CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

Day one
Carthage 2, Concordia (TX) 2
Beloit 2, Carroll 1
Concordia (IL) 2, Elmhurst 1
North Park 4, Lake Forest 1
Wheaton 2, Hardin-Simmons 0
Aurora 2, Millikin 1
Simpson 6, Augustana 1
Washington (MO) 3, Illinois Wesleyan 0
North Central 2, Benedictine 0

A 3-5-1 start. The CCIW didn't exactly cover itself in glory on opening day.

[Gregory Sager]

That Cougars vs. Bluejays contest at Langhorst Field must've been nuts. According to the box score and PBP, it was a scoreless game until Elmhurst found the back of the net with only six seconds remaining in regulation. (The Elmhurst presser said that there was 9.1 seconds remaining.) But then Concordia (IL) got the equalizer four seconds later, with only two ticks left on the clock. And then the Cougars got the golden goal less than four minutes into overtime.

[Gotberg]

Watching the NPU game online.  Lake Forest appears to be using a cell phone as their video technology.  the announcer said - North Park with a corner and "they seem to be trying that head-butt thing again".

I decided not to play the NPU @ LFC livestream on my press-box laptop while I was calling the women's soccer game at North Park, because I didn't want the distraction. However, Lake Forest never got the live stats going, so I had to turn on the livestream from LFC just so that I could see the score in the video's graphic. Turns out that I couldn't have watched the game even if I had wanted to, because it not only appeared to be shot via a cell phone, as you said, but said cell phone was pointed straight into the setting sun for the entire game. There was more lens flare than in a J.J. Abrams movie. I couldn't see a thing.

I turned the sound down so that I didn't have the distraction of hearing someone broadcast a different game while I was broadcasting one, and now I'm kinda sorry that I did. At halftime, a North Park alumna came into the press box and said, "You won't believe it, but I'm pretty sure that Lake Forest found some 12-year-old girl from the neighborhood and asked her to call the game tonight." Then she told me about the "head-butt thing," which gave me the best laugh I've had all week.

Greg Sager was definitely not calling the game, that's for sure.

According to the box score, Lund didn't play in the game...not sure if that was correct of if he was actually out.

[GoThunder1]

Great win for my Thunder last night! It is always nice to start out with a W - especially considering the turmoil over the past couple of weeks. I thought they possessed the ball well and they look like a team that should be a top 4 team in the conference (it is a reality check for me that top 4 excites me)!

I have a neighbor who is an NP soccer alum and he mentioned that they were dealing with injuries. He mentioned the GK (Sabovic) was out for the year with a foot injury. There were also injuries to the transfer from UNC-W (name is escaping me), as well as Ulrik Lund (leg injury). He didn't state the severity of those 2 injuries, but I think he would have stated they were season ending, if they were. I expect they aren't.

I watched the NP game (as best as I could due to the feed) - and from what I could see, it looked like a pretty dominating performance. It appeared like they lined up in a 3-5-2, which made a lot of sense with their plethora of talent in the midfield. I was surprised that neither of the CB's (Berg Domaas or Bostrom Rydfjall) got the start in the back. I suspect that Berg Domaas is also hurt - as he didnt see the field at all. I was very impressed by the left back (Risnes). He was very shifty and seemed to cause some havoc out wide. The speed and creativity between the two on the left (Risnes and Barrigga) could cause some absolute fits for opposing defenses this year.

The game on Wed. October 6th at NPU against the Thunder should be rocking!

[Gotberg]

Great win for my Thunder last night! It is always nice to start out with a W - especially considering the turmoil over the past couple of weeks. I thought they possessed the ball well and they look like a team that should be a top 4 team in the conference (it is a reality check for me that top 4 excites me)!

I have a neighbor who is an NP soccer alum and he mentioned that they were dealing with injuries. He mentioned the GK (Sabovic) was out for the year with a foot injury. There were also injuries to the transfer from UNC-W (name is escaping me), as well as Ulrik Lund (leg injury). He didn't state the severity of those 2 injuries, but I think he would have stated they were season ending, if they were. I expect they aren't.

I watched the NP game (as best as I could due to the feed) - and from what I could see, it looked like a pretty dominating performance. It appeared like they lined up in a 3-5-2, which made a lot of sense with their plethora of talent in the midfield. I was surprised that neither of the CB's (Berg Domaas or Bostrom Rydfjall) got the start in the back. I suspect that Berg Domaas is also hurt - as he didnt see the field at all. I was very impressed by the left back (Risnes). He was very shifty and seemed to cause some havoc out wide. The speed and creativity between the two on the left (Risnes and Barrigga) could cause some absolute fits for opposing defenses this year.

