CCIW

[Gregory Sager]

North Central had an easy time of it against a hapless 1-4-1 Hendrix team this afternoon, winning 2-0, and will return from Arkansas sporting an 8-0 record that's gotta be the best start that the Cardinals program has ever achieved.

[NCC26]

North Central had an easy time of it against a hapless 1-4-1 Hendrix team this afternoon, winning 2-0, and will return from Arkansas sporting an 8-0 record that's gotta be the best start that the Cardinals program has ever achieved.

Nah, the '87 team started 13-0-1 , with wins over Wheaton and Northwestern University.  Yes, the Big 10 team.  This years team is doing well which is nice to see after so many years of futility.  The big BUT is that their schedule really sucks.  If they want to win the conference and get a chance in the big dance like NP, Carthage, Wheaton they need to toughen up the schedule.  Playing cupcakes don't prepare you for the speed, ball control and shooting of those teams.  Sure you can turtle up and hope for a quick counter, but the law of averages says one of those shots goes in or a pk call happens.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central had an easy time of it against a hapless 1-4-1 Hendrix team this afternoon, winning 2-0, and will return from Arkansas sporting an 8-0 record that's gotta be the best start that the Cardinals program has ever achieved.

Nah, the '87 team started 13-0-1 , with wins over Wheaton and Northwestern University.  Yes, the Big 10 team.  This years team is doing well which is nice to see after so many years of futility.  The big BUT is that their schedule really sucks.  If they want to win the conference and get a chance in the big dance like NP, Carthage, Wheaton they need to toughen up the schedule.

Yes, hence this point that I just made:

I'd still rather take a loss to a team as good as Christopher Newport than a win over a Lawrence or a Rockford or a Monmouth any day. It's all about making your team better in time for league play.

To be completely honest, part of the reason why NPU is playing such a grueling non-conference schedule is because the Lawrences, Rockfords, and Monmouths of the world won't take Kris Grahn's phone calls anymore. For a lot of coaches, scheduling is more an art form tailored to job security than an opportunity to actually improve their programs in an iron-sharpens-iron sort of way. So, if you're most MWC, NACC, SLIAC, or MIAA coaches, why would you schedule NPU -- and thus set yourself up for a probable loss that'll hurt your record and perhaps make it a little harder for you to reach whatever spoken or unspoken level of wins-and-losses success your boss requires of you -- if you don't have to? Fortunately, there are still coaches around (most of them from other good programs) who share Kris Grahn's enthusiasm for making his team better by playing good opponents and risking some non-conference losses, like the one NPU suffered today. And that's why Luther and Christopher Newport decided to come to town and face Chicago and North Park this weekend rather than, say, Chicago and Elmhurst.

Playing cupcakes don't prepare you for the speed, ball control and shooting of those teams.  Sure you can turtle up and hope for a quick counter, but the law of averages says one of those shots goes in or a pk call happens.

Exactly. But I'll add this: I've watched one entire North Central game (Friday's contest against Rhodes) and parts of a couple of others, and I can say without qualification that the Cardinals are a good-quality side, even if Dubuque is the only semi-respectable opponent they've faced thus far.

[npbaseball40]

Carthage jumps six spots in USC National polling to 16th.

https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-diii-men/

CNU, who beat NP 1-0 on Sunday, moves up a spot while Hope, who the Vikings play tomorrow night, receive votes.

[mr_b]

Carthage jumps six spots in USC National polling to 16th.

https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-diii-men/

CNU, who beat NP 1-0 on Sunday, moves up a spot while Hope, who the Vikings play tomorrow night, receive votes.

Also, North Park is no longer in the top 25 and is not listed as even receiving votes.  Or am I just not seeing them in the list?

[Gregory Sager]

With the obvious exception of UAA and Centennial members, I doubt that there are many teams that have three current Top 25 teams on their schedule, as NPU does.

And since we're talking about schedules, it's worth noting that Carthage (5-1-1) has an OWP of .588, whereas North Central (8-0) has an OWP of .523. That, and the fact that one of Carthage's five victims is once-beaten #7 Calvin, plus the fact that the Firebirds have also played votes-receiving Hope, tells you why Carthage is #16 while NCC, which hasn't played anybody that's receiving votes, isn't even on a single ballot.

