CCIW

[redmen33]

Great Win by Carthage last night against Univ of Chicago! The score was 1-1 and Carthage went up 2-1 with 31seconds left in the game. With a couple starters out for Carthage due to injury last night, Carthage will be dangerous once they are 100%!

[The Sock Heir]

North Park resurrected from a couple of ties by dismantling UWW 2-0. Despite having some major injuries (Grahn and both center backs), NP looked as if they didn't even break a sweat. A great prelude to the always-anticipated Wheaton match (at Wheaton); prediction: NPU 2, Wheaton nil.

[KICKIN95]

What is up with North Park and their Levi's record 5-0-5, can't finish or unlucky?

[The Sock Heir]

What is up with North Park and their Levi's record 5-0-5, can't finish or unlucky?

A little bit of both (I know likely answer). Both ties to the NC schools were due to NP's inconsistent play; should have won both easily. The tie to UWO was due to a sluggish start that led to an  early UWO goal (granted, a nice, well executed goal). The UofC tie was probably a fair result. UofC played very well, but perhaps Park could have capitalized on some very good chances. And Elmhurst's refusal to play soccer and commitment to play dirty and ugly was fully responsible for their latest tie (40 fouls, and 5 yellows total). During that game NP lost their center backs and Grahn. NP outshout Elmhurst 20-8.

NPU is now 6-0-5 after the UWW win.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU actually played without five starters last night. That's what made the decisive 2-0 win over a very hot UW-Whitewater side so impressive. Four of the starters were knocked out of action (one of them literally knocked out, being concussed by a well-aimed Bluejay elbow) by the Elmhurst goon squad in last Saturday's mug-a-thon, the fifth sat out because of yellow-card accumulation. (Not that I blame Jonas Pettersson for his fifth yellow card, received against Elmhurst; if the opposing goalkeeper is on the ground and fifteen feet out of the net, and he grabs you by the ankle to prevent you from kicking what would be the easiest goal you've ever scored, as far as I'm concerned you have every right to get in the ref's grill and yell at him when he refuses to award you a penalty kick.) And a sixth starter pulled up lame in the first half of last night's match.

NPU had superb offensive set-ups in the first half that showed me that: a) these guys can play together, even though half of them are starters and half are reserves; and b) they can compensate for missing some of the creativity of a guy like Kris Grahn by being methodical and working as a unit. Sophomore F/MF Effy Restrepo responded to the battlefield promotion with the best match of his collegiate career to date, notching a goal and an assist, and his fellow soph F/MFs Robin Hals and Filip Lindmark picked up the slack as well. The reserves who are filling in for the two injured center backs, junior Erik Kinhammar and sophomore Elvin Ahmeti, were tremendous. They're a big key to how this season will play out for the Park, especially with Jakob Aronsson now out for the year and the concussed Carl Danberg out indefinitely.

I don't like the fact that the Vikings have to go into Joe Bean Stadium on Saturday nght as a M*A*S*H unit while the Wheaties are fielding a healthy side, but you play the cards you're dealt. After last night, I feel pretty good about NPU's chances against Wheaton, even with all of those injuries. It's really amazing how much quality depth the Park has this year.

[FreeScrimp]

North Park 3 Wheaton 2.

North Park vs. Wheaton- a game many look forward to all year and tonight didn't disappoint. Play was appropriately physical with a handful of yellow cards evenly distributed. Both teams looked sharp. While I would say that Wheaton played a better build offense, North Park's talent was unmatched. It's amazing to watch North Park's caliber of players get better each and every year. Tonight was my first opportunity to see Jonas Pettersson, and there is a reason he is the top goal scorer in the CCIW. To all the disbelievers out there, he curved the best goal I have seen in a long time to the top left corner from 20 yards out to put NP ahead 2-1 going into halftime. North Park has a history of getting big for big games, and I hope they can carry this momentum through the rest of the season. The CCIW is proving to be a difficult league this year with Elmhurst tying NP earlier this season, Wheaton playing strong ball despite their lackluster record, and Carthage coming up with a win against U Chicago- a feat that NP couldn't accomplish and added another notch to their "kissing your sister" column.

