CCIW

[thePietist]

Pietist, you're much too young a North Park alumnus to be calling it "NP" like the oldsters who refuse to acknowledge the "U" part of the school's name.

No, just slightly too young.  NP went from a "C" to a "U" the year before I arrived, I believe.  And I saw plenty of basketball games before my college days!  In fact, old enough to remember a certain guy standing up from the old bleachers on the baseline starting the "Hail North Park" cheer.    N-P-C!

[Jim Matson]

Talk about old...that certain guy!

[Gregory Sager]

Whatever happened to that certain guy, anyway? They must've had him committed or something.

[Jim Matson]

Well, I'm not sure WHAT happened to him, because is a great supporter (now) of both his alma mater's successful soccer program, and this fine soccer message board.

Rock on buddy!!

[Gregory Sager]

Thanks, Jim. But if you had told me back in the day that at some future date I'd be described as a "great supporter" of my alma mater's soccer team (or of anybody else's alma mater's soccer team, for that matter), I would've told you that you needed to be committed. And I say that as someone who had a lot of friends on those early Hakes-era NPC soccer teams.

Not that I'm complaining. Naturally, I've found the sport more interesting because NPU is good at it, but becoming a regular at Vikings matches over the past dozen or so years has also helped me to at least know what everybody is talking about whenever I'm around my soccer-fan friends.

[thePietist]

I knew I should've gone to that Calvin-Hope game!  Dang it!

Ok, so for one who has to follow CCIW action from the other side of the Lake, I have a few questions:

1. What's up with Carthage?  I see they knocked off Elmhurst and have a couple other decent wins under their belt.  Are they a serious CCIW contender?
2. Can Wheaton bounce back to get a tourney bid (assuming they don't get a Pool A bid) after such a skid as this?  Their strength of schedule rivals any, but 7 winless games in a row....

And finally...will someone please beat Dominican?

[Gregory Sager]

Hard to get a read on Carthage. Hard to get a read on Elmhurst, too, for that matter. Carthage does have some nice wins, and most of the Red Men's four losses have been to respectable programs, but the loss to lowly St. Norbert is a real head-scratcher. Carthage also lost to Chicago, 2-0, and Chicago lost to Elmhurst today, so ...

I'm not as familiar with the ins and outs of Pool C in soccer as I am in basketball, so I can't answer that question about Wheaton. All I can say is that I'm very impressed with the schedule that the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance is playing. Sure, they've gone seven matches in a row without a win, but they've included contests against the #1, #2, #3, #4, and #7 teams in the Central Region and the top two teams in the Great Lakes Region. Wheaton's 1-4-2 in those contests, but I gotta figure that the Orange and Blue will be better prepared for CCIW play than anybody else. Besides, this is not the sport in which I think it pays to underestimate Wheaton.

And finally...will someone please beat Dominican?

The Stars do look pretty close to unbeatable at this point, don't they?

Congrats to NPU keeper Tim Ahlberg upon being named CCIW Defensive Player of the Week, BTW.

[Jim Matson]

To really be considered for anything post-season, the Thunder will have to win out.  That won't be easy because they have to play the conference schedule.  They also have to play a very under-rated UW-Oshkosh team.

Probably not a great year for the toughest schedule in the country as they are a very young team.

Elmhurst and North Park will be around at the end and at this point, they should be the top two contenders for the title.

But as Greg said, weirder things have happened than Wheaton scraping by all season and then winning the CCIW Tourney in OT...

[thePietist]

It doesn't get any easier for Wheaton this next week either...playing UW Oshkosh (8-0-1) and then Elmhurst for their 1st CCIW game.  Should be interesting.  If Wheaton can't bounce back and win some games, they'll have to rely on winning the CCIW tourney (which is always a possibility) in order to make a post-season run.  If they do manage to bounce back, that'll put Elmhurst with 2 (hopefully 3!) conference losses to start, putting them on a must-win track in order to make the conference tourney.
It's the CCIW--anything can happen.

[thePietist]

Anyone have news on the NP-EC game?  The live webcast won't work on my Mac!

[Gotberg]

Anyone have news on the NP-EC game?  The live webcast won't work on my Mac!

NP 2
Elmhurst 0

Goals scored by Kriticos and Hills

[thePietist]

Thanks, Gotberg.
Looking forward to hearing more about the game.

[markerickson]

I watched most of the second half.  NP led 1-0 when I arrived.  Both teams had opportunities in the second half...Elmhurst hit the crossbar and NP missed a golden opportunity on the side.  Elmhurst's defense was not even 10 yards close to the scorer who was close enough to juke the goalie. Complete defensive breakdown...or a great offensive scheme.

[thePietist]

I see Wheaton lost 1-0 to Oshkosh last night.  53 fouls and 7 YCs!  The Thunder must be getting pretty frustrated at this point.  Likely Elmhurst isn't so happy about coming out 0-2 in the CCIW either.
Should be a great match on Wed: 2 teams fighting to regain their dignity.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU won 2-0 on Friday night, but it was an evenly-matched game in terms of opportunities. Shots on goal and corner kicks were pretty even, and both teams had some very good opportunities. The difference in the game, I thought, was NPU's sophomore keeper Tim Ahlberg, who really had a terrific match for the Vikings, and NPU freshman midfielder Filip Lindmark's physical presence.

James Kriticos headed in a Lindmark corner kick early in the first half, and although both teams had their chances it was starting to appear as though that was going to be the only goal either team got. The second goal, late in the game, came on a combination of great NPU hustle, poor Elmhurst defense, and, perhaps, a case of the EC coach outthinking himself. As the second half stretched past its halfway point he took out six of his starters in an attempt to rest them for a final push. It was while the six Bluejays reserves were in the game that, in the 81st minute, Lindmark kicked the ball into Elmhurst's near corner. Gotberg, who was sitting next to me, said, "Smart move. Run out some clock." But Kris Grahn wasn't content to simply tie up the ball in the corner as a stall tactic. He outran two Bluejays, retrieved the ball in the corner, flipped it back to Lindmark, who then centered it to a wide-open Sehten Hills, who was standing in front of the Elmhurst goal all by himself. I thought for a split second that he'd muff it up, he was so wide open, but he slipped the ball past Elmhurst keeper Sebastian Domczewski's left to ice the game.

Elmhurst picked up two yellow cards in the match that were a result of Bluejays grabbing Lindmark and pulling him down to the turf. They were seriously afraid of his playmaking abilities. He's quite a remarkable find for the NPU soccer program.

Combined with Augustana's surprising win over Carthage on Saturday, this win appears to put NPU in the driver's seat in the CCIW. However, there's an awful lot of soccer that remains to be played. The Vikings can't afford a letup in Bloomington on Wednesday.