CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

The All-CCIW team has been announced.

NPU did get six selections, but only four -- Barriga, Ericsson, Kemkers, and Olsen -- on first team. Shatil Khoury made second team for the second straight season, where he was joined by Ulrik Lund. Peder Olsen and Carthage's Ivan Esquivel were each named to the first team for the third consecutive season.

NCC got four on the team -- three on first, and one on second -- while IWU also had four (one on first, three on second), Wheaton had three (all second-teamers), Carthage three (two first-teamers, one second-teamer), which seems a bit excessive, and Elmhurst had a couple of first-teamers. Millikin and Carroll each had a token second-teamer.

Kris Grahn shares the Coach of the Year award with Enzo Fuschino of NCC. I have no complaints about that; the Cardinals were picked to finish sixth this season, so Fuschino's team definitely exceeded the expectations of his peers. It's gratifying just to see Kris win the award in his first season as a head coach.

Olsen won the OPOY award for the second season in a row, to the surprise of absolutely no one, but the DPOY is a selection from out of left field: Oliver Saile of Elmhurst. How many people saw that coming? Freshman of the Year is Silas Galvao of Wheaton, which is a bit of a suprirse to me; I didn't even think he was the best freshman on his own team. Michael Groza, to me, was the best plebe on the Wheaton side in 2019.

Biggest injustice, in my mind, is either the absence of NPU's Gianfranco DeCarne from either team, or the choice for second team GK, beneath Marco Soto of NCC, who is the first-team GK. The coaches picked Alex Ruckstaetter of IWU. I think that Hasten Biddlecomb of WC is a much better keeper than the decidedly average Ruckstaetter, and should've won that spot.

[gustiefan04]

Wasn't Galvao the statistical leader for Wheaton this year? Didn't see them play much, but doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility...

[mr_b]

North Park scored five unanswered goals in the second half in a 6-1 rout of Pacific Lutheran in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  The Vikings scored in the first three minutes of the contest, then the Lutes tied it at the 57:05 mark before North Park netted five goals in the final 30 minutes.  They move on to play the winner of the Colorado-Gustavus Adolphus contest, which is being played right now.

[markerickson]

North Park totally dominated ball control in both halves.  I think #17 Viking freshman Holgersson has significant potential.  He would have easily been a standout running back had he grown up in America.  North Park's roster has 28 players from Illinois, 15 from Scandinavia, and 9 from other outposts such as MN, Canada, and China.  PLU's roster consisted of most players from Washington with four players hailing from a place other than the United States.

[Gregory Sager]

It took a while for the Vikings to really get going, but NPU ended up crushing Pacific Lutheran, 6-1. The Vikings had the run of play throughout most of the first half, taking a very early 1-0 lead on a Shatil Khoury goal, but they got sloppy towards the end of the half and the Lutes got some good opportunities. The second half started the same way, until PLU tied it up in the 58th minute. That was like turning on a light switch, though, as suddenly the Vikings responded by finding a gear on offense that I haven't really seen them since the regular-season home game against IWU back on October 12. They scored, then scored again a few minutes later, and suddenly it was a downpour of goals.

The best moment of the day came in the 88th minute, well after Kris Grahn had taken off almost all of his starters to rest them for tomorrow. Seldom-used fan favorite Ollie Chell, a UK native who missed all of last season to a serious knee injury, snuck in from the weak side and finished off a diagonal feed from Jonas Andersgaard for the sixth and final Vikings goal. It was the first goal of his career (it was Andersgaard's first assist as well), and the crowd went absolutely nuts. We even went nuts in the press box -- we're partial to Ollie, since he works as a student assistant for the sports information staff (I'm pretty sure that NPU is the only school in D3 whose baseball P.A. announcer has an English accent).

After the game his teammates lifted him up on their shoulders and thew him up into the air over and over again. It was a wonderful moment for a kid who worked incredibly hard in practice and in rehab to get to that moment.