Stats leaned Wheaton's way as far as shots and corner kicks, although Park capitalized on their opportunities. A few inches right and they'd be in overtime, but a post is a post. I love this rivalry and look forward to many more games in the future. First and foremost, It will be a joy to watch these two in the CCIW finals come November.

[The Sock Heir]

North Park 3 Wheaton 2.

North Park vs. Wheaton- a game many look forward to all year and tonight didn't disappoint. Play was appropriately physical with a handful of yellow cards evenly distributed. Both teams looked sharp. While I would say that Wheaton played a better build offense, North Park's talent was unmatched. It's amazing to watch North Park's caliber of players get better each and every year. Tonight was my first opportunity to see Jonas Pettersson, and there is a reason he is the top goal scorer in the CCIW. To all the disbelievers out there, he curved the best goal I have seen in a long time to the top left corner from 20 yards out to put NP ahead 2-1 going into halftime. North Park has a history of getting big for big games, and I hope they can carry this momentum through the rest of the season. The CCIW is proving to be a difficult league this year with Elmhurst tying NP earlier this season, Wheaton playing strong ball despite their lackluster record, and Carthage coming up with a win against U Chicago- a feat that NP couldn't accomplish and added another notch to their "kissing your sister" column.

Stats leaned Wheaton's way as far as shots and corner kicks, although Park capitalized on their opportunities. A few inches right and they'd be in overtime, but a post is a post. I love this rivalry and look forward to many more games in the future. First and foremost, It will be a joy to watch these two in the CCIW finals come November.

I'm not so sure I agree with your assessment of the game. I feel like, given the circumstances (NP's starting keeper, out, and both center backs out, along with many with ailing injuries), handled Wheaton. There was a blaring talent gap, in favor of Park. NP played sloppy ball and allowed Wheaton to get back into the game. Perhaps, to give Wheaton credit, they did take advantage of NP's reserve backs. And I do believe that NP will run away with the CCIW. The Elmhurst match was by no means a reflection of Elmhurst's "talent." It was a reflection of their ability to recognize their inferiority and their ability to combat the talent gap with dirty play.
But to agree, Jonas is the real deal and the pre-eminent CCIW POY.

[thePietist]

What happened to Ahlberg?  Why was NP playing a reserve keeper?

[The Sock Heir]

What happened to Ahlberg?  Why was NP playing a reserve keeper?

I believe Tim was at his sister's wedding.

[Gregory Sager]

What happened to Ahlberg?  Why was NP playing a reserve keeper?

I believe Tim was at his sister's wedding.

... and I don't think that Ahlberg would've misplayed that first goal by Wheaton, but I'm not getting down on reserve keeper Alex Adielsson for that. He kept his cool and played well after coughing up that early long-distance goal. The second Wheaton goal was really just a case of the hosts crowding the box and the inability of the Park's defense to clear the ball past the perimeter. It was a point-blank shot, and there was nothing that Adielsson could've done about it.

I can see both sides to this debate. Yeah, I agree that Wheaton did a better job of patiently moving the ball up the field, and I think that Wheaton played better positional ball. NPU, for whatever reason, seems to have a problem with midfield gaps at times. But even with the two starting center backs and the starting keeper out, three other starters clearly hampered by injuries (Kris Grahn, Filip Lindmark, and Isaac Blixt), and yet another starter relegated to only seventeen minutes of playing time off the bench due to a bad hammy (Siggy Pryser), NPU still had a clear talent advantage over Wheaton. Erik Kinhammar and Elvin Ahmeti were generally pretty effective as the center backs -- and Kinhammar's two header goals gave NPU an element of set-piece scoring that the Vikings really haven't had much this year. Ryan McNaughton and David Dawood stepped up and played terrifically at midfield, and Effy Restrepo made the save of the game while holding the near post during a Wheaton corner kick with four minutes left. Kris Grahn, who was obviously gimpy and playing with only a fraction of his usual speed and creative skill, showed that he has the heart of a lion. And, of course, Jonas Pettersson's twisting guided missile from twenty yards out in the first half was a highlight-reel goal if there ever was one.

