CCIW

[WUPHF]

Am being serious.  What has happened to Augustana Athletics?  They used to be dominants in a number of sport in the 80s and think into the 90s.

I was curious so I looked.  Augustana finished No. 199 in the Director's Cup last year.  The second lowest in the league.

[Coach Jeff]

Just watched the second half of North Central Cardinals versus Wheaton Thunder.  Wheaton winning 2-1 when a Louth was shown a second yellow.  Wheaton playing with 10 men from the 75 minute.  Wheaton continued to possess the ball for the next 10 minutes or so and then the Cardinals started dropping long ball after long ball into the box.  With 1 minute to go Jack Fairwood headed a ball pass the thunders GK to tie the game at 2 a piece.  Game ended in a draw.  The cardinals are now 10-1-1 on the season with the thunder going to 6-4-1. Up next for North central is Cartage at home on Saturday and the thunder will visit Elmhurst on Saturday at 11 am.

[Gregory Sager]

Right now the burning question is whether or not Augustana will score a goal this season.

Holy smokes - I hope they get 1, but if they don't - would that be a first?

Am being serious.  What has happened to Augustana Athletics?  They used to be dominants in a number of sport in the 80s and think into the 90s.

Augustana was the all-sports dominant power in the CCIW right on up into the Oughts. Most of the Augie people blame the falloff on a change in school administration, although I'm not really sure how that plays out. Augie appears to be spending as much money on sports as it always did -- perhaps even more now, since various Augustana sports programs have become noted over the past 25 years for heavily recruiting Colorado as well as the school's traditional recruiting footprints of rural northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and (especially) the western suburbs of Chicagoland. And those Colorado recruiting jaunts ain't cheap if your home address is Rock Island, IL.

BTW, Augie's goose-egg woes continued tonight, as IWU shut out the Rock Islanders in Blo-No, 3-0.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park finally started connnecting passes in the forward third with consistency and finding the back of the net, as the Vikings blew out Elmhurst, 5-1.

The most noteworth non-con game of the night took place on the other side of two (the baddest part, as the late Jim Croce liked to sing), as Carthage deadlocked Chicago at Stagg Field, 1-1.

UW-Whitewater topped Millikin, 2-1, in the other out-of-circuit contest.

[soccerpapa]

Augustana still yet to score on the year losing to Millikin 6-0

North Central handing it to Carthage (off a recent 1-1 tie to Chicago) to the tune of 7-2. 

North Park getting past their last non-conference foe (Depauw) 1-0

Wheaton remaining strong with the win (3-2) over Elmhurst

Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll play to a scoreless tie.

[Gregory Sager]

What will likely be the biggest regular-season game of the year in CCIW men's soccer (although Carthage and Wheaton may still have something to say about that) is on tap for Wednesday at Hedstrand Field, and I'm psyched to call it. North Park is in first place at 3-0, but North Central is right behind in a tie for second at 2-0-1, and the Cardinals, unlike NPU, have been able to sustain a national ranking all season long, as they currently hold the #11 slot in the (admittedly much-maligned) USC poll.

North Central has to be seen as the clear favorite in this one, but I anticipate this to be a good contest that the Vikings will have a decent shot to win.

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana still yet to score on the year losing to Millikin 6-0

Augustana's hardly even getting any chances to score. Here's Augie's shots-on-goal tally for the season:

opponent	AC's SOG
Simpson	2
Carleton	0
Knox	0
Central	1
Illinois College	4
Fontbonne	4
North Park	2
Coe	1
Carthage	1
Illinois Wesleyan	3
Millikin	0

Hard to put the ball in the net when you're averaging only 1.63 shots on goal per game. And, if they're anything like the two SOG that Augie took against North Park, they're been mostly routine, easy-peasy balls from 30 yards out or more.

[Gregory Sager]

Vikings settle for a draw with North Central that, all things considered, was earned under serious duress. NPU was missing four starters tonight -- William DeCarro, Hugo Neborg, Teo Helm, and Alfie Swärd -- and several key reserves as well, and their absence could not be more ill-timed. To make matters worse, Carl Karlsson got sent off with 11 minutes to go in the first half with his second yellow, leaving the already-depleted Vikings to play the final 56 minutes short-handed.

The Vikings turned out to be more than up to the challenge, as Willy Wickman took advantage of a Cardinals foul in the box on a corner kick to strike a PK tally at the 47:22 mark that put the Park up 1-0. Playing truly stout defense a man down against one of the most prolific scoring teams in all of D3, and doing so with mostly freshmen and sophomores on the pitch, it looked for the longest time as though the Vikings might pull out the win. But the veteran combo of Westerberg and Fairwood put together a beautiful goal up the middle past NPU's Raul Jasso (who was otherwise outstanding tonight) in the 82nd minute to bring NCC level. And that's how it ended -- a 1-1 draw.

It was pretty clear who was happy to get the draw and who wasn't, as there was a lot of shoving and yelling going on in the handshake line. Some sore Cardinals players took objection to Vikings who were too gleeful in the moment, and both parties were lucky that the center ref didn't reach into his pocket to hand out some postgame punishment.