That doesn't mean that North Central is inferior, because I've seen enough of both of the CCIW's red-and-black teams to know that the Cardinals will be very competitive against Carthage (and against NPU and Wheaton as well). But their résumé betrays that gaudy undefeated record of theirs.

Also, North Park is no longer in the top 25 and is not listed as even receiving votes.  Or am I just not seeing them in the list?

The Vikings didn't get any votes in last week's poll, so it stood to reason that they wouldn't get any in this one, either, after a loss on Sunday. I didn't think that they'd get credit in the eyes of the USC pollsters for the fact that it was a loss to a ranked team, given that it happened on NPU's home pitch -- even if looked at in tandem with North Park's victory over previous #20 Luther on Friday. Unfortunately, my guess was correct.

[WUPHF]

Also, North Park is no longer in the top 25 and is not listed as even receiving votes.  Or am I just not seeing them in the list?

They fell out after losing to Washington University.

I expected both teams to get a vote or two, but nope.

[Gregory Sager]

Nice to see NPU sweep the two CCIW Player of the Week awards, in spite of the fact that the Vikings only went 2-1 in their three games last week.

* Peder Olsen had a decent week (two goals, three assists), but I'm sure it helped that he set new program career records for NPU in both goals and assists last week as well, as was mentioned in the CCIW press release.

* Alfred Sward logged a pair of shutouts last week; he now has four, tying him with Carthage's Christian Lekki and NCC's Sid Marquardt for the league lead in one fewer start. His save percentage isn't as gaudy as theirs or that of Wheaton's Hasten Biddlecomb, but I suspect that Alfie got the award for being well-tested by two ranked teams this past weekend.

[Gregory Sager]

Knox 2, Illinois Wesleyan 0

The Titans are punchless. They spent just as much time buzzing around Knox's box as the Prairie Fire did around theirs, in fact, probably even more -- and they could do nothing with it. I don't think that the Knox keeper was seriously tested all day. When you start the season 0-4 and you only have two goals to show for those four contests, you have reason to worry about your offense.

North Central 2, Rose-Hulman 0

The Cards manufactured an efficient win. They did all the damage they needed in the sixth minute, fishing a missed header off of a long throw-in from out by the near post and sending a tight-in cross to a charging Herman Hesby coming in at the far post to deposit sphere in twine. NCC then followed up 22 minutes later with a PK goal that basically salted it away, because RHIT really was no threat at all; the Engineers mounted their only truly serious threat to score in the 89th minute. The Cardinals seemed to slacken a bit on their efforts in the forward third in the second half, but that's a mere quibble, considering how thoroughly they dominated RHIT. Rose-Hulman has definitely fallen off from the high level of stalwart play the Pachyderms were bringing to every game just a few years ago, although their dropoff as a program might be mitigated somewhat by the fact that the HCAC isn't a very good soccer league and thus RHIT might stay competitive in it. Nevertheless, this is one of NCC's better wins.

[Gregory Sager]

Hope 2
North Park 1

Another heartbreaker for NPU in which the Vikings just couldn't find a way to get the equalizer goal.

Chicago was under a gale warning this afternoon and evening, with a steady 25-30 mph wind stiffening the flags. The wind was out of the north, and since Hedstrand Field is oriented along a N-S axis the game was set askew, with one side playing with a strong wind at their backs and the other going into the teeth of the wind in one half, and of course the two teams trading roles after halftime. NPU always defends the north goal in the first half by tradition, and (although I didn't say it on the air) it was really incumbent upon the Vikings to make hay with that advantage in the first half. However, in spite of the fact that Hope's GK Daniel Hasselbein dispensed with long kicks in favor of short dispersals to his defenders, several of which the Vikings nearly jumped, the Dutch played well enough to prevent the Vikings from scoring until the 42nd minute. NPU went into the half up 1-0, and I was thinking to myself, "That's not enough in these conditions, against this team."

