CCIW

[Ommadawn]

The CCIW Meatloafed today

Well done!  I had to think about this one for a minute.  I suspect that this will play best with readers "of a certain age."   

[Gregory Sager]

... and, sadly, a certain regular poster in this space falls into that certain-age category.

[Gregory Sager]

File North Park's performance tonight across the lake in Holland, MI under W for "Well, that's more like it," as the Vikings thumped Hope, 4-0. The Dutchmen didn't even get off a shot until the 36th minute, when NPU was already up, 2-0, and most of the shots by the hosts came in the last thirty minutes after the Vikings were already up by four goals and weren't much interested in doing anything beyond clearing balls beyond midfield. Peder Olsen pocketed a couple of goals in the contest, both of which were assisted by Gianfranco DeCarne. NPU advances to 5-3 on the season in anticipation of Saturday's CCIW opener against Augustana at Hedstrand Field.

The CCIW's four-game sweep tonight involved two shutouts, as Carthage (4-5) came away with a 1-0 clean sheet at Keller Field against St. Norbert while Elmhurst (6-3-1) walloped Olivet by a 5-0 margin at Langhorst Field. The match down in Decatur was the most closely-contested affair of the night, as two of Millikin's Norwegian imports, Andreas Raaket and Simen Nodland, teamed up to provide the winning strike in the 97th minute of a 2-1 overtime victory over DePauw for the Big Blue (4-3-1).

Saturday's going to provide the CCIW openers for eight of the nine teams, as, apart from the aforementioned Augie @ NPU match, North Central visits Millikin, Wheaton is at Elmhurst, and Carthage goes to Carroll for Wisconsin bragging rights. The bye team, Illinois Wesleyan, follows North Park's footsteps around the big water to Holland on Saturday to face Hope.

[Gregory Sager]

This is weird. Wheaton is playing at Elmhurst, but I could swear that that's Wheaton SID Brett Marhanka doing the PA at Elmhurst's Langhorst Field.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park (6-3, 1-0) had a mildly disappointing afternoon on Saturday at Hedstrand Field, mildly disappointing only in the sense that the Vikings didn't score on Augustana (2-4-1, 0-1) as much as everyone thought they would in a 2-0 NPU victory. Chalk that up to Augie GK Jeremy Klaber, who was outstanding. He made numerous lunging saves, including one on a penalty kick, and did a great job of keeping the NPU backline on its toes with a wide array of midfield-to-three-quarters kicks that were right on target. Other than that, NPU basically did whatever it wanted, possessing for the vast majority of the contest and outshooting Augie 29 (5) to 10 (3). Both goals were potted by Peder Olsen, who now sits atop the CCIW overall leaderboard in goals and points. Mick Regan has yet to dirty a sheet against North Park in his five years at the helm for Augie; his teams have lost to NPU all five seasons by a collective score of 16-0.

Millikin (4-4-1, 0-1) suffered a heartbreaking loss at Lindsay Field, as visiting North Central (5-3-1, 1-0) got a golden goal from Elmer Eng with only 2:12 remaining in the second overtime to win a 1-0 contest. The lone CCIW team playing out of the circuit, Illinois Wesleyan (4-5) suffered a similar but less dramatic extra-session fate, as Hope tallied a breakaway golden goal in the 92nd minute to beat IWU, 1-0, in Holland.

In terms of the evening contests, Carthage (5-5, 1-0) won its CCIW opener over Carroll (5-3, 0-1) on the hill at Schaefer in curious fashion; the final score was 3-0, but those three goals represented the only three shots on goal that Carthage had in the entire match -- and two of them were penalty kicks. That's called economy of effort, I guess. And in a mild surprise, Elmhurst (7-3-1, 1-0) topped visiting Wheaton (6-3-1, 0-1) by a 4-2 margin at Langhorst. I watched that game; Wheaton was very sloppy and came nowhere near matching the work rate of the Bluejays in the first half, as EC took a 3-0 lead into the intermission. Wheaton did wake up a bit in the second half, but never really made a game of it. This was my first opportunity to see the 'jays this season, and I like their moxie. This could easily be the best outfit that Dave Di Tomasso has put on the pitch in many years.