I give Wheaton lots of credit for doggedness. You could sense that the Wheaton players feel that their backs are to the wall in terms of their season by the way that they took it up a notch and really outplayed North Park during the final twenty minutes of the match. As I said, they stuffed the box, and their offensive pressure was relentless. Of course, this led to several breakout counters by the Vikings, but I think that NPU's banged-up front line just didn't have enough juice to take advantage. Those final twenty minutes were nerve-wracking. As much as I loved the match, it couldn't end fast enough for my taste.

I also give Wheaton credit for deciding to do what UW-Whitewater did, which was to trust in the skill of its players by playing an honest and open match against the Vikings rather than retreating into a no-pressure defensive shell and gooning it up in a deliberate attempt to draw a nil-nil tie the way that Elmhurst did. Wheaton clearly has lots of speed and skill, and the Wheaties have legitimate reason to think that they can match up with anybody in a fairly-played contest. Of course, the flip side of that is that Wheaton really doesn't have much size, so Mike Giuliano couldn't tell his players to go thug against NPU even if he'd wanted to. Didn't stop Wheaton defender Dan Pavlak from hanging all over Jonas Pettersson like a cheap suit, of course, but I can't say that Wheaton played particularly dirty last night.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the atmosphere last night at Joe Bean Stadium. It was electric. There were about 1,700 people there last night, favoring the hosts by about a 2-1 margin. The fact that it was Wheaton's Homecoming soccer match probably helped the numbers, but that was a very impressive sea of royal blue and gold at the east end of the stadium. Foster's Finest absolutely rocked. If there's a better student section in all of D3 soccer, I'd like to see it. Foster's Finest definitely gets the Ripped From the Headlines Award for best topical cheer as well, with their "Occupy Wheaton!" chant. John Born and his players realize that they have something special with Foster's Finest (and all of the rest of the great fan support that NPU gets for soccer), and they really appreciate it. In turn, North Park fans are being treated to some tremendous soccer this year. I think that Wheaton senses that it's currently on the losing end of this rivalry not only on the pitch but in the stands as well.

Friday night's NPU Homecoming match against Augie promises to be another epic occasion.

[Gregory Sager]

Otherwise, it was a pretty interesting, tie-happy day in the CCIW. Augie dispensed with hapless Millikin with what I must assume is relative ease, 2-0, in Rock Island. But North Central and Illinois Wesleyan played to a 2-2 tie in Naperville, and Elmhurst and Carthage had a draw by the same score in Kenosha. All the ties thus far are making the league race hard to sort out at the moment. The big matches this upcoming week seem to be:

* Elmhurst (4-4-4, 0-0-2) @ North Central (9-2-1, 1-0-1) on Wednesday
* Carthage (7-4-2, 1-0-1) @ Wheaton (6-6-1, 0-1) on Wednesday
* Augustana (10-3, 1-1) @ North Park (7-0-5, 2-0-1) on Friday
* Elmhurst @ Illinois Wesleyan (5-5-1, 0-1-1) on Saturday
* North Central @ Wheaton on Saturday

[keeker]

Great atmosphere and a super fun game. Just wondering though, do NPU players communicate in swedish or in english on the field?

[The Sock Heir]

Great atmosphere and a super fun game. Just wondering though, do NPU players communicate in swedish or in english on the field?

Swedish when speaking to the Swedes, and obviously English when speaking to the Americans; so mostly Swedish.

[Gregory Sager]

... and fortunately, for Siggy Pryser's and Markus Fodstad's sake, Swedish and Norwegian are mutually intelligible to a large degree -- even though Swedes and Norwegians don't always like to admit that they can understand each other.

[keeker]

... and fortunately, for Siggy Pryser's and Markus Fodstad's sake, Swedish and Norwegian are mutually intelligible -- even though Swedes and Norwegians don't always like to admit that they can understand each other perfectly well.

Probably not hard to learn "man on, time, turn" in any language. Ok, I'm looking forward to Npu and loras match.