Sometimes I hate being right.

Hope took advantage of a backline miscue to get the game level within the first few minutes of the second stanza, and then eight minutes later took the lead on a perfect cross to a perfect one-touch strike that was set up by just plain sheer hustle on the part of the Dutch winger who sent in the cross. NPU didn't have as many chances as it probably needed from that point on to get the equalizer, as Hope just plain outplayed the Vikings in the second half, gale winds or no gale winds, although the Vikings did get some really good chances at the end of the game that just didn't find the back of the net.

Even though the stat sheet for the most part was dead even (shots, SOG, corners), I thought that the Vikings got outworked by a Hope team that made fewer mistakes, and which took better advantage of the opposing mistakes presented to them.

The Park stumbles into CCIW play with an unsatisfactory (tough schedule or not) 5-3 record and the knowledge that, more than ever, the Vikings are really going to have to parlay that tough early schedule into dominant league performances.

[Gregory Sager]

Meanwhile, a big upset at the Beanpatch tonight as Wheaton takes down previously undefeated Chicago, 1-0. This must've been like the Concordia (IL) @ Wheaton game in reverse; the Maroons outshot Wheaton by a whopping 20 (8) to 5 (3), but the only tally was by the team that didn't have the ball in the offensive third very much. The difference is that Concordia (IL) scored early and had to spend almost the entire game making that lead stand up against a barrage of Wheaton shots, whereas tonight it was scoreless until the penultimate minute of the game, when Joey Sopikiotis struck one in to decide the game.

Unlike North Park, Wheaton will enter CCIW play carrying a ton of momentum in their favor.

[Gregory Sager]

In other games:

Millikin remained winless, dropping a 2-1 decision at Illinois College.

Carthage earned a surprisingly narrow 1-0 victory over winless Lake Forest, surprising not only because LFC is struggling so badly this season but also because Carthage bossed the stat sheet so thoroughly.

Augustana won at home over Monmouth, 2-0 -- not much to brag about there, since I've seen winless Monmouth play this season and the Scots are absolutely terrible.

Elmhurst climbed back above the .500 mark with a 3-0 win over Alma at Langhorst.

[fishercats]

I watched this one online. A few observations:

- Both of the first two goals were the result of defensive miscues. The first started with a poor pass from Hope's center back that NPU pounced on. Then on the subsequent break it appeared the second Hope cb tried to shield the ball instead of clearing it into the stands. Then the original cb appeared to make a poor recovery and was late to the rebound off the keeper. Good all around pressure by NPU that forced Hope into the miscues. The Hope goal was just a flub by the NPU defense as he missed a pass from his partner at the top of the box. The Hope forward was there and put it in the back of the net. Again, partially the result of high pressure.

- I noticed in the box score that NPU only used 4 bench players. Is this the norm? 7 players went the full 90. Hope used almost the whole bench, which may have helped them maintain a fairly high level of intensity throughout the game. With NPUs brutal schedule, and long roster, I would have thought they'd rotate more to get ready for the next phase of the season.

- Fun game to watch and the box score is almost exactly even. Except for Hope committing more fouls 13-5. 5 fouls seems pretty low for a game this competitive.

- Tough loss for NPU, but they are still among the top in this part of the country. Very good win for Hope, especially hanging in there after being down a goal. They will likely be getting a bit more attention, but their season still pivots on the Hope v Calvin game.

- Notes on the broadcast: Gregory - your broadcast team is the best in the nation by far. I appreciated the graphics and the pre and post game dialogue. It feels like a professional broadcast, but with tons of local flavor. And has been mentioned, the visit by the past player is fun, informative and real. Loved hearing him pause mid sentence to root his team on. The video quality is very good as well. However, here is some friendly feedback you can take or leave - the switching between camera angles made the game very difficult to follow and I was not able to get a sense of the overall flow of the game and the tactical positioning. The camera angles switched very frequently, often in the middle of play, interrupting the sense of what was happening. In on instance, on the first goal by Hope, the camera switched between all three angles between the time just before the Hope player struck the ball to the time it hit the back of the net. My suggestion would be to limit the use of the field level cameras to unique situations, and lean on the main camera that shows up to half the field. That  would also allow the viewer to be more in line with your commentary. However, in the end, your efforts are very much appreciated.