[magicman]

The CCIW Meatloafed today,

I may have to borrow that one at some point down the road. It will go in the books along with another one I borrowed from you some years ago when you refered to a certain someone as a prestidigitator.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park (7-3) cruised to an easy 4-1 victory at home tonight against Dubuque. I noted in my pregame comments on the air that this is the first time in the 38 seasons that NPU has had a varsity men's soccer program that the Vikings have played an opponent with more Swedes on the roster than the Vikings had, as Dubuque has seven of them (six freshmen, one sophomore) to North Park's six (two of whom are injured and didn't play). What the Spartans needed, though, were more players from Norway or Skokie, as Peder Olsen and Gianfranco DeCarne had outstanding nights for the Vikings. DeCarne had a goal and an assist, and Olsen netted a pair of second-half goals, including the game's highlight as he bent an untouched corner kick into the net in the 63rd minute, the third time in his storied career that he's done that. Olsen is now tied for second in all of D3 in goals scored with 12, trailing only Baldwin Wallace's Danny Ruple, who has 14. Dubuque scored on a penalty kick early in the match, but didn't get a shot on goal in the run of play until the 63th minute, when the match was already 4-1 and was clearly over.

The big match of the night took place in the western suburbs, as host Wheaton spit out the bit and blew a 2-0 second-half lead over North Central, falling 3-2 due to an NCC golden goal in the second minute of overtime. Both of NCC's conference matches have now been extra-session wins on the road. Alexis Flores had a hat trick for the Cardinals, who are now 6-3-1, 2-0, while Wheaton finds itself at the bottom of the standings early on in conference play with a 6-4-1, 0-2 record.

The other match of the night was no contest, as Elmhurst (7-4-1) was blanked on the South Side by Chicago, 3-0. The Maroons defense completely choked the life out of the Bluejays, who had only one shot all night and it wasn't on frame.

[blue_jays]

North Park (7-3) cruised to an easy 4-1 victory at home tonight against Dubuque. I noted in my pregame comments on the air that this is the first time in the 38 seasons that NPU has had a varsity men's soccer program that the Vikings have played an opponent with more Swedes on the roster than the Vikings had, as Dubuque has seven of them (six freshmen, one sophomore) to North Park's six (two of whom are injured and didn't play). What the Spartans needed, though, were more players from Norway or Skokie, as Peder Olsen and Gianfranco DeCarne had outstanding nights for the Vikings. DeCarne had a goal and an assist, and Olsen netted a pair of second-half goals, including the game's highlight as he bent an untouched corner kick into the net in the 63rd minute, the third time in his storied career that he's done that. Olsen is now tied for second in all of D3 in goals scored with 12, trailing only Baldwin Wallace's Danny Ruple, who has 14. Dubuque scored on a penalty kick early in the match, but didn't get a shot on goal in the run of play until the 63th minute, when the match was already 4-1 and was clearly over.

The big match of the night took place in the western suburbs, as host Wheaton spit out the bit and blew a 2-0 second-half lead over North Central, falling 3-2 due to an NCC golden goal in the second minute of overtime. Both of NCC's conference matches have now been extra-session wins on the road. Alexis Flores had a hat trick for the Cardinals, who are now 6-3-1, 2-0, while Wheaton finds itself at the bottom of the standings early on in conference play with a 6-4-1, 0-2 record.

The other match of the night was no contest, as Elmhurst (7-4-1) was blanked on the South Side by Chicago, 3-0. The Maroons defense completely choked the life out of the Bluejays, who had only one shot all night and it wasn't on frame.