[Falconer]

It took a while for the Vikings to really get going, but NPU ended up crushing Pacific Lutheran, 6-1. The Vikings had the run of play throughout most of the first half, taking a very early 1-0 lead on a Shatil Khoury goal, but they got sloppy towards the end of the half and the Lutes got some good opportunities. The second half started the same way, until PLU tied it up in the 58th minute. That was like turning on a light switch, though, as suddenly the Vikings responded by finding a gear on offense that I haven't really seen them since the regular-season home game against IWU back on October 12. They scored, then scored again a few minutes later, and suddenly it was a downpour of goals.

The best moment of the day came in the 88th minute, well after Kris Grahn had taken off almost all of his starters to rest them for tomorrow. Seldom-used fan favorite Ollie Chell, a UK native who missed all of last season to a serious knee injury, snuck in from the weak side and finished off a diagonal feed from Jonas Andersgaard for the sixth and final Vikings goal. It was the first goal of his career (it was Andersgaard's first assist as well), and the crowd went absolutely nuts. We even went nuts in the press box -- we're partial to Ollie, since he works as a student assistant for the sports information staff (I'm pretty sure that NPU is the only school in D3 whose baseball P.A. announcer has an English accent).

After the game his teammates lifted him up on their shoulders and thew him up into the air over and over again. It was a wonderful moment for a kid who worked incredibly hard in practice and in rehab to get to that moment.

Thank you for that heartwarming story, Mr Sager. +K for taking time to relate the details.

There's a similar Messiah story yesterday, though perhaps not quite as compelling. The final Falcon goal was scored by SR Joey Cianciatta, who was injured for two full seasons and much of a third. He did get his first career goal late last season, but it must have been immensely satisfying for him to get his second, perhaps his final goal, in the tournament. His parents have come to many of the games he entirely missed; I hope they were there yesterday, though I wasn't so I cannot say.

[Jim Matson]

Greg is doing a good job calling the North Park/Gustavus match this afternoon. He has "almost" mastered that true and authentic Swedish pronunciation of the names of those Viking imports

[gustiefan04]

Agree 100% Jim. All around great production value and announcing. Very impressive work by Greg and the NPU team putting this one.

[mr_b]

North Park edges Gustavus on PKs after the Gusties sent the game to OT with a goal at the 88:00 mark.  A real quality defensive battle from both sides.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg is doing a good job calling the North Park/Gustavus match this afternoon. He has "almost" mastered that true and authentic Swedish pronunciation of the names of those Viking imports

I have to admit that I've had a tutor:

Agree 100% Jim. All around great production value and announcing. Very impressive work by Greg and the NPU team putting this one.

Big ups to our production company, Fulcrum, which also worked with us when NPU hosted the first two weekends in 2017. It's a company founded by North Park grads, and they do great work. Their main focus in terms of sports production is ultimate, which is fortunate for us -- ultimate plays a lot like soccer in terms of movement and pace, so they have a good feel for the camerawork and direction.

I was kicking myself after the match, because I wanted to thank the Fulcrum folks on the air by name, but I was so mentally spent that I completely forgot and signed off before I could do that.

[mr_b]

Big ups to our production company, Fulcrum, which also worked with us when NPU hosted the first two weekends in 2017. It's a company founded by North Park grads, and they do great work. Their main focus in terms of sports production is ultimate, which is fortunate for us -- ultimate plays a lot like soccer in terms of movement and pace, so they have a good feel for the camerawork and direction.

I was kicking myself after the match, because I wanted to thank the Fulcrum folks on the air by name, but I was so mentally spent that I completely forgot and signed off before I could do that.

I thought the camera work was really good, considering all the ball movement.  The replays of goals were also great.

You'll have a chance to mention Fulcrum on your next broadcast.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park edges Gustavus on PKs after the Gusties sent the game to OT with a goal at the 88:00 mark.  A real quality defensive battle from both sides.