Hope 2
North Park 1

Another heartbreaker for NPU in which the Vikings just couldn't find a way to get the equalizer goal.

Chicago was under a gale warning this afternoon and evening, with a steady 25-30 mph wind stiffening the flags. The wind was out of the north, and since Hedstrand Field is oriented along a N-S axis the game was set askew, with one side playing with a strong wind at their backs and the other going into the teeth of the wind in one half, and of course the two teams trading roles after halftime. NPU always defends the north goal in the first half by tradition, and (although I didn't say it on the air) it was really incumbent upon the Vikings to make hay with that advantage in the first half. However, in spite of the fact that Hope's GK Daniel Hasselbein dispensed with long kicks in favor of short dispersals to his defenders, several of which the Vikings nearly jumped, the Dutch played well enough to prevent the Vikings from scoring until the 42nd minute. NPU went into the half up 1-0, and I was thinking to myself, "That's not enough in these conditions, against this team."

Sometimes I hate being right.

Hope took advantage of a backline miscue to get the game level within the first few minutes of the second stanza, and then eight minutes later took the lead on a perfect cross to a perfect one-touch strike that was set up by just plain sheer hustle on the part of the Dutch winger who sent in the cross. NPU didn't have as many chances as it probably needed from that point on to get the equalizer, as Hope just plain outplayed the Vikings in the second half, gale winds or no gale winds, although the Vikings did get some really good chances at the end of the game that just didn't find the back of the net.

Even though the stat sheet for the most part was dead even (shots, SOG, corners), I thought that the Vikings got outworked by a Hope team that made fewer mistakes, and which took better advantage of the opposing mistakes presented to them.

The Park stumbles into CCIW play with an unsatisfactory (tough schedule or not) 5-3 record and the knowledge that, more than ever, the Vikings are really going to have to parlay that tough early schedule into dominant league performances.

[npbaseball40]

I watched this one online. A few observations:

- Notes on the broadcast: Gregory - your broadcast team is the best in the nation by far. I appreciated the graphics and the pre and post game dialogue. It feels like a professional broadcast, but with tons of local flavor. And has been mentioned, the visit by the past player is fun, informative and real. Loved hearing him pause mid sentence to root his team on. The video quality is very good as well. However, here is some friendly feedback you can take or leave - the switching between camera angles made the game very difficult to follow and I was not able to get a sense of the overall flow of the game and the tactical positioning. The camera angles switched very frequently, often in the middle of play, interrupting the sense of what was happening. In on instance, on the first goal by Hope, the camera switched between all three angles between the time just before the Hope player struck the ball to the time it hit the back of the net. My suggestion would be to limit the use of the field level cameras to unique situations, and lean on the main camera that shows up to half the field. That  would also allow the viewer to be more in line with your commentary. However, in the end, your efforts are very much appreciated.

Thanks for the notes, fishercats. I'm in charge of broadcast production for NPU Athletics (the graphics and video switcher guy) so I'll take blame for that one. After watching the film back, I do agree with you - need to stay wider at times. I also stat the game, so sometimes I get carried away with the immersive view... actually took a break to fix something in stats when that ball was played back - thinking that there would be some dead time - and kind of spazzed out when I realized a goal was upcoming. One thing I will note is we don't have a "preview" mode, meaning fans at home are seeing the exact same thing I'm seeing, without knowing what shot our camera people have. So when there's a bit of quick switching, it's because they haven't quite steadied the shot yet. Still pretty green with some of this stuff, but I'm trying to improve each day.

I'll be better this Saturday, thanks for following!

-TW

[WUPHF]

Unlike North Park, Wheaton will enter CCIW play carrying a ton of momentum in their favor.

I was going to jokingly advise you not to worry as Washington University was on the schedule immediately prior to CCIW play.  I decided to double check and sure enough, the game rescheduled for next Monday has been cancelled.