olsen took it forward and launched a sweet diagonal to freshman Patrick Knap sprinting up the middle, who then cut it behind Soto for the first of his two goals on the night, was about as fast and pretty as you're ever going to see a play run. The goal is running as a gif on the NPU gamer.

Carthage took down Wheaton in the other semi, 3-0, in Kenosha on first-half goals by Herrera and Esquivel and a second-half capper by Triana. This one looks a little weird in the box score, too; Wheaton outshot the Red Men 24 (8) to 12 (7) in this match. Carthage keeper Niko Mavrogiannis had eight saves, tying his career high.

North Park and Carthage will meet in the championship match for the second straight season. The Vikings and Red Men will square off on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm at Hedstrand Field. I'm psyched to call this one; it should be a great match.

[Gotberg]

North Park broke open a close match with a four-goal flurry in the space of eight minutes to run away with a 6-2 victory over North Central this evening in one CCIW tourney semi. It was a strange match. First, there were multiple reversals on the calls of the first two goals, as the referee seemed eager to tag NCC with an own goal on one of them, if not the other (replays confirmed that the Vikings scored both of them rather than having them be handed to them by the Cardinals, although it wasn't established until after the match that Shatil Khoury scored the first one). Second, North Central got away with a handball in the box in the second half, as the referee explained to an irate NPU head coach John Born that the Cards defender "hit it with his hand, but it wasn't a handball." Third, in spite of North Park's dominance (26-14 in shots, 15-8 in SOG), the Cardinals had ten corner kicks while the Vikings only had three; four of those ten came in the space of a minute and a half in the opening stanza in which the Vikings couldn't clear the ball and Matthias Stulen was forced to make a pair of great saves. And, finally, the Vikings didn't play with as much desire or vigor as the Cards did for much of the match; the Cards scored on a penalty kick to make it 2-1 North Park early in the second half, and for the next 25 minutes the 1,300 Vikings fans present had to sweat out a one-goal lead, as NCC had some good chances during that interval. Then Tarzan Barriga fed Joachim Hoff with a perfect diagonal just outside the crease, in the same spot where Hoff had whiffed on a cross sent in to him when he had NCC keeper Marco Soto off to the side of the net, and Hoff got his redemption goal. That opened up the floodgates, as the Vikings turned the close match into a laugher.

The fifth NPU goal, from a Stulen heave at the top of the box all the way to the NCC side of the pitch, where Peder Olsen took it forward and launched a sweet diagonal to freshman Patrick Knap sprinting up the middle, who then cut it behind Soto for the first of his two goals on the night, was about as fast and pretty as you're ever going to see a play run. The goal is running as a gif on the NPU gamer.

Carthage took down Wheaton in the other semi, 3-0, in Kenosha on first-half goals by Herrera and Esquivel and a second-half capper by Triana. This one looks a little weird in the box score, too; Wheaton outshot the Red Men 24 (8) to 12 (7) in this match. Carthage keeper Niko Mavrogiannis had eight saves, tying his career high.

North Park and Carthage will meet in the championship match for the second straight season. The Vikings and Red Men will square off on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm at Hedstrand Field. I'm psyched to call this one; it should be a great match.

That was a clinical fast break goal.  Ironically, I was just thinking yesterday afternoon how rarely Stulen distributes the ball by hand - I thought that maybe it was a weakness.  It's almost as though he heard my thoughts - proved me wrong and kicked me right in the man-jingles.

[WUPHF]

That was a clinical fast break goal.  Ironically, I was just thinking yesterday afternoon how rarely Stulen distributes the ball by hand - I thought that maybe it was a weakness.  It's almost as though he heard my thoughts - proved me wrong and kicked me right in the man-jingles.

[Gotberg]

Anyone aware of an option for streaming the NPU game via Roku?

[Gregory Sager]

Well, the Vikings spit out the bit on Saturday afternoon. They completely dominated the match, outshooting Carthage 19-6, with a 7-4 SOG advantage. But they had difficulty finishing, and that, along with a spectacular Red Men goal from the top of the box in the 80th minute followed by a clean-up goal into an open net 22 seconds later off of a muffed kick by the keeper compounded by a footrace out of the box that he lost, turned a 2-1 NPU advantage into a 3-2 Carthage win. No excuses offered here, as the Vikings didn't translate their control of the run of play into the necessary cushion that would've guaranteed advancement into the tournament, while the stubborn Red Men hung around and took advantage of most of the few opportunities that they had. Now Carthage is in, and the Vikings are on the bubble, anxiously awaiting the outcome of today's bracket announcement.

[Gregory Sager]

Well, North Park didn't make it. I'm extremely disappointed, but I have no complaints. The Vikings knew what they needed to do, which was to win on Saturday and avoid the bubble, and in spite of dominating the match against Carthage they didn't get it accomplished. It is what it is. NPU's SoS just wasn't high enough to get the Vikings on firm ground for a Pool C.

Farewell, and a big thank-you for both their hard work and for the excellence and enjoyment that they brought to the pitch for Vikings fans, to graduating seniors Ricky Pimentel, Jason Gonzalez, Kyle Robson, Luke Egeler, and Kyle Orr, and to junior Gustav "Big Goose" Leander, who is graduating a year early and probably won't be back next season. As for the rest of the Vikings, I'm sure that the bitter taste left in their mouths from today will spur them on to be that much better next season. NPU's talent level is immense, and great things await the Vikings in 2019 if they're willing to work hard enough to earn it.