That Gustavus backline is rock-solid. They pushed everything out to the sides, kept shape and discipline in the box, and really took North Park out of its comfort zone in the attacking third. NPU sent in 20 shots to GAC's six, but only three of NPU's shots were on frame (although they had one crossbar shot and several that barely went wide on either side). It was a long, frustrating afternoon of one thwarted chance after another, as the Vikings never found the insurance goal that they were looking for. And the (very) late equalizer by the Gusties just compounded the frustration, as did the loss of starting GK Mathias Stulen for overtime after he was left woozy by a collision at the top of the box near the end of regulation. And in both overtimes NPU had a few quality chances to put it away, but they just couldn't make it happen. You have to give full credit to the Gusties. They were no match for the Park either in terms of pace or technique -- although it must be noted that GAC was missing its freshman sensation Raphael Cattelin (17 g, 15 a). (NPU did lose its striker, Shatil Khoury, to injury at the 20:49 mark, and he did not return.) But they gummed up the works and forced the draw.

Y'know, I hate shootouts, but I have to admit that they make for compelling drama. I was scoreboard-watching all day, and I noticed that the several other D3 matches that went to shootouts all seemed to stop at 4-2. That ratcheted up the drama even more when both teams made their first four PKs, as neither GAC keeper Wesley Sanders or backup NPU keeper Edin Sabovic was guessing correctly. On the fifth try, Gianfranco DeCarne held up his end by making NPU 5-for-5 -- and then GAC sent its striker, Cole Schwartz, to the penalty spot. Schwartz, who scored his 24th goal of the season against Colorado College yesterday, ranks second in D3 in goals.

And that's when North Park's backup goalkeeper stopped a penalty kick by the second-leading goal scorer in the nation to end GAC's season and propel NPU onward to the Sweet Sixteen -- at a sectional that North Park will host because Calvin's grass field is shot.

This is a pretty weird sport sometimes.

Big ups to our production company, Fulcrum, which also worked with us when NPU hosted the first two weekends in 2017. It's a company founded by North Park grads, and they do great work. Their main focus in terms of sports production is ultimate, which is fortunate for us -- ultimate plays a lot like soccer in terms of movement and pace, so they have a good feel for the camerawork and direction.

I was kicking myself after the match, because I wanted to thank the Fulcrum folks on the air by name, but I was so mentally spent that I completely forgot and signed off before I could do that.

I thought the camera work was really good, considering all the ball movement.  The replays of goals were also great.

You'll have a chance to mention Fulcrum on your next broadcast.

Yep. Next Friday, as it turns out.

[gustiefan04]

Very fair analysis of the GAC vs NPU match.

I thought the first 30 minutes was pretty even in play, but after NPU's goal they really took it up a notch and had the better of the ball throughout long stretches of the game. GAC did a very good job defensively, and really limited NPU in the final third. There were a couple of shots that looked close, but generally they were not getting clean looks at goal. It was definitely a physical match and a lot of fun to watch. Not having Cattelin this weekend was definitely a blow to the Gusties, as he has put up big numbers all year and seemed to always find a way to make an impact, especially in big games.

I was quite impressed with NPU's Barriga, who played out of left back. He was very sound defensively and made several greats runs forward both with and without the ball that were very dangerous and caused the Gusties problems.

Shootouts are a really tough way to decide a game, but definitely create some great excitement. I'm sure the Gustavus team felt pretty confident sending Schwartz to the PK spot. Both keepers were diving early and often guessing incorrectly...Not sure if he mis-hit the ball or was just trying to be cheeky playing it up with the middle of the goal, but I couldn't help feeling it was not a well taken PK. Kudos to the NPU backup keeper, who did a great job stepping up making the save with his feet after having already dove to the side. He's probably waited all year for an opportunity to make his mark in a game, and he did so in a big way yesterday. 

The good news for the Gusties is they are a very young squad, having regularly started 5-6 freshman per game and getting a lot of young players minutes in big games throughout the year. I suspect they are only going to get better.