The game on Wed. October 6th at NPU against the Thunder should be rocking!

I think Lake Forest considered it a dominating performance by NPU too.  This was on their website: The Forester goalie, sophomore Szymon Mocarski, held North Park to only four goals and recorded a career high 10 saves during the game.

I hope Wheaton has a great year and I look forward to annual NPU / Wheaton game.  I saw a little of the Wheaton game last night - their style seems to be fast, frantic (not meant as a negative) and athletic, while NPU's style seems to be more about ball control and positional movement.  It will be interesting to see how the styles play out when they meet.

[Gregory Sager]

I have a neighbor who is an NP soccer alum and he mentioned that they were dealing with injuries. He mentioned the GK (Sabovic) was out for the year with a foot injury.

This is true, although, honestly, I really doubt that he'd be starting, anyway. I talked about NPU's goalkeeper situation a week or so ago:

It's not that Edin Sabovic is a bad GK; his work in relief of Mathias Stulen in the 2019 D3 tourney's second round against Gustavus Adolphus is what got the Vikings into the Sweet Sixteen. It's just that he hasn't wowed the coaching staff, which is why they gave freshman Alfred Sward equal time in last spring's scrimmages. That GK competition appeared to be inconclusive. Whether Kris Grahn goes with one of those two or with somebody new remains to be seen.

It became pretty apparent that the "somebody new" scenario was very much a live option during training camp, given how good freshman Oskar Rydberg is. Alfie Sward arrived at school last month stronger and sharper than he'd been last spring, so he was still in the mix for the starting job this fall as well. I'm not saying that losing Edin Sabovic for the season isn't a setback; I'm just saying that he was not the heir apparent to Stulen that he may have appeared to be to outsiders.

There were also injuries to the transfer from UNC-W (name is escaping me),

Johan Björck.

​as well as Ulrik Lund (leg injury). He didn't state the severity of those 2 injuries, but I think he would have stated they were season ending, if they were. I expect they aren't.

Correct in both cases.

I watched the NP game (as best as I could due to the feed) - and from what I could see, it looked like a pretty dominating performance. It appeared like they lined up in a 3-5-2, which made a lot of sense with their plethora of talent in the midfield. I was surprised that neither of the CB's (Berg Domaas or Bostrom Rydfjall) got the start in the back. I suspect that Berg Domaas is also hurt - as he didnt see the field at all.

I'm not sure if Runar Berg-Domaas is hurt or not. I seem to recall that he dressed and played in last Saturday's scrimmage against Aurora, although it's hard to remember if he did or not. I lost track of which and how many players Kris Grahn used that night, since the phrase "cast of thousands" comes to mind. I'm more surprised that Kris is using Billy Boström-Rydfjall off the bench, since I think he's one of the best center backs in the league. But between Kris and I, one of us knows how to properly evaluate talent and coach a team, and it isn't me. I don't think that anybody can argue the fact that Christian Vaaland is certainly a strong player himself, whether he's the CB or manning one of the back-line flanks, and he's also a force on offense; he scored two goals off corners against Aurora.

I ​was very impressed by the left back (Risnes). He was very shifty and seemed to cause some havoc out wide. The speed and creativity between the two on the left (Risnes and Barrigga) could cause some absolute fits for opposing defenses this year.

Yeah, Risnes is a nice find. I hope he's not prone to the coverage lapses that occasionally plagued his predecessor Arian Cindahl (crucially in the 2019 loss at Carthage).

The game on Wed. October 6th at NPU against the Thunder should be rocking!

I'm very much looking forward to it. The NPU/WC series has been a showcase for midwestern D3 soccer for a long time now, and if Wheaton's win over Hardened-Sinners last night is any indication of the quality of this year's Beaners (perhaps I should start calling them the Baby Geese, in honor of their new coach), this season's duel will be no exception.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 5
Greenville 0

The Panthers parked the bus and successfully held the Vikings at bay throughout a scoreless first half. But early in the second half the dam finally broke, as Jesse Anamoo scored a brace of goals that bracketed a successful Patrick Knap strike, all within a ten-minute stretch. Tobias Lunde added a goal once Kris Grahn started subbing out his starters, and Isak Flo ended the game in dramatic fashion by knocking in a goal off of a Lunde corner kick with one second left on the clock.

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW is faring a bit better thus far this weekend:

Friday
Elmhurst 3, Dominican 2
Carroll 6, Olivet 0
Benedictine 3, Millikin 1

Saturday
Carthage 1, Hardin-Simmons 0
Aurora 2, Illinois Wesleyan 0
Wheaton 4, Marian 1
Augustana 3, Rockford 0
North Park 5, Greenville 0

I'm very impressed by Elmhurst's win over Dominican, especially since it took place in River Forest. Dominican, as usual, is picked to win the NACC this season.