No contest is an apt description. UChicago held possession for 90 percent of the game (not an exaggeration), and the most dangerous counter fizzled on the finish. Frankly it should/could have been 5-0. Elmhurst realized right away they were overmatched at every position, so they sat 11 behind the ball for the entire first half and prayed for counterattacks that didn't materialize. The Maroons got an early goal off a corner and played with complete confidence throughout, dissecting the defense with aplomb. Definitely their best ball movement since last year, building up from the back, staying patient and threading every seam they could find. Di Tomasso's vocal displeasure was justified as his team ball watched too often and weren't closing out effectively. Somehow only trailing 1-0 at half, Elmhurst came out in the second half pressuring every ball and pass to force mistakes. Which just allowed the Maroons to have more room to operate, make moves in the open field and bag two more insurance goals that could easily have been four. Top highlights of the night included Johnson's dribble crossover that made his defender literally fall sprawling onto the turf, and Ruark's deke of the center back that led directly to a goal.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll continues to bully weak teams, obliterating Northland by a 7-0 score in Waukesha this evening. The Pioneers are now 6-3, but they've only beaten one team this season that has a winning record -- and 5-4 Wisconsin Lutheran barely qualifies for that category. The night's other match was far more interesting, as Nicholas Messineo put home a goldie in the 103rd minute to prod Carthage to a 3-2 double OT home win over Lake Forest. That lifts the season mark for the Red Men to 6-5, the first time that they've been on the plus side of .500 in 2019.

With the non-conference slate winding down for the year, the CCIW is now at 42-30-5 (.578).

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton finally got on the winning side of the ledger in a CCIW match this evening, as a trip of Stafford Dowling by an Illinois Wesleyan defender near the outer edge of the box led to a Dowling penalty-kick goal with 23 minutes remaining that spelled the difference in a 1-0 home win for WC over the Titans. Wheaton improves to 7-4-1, 1-2, while IWU falls to 4-6, 0-1.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park got sweet revenge for last season's debacle against Millikin in Chicago by horsewhipping the Big Blue, 5-0, in Decatur this evening. Freshman William Sandkvist struck a pair of goals, while Gustav Ericsson had a goal and two assists and Peder Olsen had a goal and an assist. Kris Grahn got everybody but the bus driver into the match; he even used all three of his goalkeepers. It was good to see a couple of NPU's injured players, center back Runar Berg-Domaas and All-CCIW striker Shatil Khoury, return to action. This was Khoury's first appearance of the season, as he had to heal and rehab a preseason groin injury. He only made a couple of brief appearances off of the bench tonight for a total of 19 minutes, but even that cameo indicates that he's rounding back into condition -- and that will make the Vikings even more dangerous up front. Tonight's win improves NPU's record to 8-3, 2-0, while the Big Blue drop to 4-5-1, 0-2.

Keegan Thompson sent an uncontested cross from deep on the right side over to James Serrano, who struck it home in the 87th minute to break a scoreless tie at Keller Field and give visiting Elmhurst (8-4-1, 2-0) the 1-0 victory over Carthage (6-6, 1-1).

It only took nineteen seconds of bonus play before Matthew Allen put a golden goal into the net to secure a 2-1 home win for Augustana (3-4-1, 1-1) over Carroll (6-4, 0-2).

[Gotberg]

Kris made a good move by starting a 4 man back line.  Barriga has really impressed by both his defense and ability to move up the wing.

[Gregory Sager]

Barriga was a sensational find last year. He looks like a shoo-in for All-CCIW, and he's only a sophomore. One wonders where his ceiling is.

[GoThunder1]

The 4 man back line was necessary, as Berg Domaas was not capable of manning the middle alone. In the games I have watched, Kemkers has been very good in the middle of the back line as well as the other Swede, Bostrom. NPU seems to have hit their stride at the right time, and now has an added boost with Khoury returning. The defense was an issue early in the year, but the offense seemed to be out of sync as well - especially in the Kalamazoo game.

With the addition of Khoury, do you think Grahn goes to a 4-4-2 with Knap and Khoury up top? In my mind, it seems more likely for them to play a 4-5-1 and have Khoury play outside (opposite Olsen), with Lund/Ericsson/Kemkers in the middle (assuming Berg Domaas replaces Kemkers at CB). What happened to Holgerson? Is he still in school or is he injured? If he is just injured, that lineup is quite formidable (assuming Khoury would then replace Knap and Holgerson would play outside).

My Thunder are a different story. We seem to have peaked early and have weakened as of late. However, as always, the matchup at the end of October against the vikings should be quite the spectacle. Really looking forward to it.

[Gregory Sager]

The 4 man back line was necessary, as Berg Domaas was not capable of manning the middle alone.

Agreed. I looked upon the 3-man back experiment with some trepidation, but I fully understood why Kris tried it out. It was the old "play your best eleven men" principle. And the idea behind it was that, if the experiment didn't work out, it was always easier to go from a 3-man back to a 4-man in midseason, rather than the other way around.