Congratulations to NPU on a successful weekend. You've got a impressive team and I'll be pulling for you to take it all.

[Gregory Sager]

I was quite impressed with NPU's Barriga, who played out of left back. He was very sound defensively and made several greats runs forward both with and without the ball that were very dangerous and caused the Gusties problems.

He also may have made the biggest defensive play in live action, when Cole Schwartz finally got a possession in which he was moving forward with the ball at his feet in the NPU end as the last few seconds were starting to be counted down over the P.A. in regulation. He had a step on William Boström-Rydfjall, who had otherwise effectively bottled him up all night, and with a (former D1) striker that quick and that prolific I would've counted Schwartz's chances of scoring before the horn sounded to be pretty solid. But then Barriga swooped in from out of nowhere, cut him off and took him off-stride, and that ended that.

Barriga's a kid who has a very high soccer IQ. He is not a backliner by trade -- on the contrary, he was a big-time scorer in high school and mostly played left mid for NPU last season as a freshman -- but Kris Grahn moved him to left back in mid-season this year to help shore up a young defensive corps that was making too many mistakes and was getting burned as a result. Combine that soccer IQ with his speed, and the sky's the limit for him. He was named CCIW Defensive Player of the Week twice in the last four weeks of the regular season and was named to the All-CCIW first team. If Kris keeps Barriga at left back, I think he'll wind up being the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year either next season or the season after.

Shootouts are a really tough way to decide a game, but definitely create some great excitement. I'm sure the Gustavus team felt pretty confident sending Schwartz to the PK spot. Both keepers were diving early and often guessing incorrectly...

I think that Sabovic finally figured out that he was doing that. On Schwartz's kick he feinted right as Schwartz was on his approach, and then dived left.

Not sure if he mis-hit the ball or was just trying to be cheeky playing it up with the middle of the goal, but I couldn't help feeling it was not a well taken PK.

At first I thought that he had topped the ball, due to the lack of pace and the fact that it bounced, but after watching countless replays of the kick -- it's on a continuous gif within the gamer on the NPU athletics page -- it's obvious that Schwartz struck it true. So the question remains as to why he put no mustard on it whatsoever -- it was a routine shot dead center that bounced once and never got more than ten inches or so off of the ground. His problem may have been that he lifted his head slightly as he started his swing, as perhaps he detected Sabovic's feint in his upper peripheral vision or was just excessively concerned with checking himself to make sure that he was aligned on frame.

Kudos to the NPU backup keeper, who did a great job stepping up making the save with his feet after having already dove to the side. He's probably waited all year for an opportunity to make his mark in a game, and he did so in a big way yesterday. 

I told Sabovic afterwards, "Thank God that you're 6'5", because you needed all of it to make that save!"

The good news for the Gusties is they are a very young squad, having regularly started 5-6 freshman per game and getting a lot of young players minutes in big games throughout the year. I suspect they are only going to get better.

I looked at GAC's roster again today, and I'm impressed with what the Gusties are bringing back next season. I also feel like I missed something by not seeing Cattelin play. Guys who are on track for a 200-point career don't come around very often in D3 men's soccer.

Congratulations to NPU on a successful weekend. You've got a impressive team and I'll be pulling for you to take it all.

Thanks!

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to the four NPU Vikings who were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region team: first-teamers Angel Barriga, Gustav Ericsson, and Peder Olsen, and second-teamer Ulrik Lund. Also named to the team as well were first-teamer Spencer Wiese from NCC and second-teamers Patrick Hickey and Alex Ruckstaetter from IWU, Alexis Flores from NCC, and Ivan Esquivel from Carthage. It's the third time that Olsen and Esquivel have been awarded All-Central Region honors, and the second time apiece for Hickey, Flores, and Lund.

Barriga, Ericsson, Olsen, and Wiese are now eligible to receive USC All-American honors.

Congrats as well to Elmhurst's Luke Deel, who was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American first-teamer.