Final Four

2xfaux · November 21, 2011, 12:18:30 PM

Four teams with, I think, 9 championships total to their credit. Some old and some newer. So, what happens now?

Jim Matson · November 21, 2011, 06:38:57 PM

It could be that the Messiah/William Smith match is the real final. WS has given up only two goals all season? That's crazy! And Messiah only four? Just as impressive.

Of the four semis, this will be the one to watch.

2xfaux · November 22, 2011, 03:14:15 PM

In my on going effort to avoid work I decided to look up the records of the coaches in the Final Four this year. I thought it would be impressive but I had no idea!!! I think these numbers are through last year.

Aliceann Wilber 423 wins
Pete Felske 363 wins
Scott Frey 229 wins
Mindy Quigg 228 wins

I think that adds up to 1243 wins for these four coaches.

Good grief that is staggering!!

Note to me. Hard work pays off. Guess I should get back to it.

Jim Matson · November 22, 2011, 10:30:58 PM

Nice!

2xfaux · November 25, 2011, 07:28:05 PM

I know from looking at the NCAA website that these four teams have been in 16 finals.

Wheaton has the best record of the four in finals at: 3-1
Ithaca 2-1
Messiah 3-3
W-S 1-2

I also know that this is Messiah's ninth final four. They lost in the semis to Puget Sound in 2004 and to TCNJ in 2006.

Can someone fill in other semi-final games for the others?

Mr. Ypsi · November 25, 2011, 07:41:56 PM

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 21, 2011, 06:38:57 PM
It could be that the Messiah/William Smith match is the real final. WS has given up only two goals all season? That's crazy! And Messiah only four? Just as impressive.

Of the four semis, this will be the one to watch.

Sorry to take so long to respond.

Jim, you are bending so far over to be objective, you're gonna land on your head! You and I both know that you (and I) believe that Wheaton will win it all.

They are not quite Bobby Knight - love him or hate him (I hated him), he was very efficient: 4 trips to the Final Four, four titles - but close: so far, 4 trips to the Final Four, 3 titles. I (and you, if you were not the neutral moderator!

) predict this year will be 4 out of 5!

2xfaux · November 26, 2011, 01:21:00 PM

So, Pete Felske is Wheaton's Bob Knight? Probably not in some ways. I seem to remember Mr. Ypsi declaring on the now defunct site a couple of years ago, "The winner will be #20." Four really good teams. It should be fun to watch.

Jim Matson · November 28, 2011, 07:01:44 PM

Ypsi, yes, of course I want to be objective! But even with my twisted Wheaton bias, it is plain to me that William Smith and Messiah are both very solid (and scary) sides. I just don't know if Wheaton can hang with them defensively - and that's looking past Ithaca, a team that beat undefeated Trinity 2-0.

William Smith might win this one based on their solid keeper and their very capable scoring machine. But Coach Frey is so capable...he'll make an adjustment and then the match changes; the Falcons are such fundamentally solid players that you'll rarely see them make a mistake.

I am really looking forward to this Friday. Every match will be worth watching.

And of course, D3soccer.com will be in San Antonio! Our writer/analyst Chris Shirk will be stalking the sidelines looking for the story....

cciwrabblerouser · November 30, 2011, 10:05:28 PM

guess i'll be the first to pick the winners and scores for the weekend:

Wheaton 2, Ithaca 1
William Smith 1, Messiah 1 (Messiah advances on PKs)

and the championship ...
Wheaton 2, Messiah 1 (2OT)

Jim Matson · November 30, 2011, 11:46:10 PM

Oh, that's a good looking prediction, but I have to post a different (and more accurate) future:

Wheaton 3, Ithaca 1
William Smith 2, Messiah 1 (OT) Gamewinner is off a set piece late in the 97th minute.

I won't say anything about the final, except that I think the first semi is the final

Mr. Ypsi · December 01, 2011, 01:34:01 AM

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 30, 2011, 11:46:10 PM
Oh, that's a good looking prediction, but I have to post a different (and more accurate) future:

Wheaton 3, Ithaca 1
William Smith 2, Messiah 1 (OT) Gamewinner is off a set piece late in the 97th minute.

I won't say anything about the final, except that I think the first semi is the final

Nice back-pedalling, Jim - earlier you said the other game was the final!

Even though you have to be objective

, glad to see you back on the Wheaton bus.

[Of course, I wish it could be the IWU bus.

]

Jim Matson · December 01, 2011, 06:50:43 PM

I wish that as well. Really. Every year, Illinois Wesleyan shows up as a strong contender, yet seems to drop out of the tournament sooner than expected. I think the Wesleyan team that took Wheaton to PKs is easily a Quarterfinal team. But consider that the Titans are now a fixture in the Top 25; Dave has built a great program there and the results speak strongly.

petemcb · December 02, 2011, 04:30:28 PM

Wheaton women up 2-0 with under 12 minutes to go in the semifinals!

petemcb · December 02, 2011, 04:43:48 PM

Wow, that was a hard-fought win for Wheaton today - at least the part of it that I could watch until my computer started buffering and I was switched over to strictly audio. Congratulations to the Wheaton women. One more now!

iwu70 · December 02, 2011, 07:31:21 PM

Good luck to Wheaton tomorrow, one more. Make the CCIW proud.

IWU70