In the games I have watched, Kemkers has been very good in the middle of the back line as well as the other Swede, Bostrom.

Erlend Kemkers is a remarkable player who gets overshadowed a bit. Just like Gustav "Mr. Versatile" Ericsson, Kemkers can play anywhere his coach puts him, and play it well. You'd never know that he had never played center back before this recent stint filling in for the injured duo of Runar Berg-Domaas and Abu Secka. But I like the duo of Berg-Domaas and Boström-Rydfjall (or, as I call them, "the Hyphen Brothers") as a CB tandem, because they both have the size to really clog the middle and take away an opponent's air game. Now the Vikings have to get Secka healthy as well; he's very athletic and dynamic as well as possessing a solid 6'2 frame, and he can play anywhere on the back line or even fill in for Ulrik Lund at holding mid if necessary.

NPU seems to have hit their stride at the right time, and now has an added boost with Khoury returning. The defense was an issue early in the year, but the offense seemed to be out of sync as well - especially in the Kalamazoo game.

I agree with that as well. It seemed to me that the Vikings were rushing things a bit in the forward third rather than showing patience and forcing the defense to keep moving until it made a mistake that NPU could exploit.

With the addition of Khoury, do you think Grahn goes to a 4-4-2 with Knap and Khoury up top? In my mind, it seems more likely for them to play a 4-5-1 and have Khoury play outside (opposite Olsen), with Lund/Ericsson/Kemkers in the middle (assuming Berg Domaas replaces Kemkers at CB).

I think that the latter is more likely: Khoury or Knap up top, Olsen/Lund/Ericsson/Kemkers/DeCarne in the middle, and Cindahl/Berg-Domaas/Boström-Rydfjall/Barriga on the back line. NPU obviously has so many playmakers on the midline (plus two super-fast outside backs who can come up on rushes as well) that I don't think it's necessary to have Knap and Khoury out there at the same time. Shuttling the two of them in and out would give Kris the luxury of having a very good striker out there at all times who is relatively fresh.

Then again, what do I know? I'm not Kris Grahn. I'm just the guy talking into the mic.

What happened to Holgerson? Is he still in school or is he injured?

Holgersson went down with a hamstring injury in the Chicago match down on the South Side, back in the first week of September. His return has been pronounced imminent for the last several weeks, but you know how hammies are -- they don't conform to a timetable as far as healing and rehab go. The Vikings dearly need him back soon, as he's a rare talent at this level. I haven't seen much of him, but I've seen enough to know that he's a difference-maker.

If he is just injured, that lineup is quite formidable (assuming Khoury would then replace Knap and Holgerson would play outside).

My Thunder are a different story. We seem to have peaked early and have weakened as of late.

I didn't see the North Central disaster, but I did watch the entire WC @ EC match. And if the NCC loss was anything like what happened at Langhorst Field, then Wheaton's slump could be attributed to an insufficient work rate. Wheaton doesn't get away with bossing teams anymore just because they're Wheaton, and DeClute's boys have to fully buy in to that fact and push themselves accordingly. Wheaton's got more ball skill than most teams, but it's a small team that isn't nearly as technical as were the great Wheaton teams from earlier in this decade. You can bruise 'em up and get away with it, because they're less likely to make you pay by quickly exploiting the space when you press them than their Wheaton predecessors were. They also don't have the ability to build at will against teams with good midfielders anymore, and they're not great at targeting the long ball. They do have a solid keeper in Hasten Biddlecome, though (why Jake DeClute opted to employ the obviously inferior Drew Cammarano between the pipes against Elmhurst is beyond me, unless Biddlecome was injured, sick, or otherwise indisposed), and a few players such as Stafford Dowling, Michael Groza, Justin Hill, and AJ Moyes that are clearly a cut above the CCIW norm.

However, as always, the matchup at the end of October against the vikings should be quite the spectacle. Really looking forward to it.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Our new commissioner Maureen Harty should see to it that NPU vs. WC is always held on the last night of the regular season. It's by far the league's biggest and best rivalry, and it's not only a great showcase for CCIW soccer, it's always going to be a match that carries an enormous amount of weight in terms of the standings and CCIW tourney seedings.