MIAC 2014

[GarbageGoals33]

Looks like I chose 4-1 for the wrong game...

GAC beats CarlEton 1-0 in a very tightly contested game.  Shots were 12-6 in favor of GAC with CarlEton outshooting GAC 6-5 with SOG.  Corners were 5-4 in favor of the Gusties.  The GAC field is in below average condition which is very unfortunate.  GAC Man of The Match was GK Ylonen in my opinion.  He came off of his line to claim through balls and crosses to perfection today.  Additionally, he made a delightful diving save to preserve the shutout late in the second half.  If Superman had a much smaller younger brother it would probably be Ylonen.  MIAC player of the decade Zach Brown notched the GW on a thumping header from a  perfectly weighted cross by Roth.

GAC plays SJU who crushed Saint Olaf 4-1.  Since making their unimpressive team video Saint Olaf has gone 0-2.  I assume the Oles have played themselves out of NCAA tournament contention with that semi-final loss pushing GAC ahead of them in the NCAA regional rankings.  GAC will hopefully avenge an earlier season defeat on Saturday when they host the fiesty Johnnies.

[repete]

Nice to see the Johnnies book a return trip to the finals.

Oles looked horrible. Outshot 7-1 as SJU built its 3-0 first half lead, then spent the second giving minutes everywhere. Lebahn left with a clean sheet before the backup let in a weak score in the final 10 minutes.

[GarbageGoals33]

Saint Johns is the hottest team in the MIAC right now, unbeaten/untied in their last 7 games only giving up 3 goals.  It is going to be a slug fest on Saturday down in San Pedro.  I am really hoping that the gentlemen (Jorge Oconitrillo) who was the ref last time these two met is not officiating the final.  He was the head ref for the GAC/CarlEton game today so I would think that makes it pretty unlikely he does Saturdays match.  Hopefully Artie Sher or Jeremy Schroeder (SJU Alum) get the nod for Saturday, they are two of the top refs in the midwest, in my opinion.

Saint Johns has had Jorge Oconitrillo officiate two of their MIAC matches this season (GAC and Concordia), they earned one yellow card between the two matches.  In their remaining 8 MIAC matches they earned 19 yellow cards and a red card.

My prediction is 2-1 GAC.
 

[GarbageGoals33]

Here are my predictions for the MIAC POY, COY, and a few all-conference selections...

MIAC COY: Kurt Anderson St. Olaf.  I think that the SJU coach is probably a close second.  SJU turned it on late in the season finishing very close to the top of the table and they will be playing in the MIAC playoff championship Saturday.  One thing to consider is how badly SJU outplayed (out coached?) St. Olaf yesterday in that 4-1 throttling.

MIAC POY: David Lilly from GAC.  Lilly is likely only 1st team all-region caliber midfielder in the conference (Adams from GAC and Stockman-Willis from UST are likely second team all-region performers).  Lilly has 7 assists in conference play with no goals.  He is a tremendous two-way player for the Gusties helping them to the best GAA in the league with rotating keepers and a fairly inexperienced backline as well as the top scoring team in the league.  Zach Brown has been a fantastic player for GAC the last 4 years but without David Lilly in the lineup this team wouldn't be half the team they are today.  Undlin from St. Olaf is a close 2nd.  Undlin led the conference in goals but scored only two goals in regular season play against top 6 opposition (one against CarlEton and one against St. Thomas).  Cammarota from CarlEton put together a nice season statistically but his statistics would likely be half of what they are without the attention that McGarrity draws.  I expect McGarrity to take the POY honors his senior season. 

I do not know every player from every team but here is what I see for potential all-conference selections:

GAC: Lilly, Brown, Adams. 
Honorable Mention: Tollefsrud, Bjerk, and Leach (several goals for a back, top GAA in the league)

St. Olaf: Undlin, Skrip
Honorable Mention: Sukati and Braman

UST: Stockman-Willis
Honorable Mention: Shane Marshall

CarlEton: McGarrity and Cammarota
HM: ?

SJU: Neiderloh,LeBahn
HM: Heinselman

Augsburg: Ben Henry
HM: Grant Griffin

MAC: Burrows
HM: Schembri-Wismayer

[Sir Victor]

POY should and will be Zach Brown. I have seen the Gusties play many games over the past 4 years and while Lilly has been an integral to their success, Zach Brown changes games. 

[jimmy92]

POY isn't a cumulative award. It's based on this year and you're kidding yourself if you think anyone but Jens Undlin is going to win it.

[gustiefan04]

GAC up 1-0 at half.

Very windy conditions. Looks cold out there.

[gustiefan04]

GAC up 2-0 with 10 left to play!

[repete]

Congrats to the Gusties!

[jimmy92]

Congratulations to Gustavus. Without a doubt the best team in the MIAC this season. Well deserved!

[gustiefan04]

Strong showing yesterday by the Gusties. St Johns played a tough game but we're unable to break through a gutsy gustavus defense. Ylonen looked fantastic in net. He may not be very tall, but he really gets up there, pulling crosses down.

I must admit, I was nervous about having to play SJU again as GAC didn't handle the physical play well last time and I thought the Johnnies were deserving of their 1-0 result. This time around however, GAC set the tone early and were the more physical side.

The unfortunate thing is that with GAC earning the conference AQ, it's highly unlikely the MIAC gets 2 teams through to the NCAA tournament. Olaf bowing out early in the semifinals, and by such a significant margin is going to hurt their chances at a pool c. Carleton was in last weeks regional rankings, but I seriously doubt they get through. The Johnnies were missing from the rankings last week, but have a pretty strong SOS. Is the thrashing the gave Olaf enough to warrant inclusion in the final secret rankings and get them into the tournament?

[GarbageGoals33]

Nice win for the Gusties yesterday, well deserved MIAC playoff championship. Credit to Saint Johns for the run they had at the end of the season, very impressive. Their style of play in this match vs, their first match against GAC was much different. The johnnies looked to try and possess the ball and at times put some really nice passing sequences together.

Hopefully GAC represents the MIAC well in the NCAA tournament as the MIAC has had below average results over the last few seasons.  I would hate to be the team(s) that run into this GAC squad in the NCAA tournament. The seniors have now earned a right to play in the dance three consecutive seasons. It's time to see a nice run from these guys!

I don't think the gusties will host, which is a good thing. Their field is in below average condition and it is going to snow 8-10 inches tomorrow  .

I could see GAC placed into the following bracket.

Wartburg (host) vs. St. Scholastica
GAC vs. UWW

While the rest of the region being paired as follows

Loras (host) vs. Caroll
Wheaton vs. UWO

[gustiefan04]

You think UWO gets in? Last year they shipped the SLIAC team up north...could see that again. If the Iowa schools are both fortunate enough to host, we may even see a central region team in the groupings, perhaps elmhurst?

[GarbageGoals33]

I think that both UWW and UWO have a pretty strong chance to earn a Pool C bid and one of them will be earning a Pool B bid for sure.

[dontshootthegoose]

Only way both WIAC schools get in is if UWO grabs the pool B.  Otherwise  1-2-2 , and only one impressive victory, UWO is out