The draw leaves North Park still in control of matters atop the league, albeit now in a tie for first with Wheaton. Both teams are 3-0-1 in CCIW play, the Wheaties having easily dispatched Carroll at Joe Bean, 4-1. North Central, on the other hand, does not control its own destiny, as the Cards are now 2-0-2 in CCIW play with both of the teams ahead of them on the CCIW table having already drawn with NCC.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Augustana, as Ben Statz struck one home at the 52:55 mark tonight at Thorsen-Lucken to give Augie its first goal of the season. It even got Augustana back into the game, however briefly, as it halved visiting Elmhurst's lead to 2-1. The Bluejays did end up putting the game away with three goals in the final 17 minutes, but at least the monkey is off of Augie's back now. I was happy to see it happen; those Augie kids practice just as hard and play just as hard as everybody else, and it's good to see them finally rewarded for it. I wouldn't wish a scoreless season on my worst enemy.

[PaulNewman]

Watched much of the North Park vs North Central match. Great job by the NPU PbP as always. Considering the circumstances I suppose the draw was a good result for NPU but I don't think the Cardinals should be too upset...and at the end they may have been more upset about some interactions rather than the draw. Sure, NCC would love to win the CCIW regular season but ultimately the prize is a NCAA bid and NCC is a virtual lock for that barring a complete meltdown.  So they might have to play the CCIW final on the road, which they might now relish...but again, even if they don't win the conference tourney they're still going to the big dance.

I don't recall NPU being so physical and foul-prone but the Vikings even missing players are a very big team.  I think they really miss Angel Barriga (so?), the dynamite left back who was outstanding.

[soccerpapa]

A couple notes:

Great result for North Park given the circumstances but it should be noted North Central was also without 3 of their All-CCIW performers from a year ago.

The scrum at the end of the game was instigated by North Park ball boy getting in the faces of some North Central players while emotions were still high during the post game handshake.   

Should they match up again in the postseason will be fun to watch 2 teams at full strength.

[Gregory Sager]

Watched much of the North Park vs North Central match. Great job by the NPU PbP as always.

Thanks, PN!

Considering the circumstances I suppose the draw was a good result for NPU but I don't think the Cardinals should be too upset...and at the end they may have been more upset about some interactions rather than the draw. Sure, NCC would love to win the CCIW regular season but ultimately the prize is a NCAA bid and NCC is a virtual lock for that barring a complete meltdown.  So they might have to play the CCIW final on the road, which they might now relish...but again, even if they don't win the conference tourney they're still going to the big dance.

Quite true, and it's not always a good thing if you're on the pitch in a big game and you know in the back of your mind that you already have a D3 tourney berth sewn up.

I don't recall NPU being so physical and foul-prone but the Vikings even missing players are a very big team.  I think they really miss Angel Barriga (so?), the dynamite left back who was outstanding.

They certainly do. His combination of electric pace and technical skill is not easily replaced.

A couple notes:

Great result for North Park given the circumstances but it should be noted North Central was also without 3 of their All-CCIW performers from a year ago.

Yes, that's true. Innocenti, De Collibus, and Nyibizi were all MIA last night for NCC. But the Vikings were not just down four starters, as a lot of their bench depth (Rocco Wallin, Joshua Dyke, the Rønning brothers) was missing as well. And the Cardinals do finally have Sid Marquardt back -- and, however well Riley Johnson fared in his stead, Marquardt is still the best GK in the CCIW.

The scrum at the end of the game was instigated by North Park ball boy getting in the faces of some North Central players while emotions were still high during the post game handshake.

Yes, I did see him out there, and I'm sure that he got an earful from the North Park coaching staff afterwards. But how wired-up must you be if the ballboy, of all people, sets you off while you're in the handshake line?   

Should they match up again in the postseason will be fun to watch 2 teams at full strength.

It certainly will. I felt last night that the true Meatball War was sort of put on hold. Unless Wheaton or Carthage has something to say otherwise, it will now presumably occur in early November.

[soccerpapa]

No tourney berths are ever sewn up  - soccer is a crazy game and strange things can/will happen over the next three weeks

Hang on for the ride

Both teams, full strength, will be an epic battle should the rematch occur

[PaulNewman]

It is true that both are low on ranked wins.  NCC can hope that ONU is ranked in the end and maybe Carthage since Carthage DOES have ranked wins or at least a win and a draw. I don't see RHIT being ranked.  Wheaton could I suppose but NCC had a draw there.  NCC also doesn't have any games to help with RvR left at least in regular season.  North Park is holding several likely ranked losses and no obvious ranked wins but maybe the Wheaton game will help.

[Gregory Sager]

Well, so much for first place. NPU spit out the bit and blew a 2-0 lead at Illinois Wesleyan in the final thirty minutes, dropping the contest by a 3-2 score. It snaps an 11-game head-to-head winning streak for the Vikings against IWU, and it's the first time that the Titans have beaten North Park since 2008.