Ohio Athletic Conference

[woacfan]

Surprised ONU did not make the DIII top 25 and only "received votes".

Also surprised that Case is still ranked fifth in the DIII Great Lakes poll.  That looks like a vote based on inertia. 

It was also unexpected that B-W received votes in that poll ahead of Mount Union, Wilmington and JCU...no doubt they have a good record, but it seems like there are other candidates in the conference that look strong(er).  Conference play should sort that issue out.

[woacfan]

JCU beat Oberlin in a typical game for them.  They came out and dominated in the first half but scored no goals.  They had a bizarre defensive lapse in the early second half to go down 1-nil and fought back for a victory by scoring the game-winning-goal with about 3 minutes left.

In related action, B-W makes a liar out of me by winning their game and beating St. Vincent's.  They've played some quality opponents...so I guess we better add them to the mix now too.

Its going to be an interesting season.  For the first time in recent years, I think its safe to say that the OAC title is wide open.

[woacfan]

4:00 PM  Baldwin-Wallace  1  Capital  6  Final

The flip flop continues.  Yesterday I took a look at B-W and was impressed. Today....not so much!    Capital put a beat down on them.  You've got to question the wisdom of playing a non-conference game the night before a big conference matchup    What were they thinking? 

In any event,  it just goes to show that the conference is there for the taking... Who is going to take the title?

[WLCALUM83]

"Coin flips, coin flips
coin flips, coin flips"

[woacfan]

Haha!  Well that's one way to decide it!

[woacfan]

Saturday is the first full weekend of conference matchups.  Here are some predictions:

    12   PM  Wilmington (Ohio)    4      Muskingum           1   
   1:00 PM  Marietta                 1      Baldwin-Wallace    3   
   1:00 PM  John Carroll             2      Otterbein             2
   1:00 PM  Ohio Northern          4      Mount Union         2     
   4:00 PM  Heidelberg               0      Capital                2 

Ohio Northern has been the one completely consistent team in this group.  JCU looks good as well, but I look for Otterbein to step it up for conference play. They've been off since last weekend so they should be fresh.  This is Baldwin-Wallace's third game this week, but they look to return to form after getting beat by Capital this week.

[woacfan]

Today's OAC scores:

   1:00 PM  Wilmington (Ohio)  1  Muskingum  0  Final   
   1:00 PM  Marietta  0  Baldwin-Wallace  2  Final   
   1:00 PM  John Carroll  0  Otterbein  2  Final   
   1:00 PM  Ohio Northern  4  Mount Union  1  Final   
   4:00 PM  Heidelberg  3  Capital  4  Final

Well, we got the winners right for the most part, but not scores.   And my oh my, what is the story with JCU?  They are a much better team than that result.  Otterbein showed they weren't going to fade away, but JCU needed a better game than that!     I still like them somewhere near the top of the division, but they are going to have to step it up to get there.  In related news, Ohio Northern continues to roll.........

[woacfan]

The non-conference matchups finish up tomorrow.  Here they are:

   4:00 PM  Manchester  v.   Ohio Northern     
   5:00 PM  Muskingum    v.  Oberlin     
   7:00 PM  Wilmington (Ohio)  v.   Cedarville     
   7:00 PM  Hiram  v.   John Carroll     
   7:30 PM  Capital  v.  Case Western Reserve   

It would be a big win for Capital to knock off Case.   The rest look like tune ups for both sides.

[woacfan]

The OAC rundown for tonight:

   4:00 PM  Manchester  0  Ohio Northern  2  Final   
   5:00 PM  Muskingum  2  Oberlin  1  Final - OT   
   7:00 PM  Wilmington (Ohio)  0  Cedarville  0  Final - 2OT   
   7:00 PM  Hiram  0  John Carroll  2  Final   
   7:30 PM  Capital  0  Case Western Reserve  1  Final - OT   

Capital played hard tonight, but came up short. The Spartans outshot the Crusaders 16 to 4, but the Capital defense was well organized and held Case at bay until the overtime. The Spartans improve to 8-1-2.  Look for them to get national recognition if they keep winning.

And how about those JCU Blue Streaks?  They came back and made a statement tonight.  Here are some impressive stats:

JCU 33 shots/ 26 on goal Hiram 6 shots and 4 on goal.  The Blue Streaks tallied 14 corners to the Terriers' 1 corner kick. The Terrier's freshman keeper played a great game and kept the wolves at bay for a half, but the offensive pressure eventually broke through.  That has been the story of JCU's season.  When they are hot they are hot and when they aren't....well let's not go there.    The Streaks controlled the midfield and didn't let Hiram get on the attack at all.  Coach Blasius made some nice adjustments at half to get the scoring going. They might be the sleeper team of the OAC...... By the way,  the C-W Spartans only loss was to JCU.       Another thought that might scare teams playing at Shula Stadium:  At home the Blue Streaks are 5-0, have two shutouts and have only allowed three goals all season. They are averaging 17.9 shots per game. 

[Jim Matson]

ONU will have to win a few tough ones to get ahead of anyone on the rankings. Or, as often happens, someone else will have to lose!

[woacfan]

With only their conference schedule remaining I agree its going to be tough for ONU to move up.  For a number of reasons (many illegitimate imho), the OAC doesn't carry a lot of weight with the pollsters.  I remember last season someone pointing out on a D3 Soccer board some anomolies in the NSCAA rankings that might have left Otterbein out of the tournament if they didn't get their conference bid.  As it turned out they were a semi-finalist.  The OAC is like what Chris Berman used to call the NFC Norris division-- the teams battle every week and there is very little seperating the top four or five teams. Its been that way for years.  So, in short,  the conference play is almost a "trap" for ONU.  They are expected to win their conference games by the pollsters, so they are in an impossible situation.  Still, they've played some great ball and I expect them to stay strong throughout their season.

[woacfan]

Tonight's Games---

   4:30 PM  Mount Union  1  Kenyon  4  Final   
   7:00 PM  Penn St.-Behrend  0  Baldwin-Wallace  1  Final   
   7:00 PM  Otterbein  5  Heidelberg  0  Final

They're back.... ...Otterbein looks like they are picking it up for conference play..Now 2-0 in the OAC.

[deloar]

1st, thanks for keeping up the OAC women here. 

I've watched the last 4 Otterbein games.  They start and play a number of soph and frosh.  I think the JCU game was when they finally jelled.  At Heidelberg they really gained their confidence.  They are a very different team then they were a month ago.

[woacfan]

Agreed. 

First,  its nice to have another OAC voice here. 
Otterbein has a great coach and once the kids make the adjustment to college soccer the Cardinals will be back where they were at the top of the conference.

As a Blue Streaks' fan, the Otterbein loss was a wake up call.  I think JCU will compete for the championship, but they have a young squad too and I don't see the consistency yet.  The upcoming week should tell a lot about them.  They pummeled Hiram in a meaningless game, now they've got to win the conference matchups.

What are your thoughts on Otterbein v. ONU?  They play next Wednesday at 4 at Otterbein. 

[deloar]

Since I'm new to OAC soccer, I don't know.  I was expecting JCU to possible beat Otterbein.  They scored those 2 goals on corners and at least 1 at Heidelberg.  ONU looks like they can run the table.  The only Ottrrbein loss where they were out of it was Denison.  They had lost 3 strong scoters at that point.  One is now back.  Others out for season.  Others have surfaced.