Today the CCIW concludes Labor Day weekend with:

Carroll @ Albion, 12 pm
Carthage @ St. Norbert, 1 pm
Marian @ North Central, 5 pm
Elmhurst @ Benedictine, 7 pm

[tjcummingsfan]

Wow!  With 7.7 seconds left in regulation #8 from Elmhurst pushes a Benedictine player in the back inside the box (a player who had absolutely no play on the ball) for the most unnecessary foul ever.  Benedictine converts the penalty to tie it 1-1, then 2:10ish into OT, Benedictine scores to win. 

Brutal defeat for Elmhurst.  They looked to be in control of the game for most of the second half I watched. 

[Gregory Sager]

So ... to sum up Elmhurst's opening week:

* On Wednesday the 'jays broke a scoreless tie with a goal with only nine seconds remaining, and then proceeded to cough up a sure win when the EU goalkeeper couldn't handle a bouncing longball sent in from beyond the center line with two seconds left. They then made their disaster complete by surrendering a golden goal three minutes into OT, thus losing their season opener on their own field to perennial weak-sister Concordia (IL).

* On Friday, despite losing arguably their best player, senior midfielder Noah Backhaus, to a red card in the 50th minute and getting pummelled on the scoresheet as a result, the 'jays somehow managed to score a short-handed goal to stretch their lead to 3-1 and then hung on for a 3-2 win over long-time regional power and preseason NACC favorite Dominican on the home pitch of the Stars.

* On Sunday, the 'jays reprised their Wednesday disaster by blowing a 1-0 lead against Benedictine when a dumb penalty in the box by a senior two-year starter led to their giving up a PK goal with only 18 seconds remaining in the contest, and then they made the comparison to Wednesday's debacle complete by getting beaten on a golden goal barely two minutes into the extra session -- and it happened at Langhorst Field in front of the home fans, again the same as Wednesday.

That may be the most interesting five days of soccer anybody in D3 has ever played.

[Gregory Sager]

Sunday's results:

Carroll 3, Albion 2
Carthage 4, St. Norbert 0
North Central 5, Marian 0
Benedictine 2, Elmhurst 1

The CCIW ends its opening week with a 12-8-1 record.

[Gotberg]

Conference players of the week:

https://cciw.org/news/2021/9/7/wheatons-galvao-moyes-named-cciw-mens-soccer-student-athletes-of-the-week.aspx

[Gotberg]

Npu 5, loras 0

[Gregory Sager]

Loras started the game with a lot of high pressure and had multiple guys running up top on every possession to take longballs. This discomfited the young NPU backline a bit, but after William DeCarro floated in what was meant to be a high-arcing send from forty yards out but which the Loras keeper misplayed, allowing it to sail over his head and into the net, the gearshift went up a notch for the Vikings. Suddenly what Loras was doing on offense no longer mattered, because the Duhawks couldn't get a foot on the ball to save their lives. After a little less than seven minutes of near-constant North Park possession following DeCarro's goal he rocketed home another from 27 yards out, and within the space of two and a half minutes after that the Vikings further added a brace of goals, running up the tally to 4-0 in what was supposed to be a tense affair between two undefeated programs with strong histories but which turned into a 5-0 laugher. Loras striker Patrick Clancy, who'd scored five goals in Loras's first three games, didn't even get off a shot tonight.

DeCarro added an assist later, giving him a five-point night. Angel Barriga, who has taken to playing left outside midfielder like a duck to water, had a goal and an assist and drove terror into the hearts of the visiting Duhawks faithful every time that he touched the ball. Peder Olsen recorded the last two goals of the night, giving him 41 for his career and tying him with Jonas Pettersson as North Park's all-time career goals leader. Alfred Sward recorded his second straight clean sheet, but all he had to defend were two routine long-distance balls in the second half.

I don't believe that I'm going out on a limb in saying that the Vikings are an awfully good soccer team.

Speaking of the visiting Duhawks faithful, I was not impressed with their behavior. They booed when it was announced over the P.A. that Olsen had tied the NPU school goals record. That was totally uncool.

[Gregory Sager]

Tonight's CCIW scoreboard:

Carroll 3, Edgewood 1
Augustana 2, Coe 0
UW-Whitewater 2, Millikin 0
North Central 4, Concordia (WI) 1
Elmhurst 0, Lake Forest 0
North Park 5, Loras 0