Wiac 2014

dontshootthegoose · September 22, 2014, 11:48:41 PM

With a start to a crazy season for all the WIAC teams, I'm interested how the year will play out.

UW- Oshkosh is 4-3-1 with a loss to MSOE who UWW beat. But yesterday had a rather impressive tie (almost win) over Loras.

UW- Platteville is 3-3-2 with a rather bad start to their year but have got hot lately.

UW- Superior is 5-3 with an overtime win against Finlandia?

UW- Whitewater is 4-2-1 with a loss to Simpson who Superior beat and a tie to Dubuque who both Platteville and Superior beat.

And then there is Finlandia who battled Superior valiantly.

This is becoming a very interesting and open race battle heading into Conference play soon.

casualfan · September 23, 2014, 11:41:49 AM

It has been a wild start with some headscratching results for WIAC teams. With that, more than likely one team will make the NCAA tournament with an independent Pool B bid. Who will it be?... No frontrunner as of now that's for sure. The conference season should help explain some things, but with only 4 conference matches per team, it's hard to determine who is best. This is how I imagine they'll finish at season's end.

1. UWO
2. UWW
3. UWS
4. UWP
5. Finlandia

dontshootthegoose · September 23, 2014, 09:50:23 PM

I completely agree, it is to early to judge this years race. It will all come down to conference play again. Oshkosh with another loss tonight against North Park. Platteville goes out to Wartburg tomorrow and Whitewater plays Carthage at home tomorrow. Both interesting games. I believe it will be a three way race between Superior, Oshkosh, and Whitewater. I also could see two teams possibly making it this year. Oshkosh is young but fiery when they get going. Superior seems like they have a couple of goal scorers. And whitewater is hard to judge.

casualfan · September 24, 2014, 11:12:39 AM

Good points. From what it looks like, Oshkosh is playing the toughest schedule would should prepare them nicely for the conference season. Whitewater has some tough ones coming up as well. In order to the Warhawks to be in the mix for the Pool B bid, they need to get a signature win I think. A win or two over Carthage, North Park, Chicago, St. Norbert could do a lot as all are teams with decent seasons going. Superior will be in the mix due to their grittiness (borderline dirtiness), and they have some quality players who can make things happen. But that Finlandia overtime win worries me. Platteville will make the top three work for it and may nick a win or a draw against one, but they don't have the squad to run the table.

D3 Scout · September 24, 2014, 11:36:52 AM

Havent seen much of the other teams in the WIAC but UWW might play the ugliest form of organized soccer that I have seen in years. They play with a sweeper and anyone in the defense or midfield look like they are instructed to kick it as far as they can as soon as they get the ball on their foot. Against Simpson they struggled to connect more than two passes without a panic "boot" up to the forwards. All chances seem to come off long throws when they target their 6 6 center forward. To their credit they do generate a lot of throws in the attacking third. Hopefully the kids shoulders can take all the throws this season.

I do agree with causalfan though. UWW needs to bolster their resume with a few key wins. In 2011 UWW was 8-0 in conference with a subpar non-conference record (4-7), with only quality wins against IWU and UST. This could be shaping up to be the same kind of season.

Puerco Espin · September 24, 2014, 05:29:16 PM

@wiacwatcher so they've adopted the Loras style? Sweeper hangs back and backs blast it forward for everyone to run under?

casualfan · September 25, 2014, 12:52:03 PM

UWW loses a 4-3 ot decision to Carthage last night. Down 3-0, come back on 3 long throw-in goals to tie it 3-3. Carthage gets a red right before overtime. Then the Red Men take down the Warhawks 3 minutes into overtime. Devastating result I'm sure.

UWP gets a decent result with a 0-0 tie with Wartburg.

UWS beats Hamline 2-0 in a game they should win.

Looking forward to the weekend, we have an interesting conference matchup between UWS & UWP which should explain where each of these teams currently stand and provide us with who will compete in conference.

Then, UWO takes on Concordia-Wisconsin who seem to be struggling so should be a comfortable win for the Titans. They've gone through a rough stretch of games recently with some disappointing results, but it could prove to be valuable later in the season.

UWW has an away match on Friday at Augustana and then come home Saturday to play North Central. Two CCIW opponents back to back days with a roadtrip in there as well. Could be a tough way to get 2 wins.

D3 Scout · September 25, 2014, 01:24:12 PM

To a certain extent. Anyone who is not a forward has authority to blast it forward. As casualfan said... they scored all 3 of their goals on long throws against Carthage

dontshootthegoose · September 29, 2014, 06:55:59 PM

About midway through the season and here's how the WIAC stands.

SCHOOL   WIAC   POINTS   OVERALL   PCT.   HOME   AWAY   NEUTRAL   STREAK
UW-Superior   2-0   6   7-3   0.700   1-2   4-1   2-0   W2
UW-Platteville   1-1   3   4-4-3   0.500   2-1-1   1-2-2   1-1-0   W1
UW-Whitewater   0-0   0   6-3-1   0.650   2-2-1   4-1-0   0-0-0   W2
UW-Oshkosh   0-0   0   6-4-1   0.591   3-2-0   3-2-1   0-0-0   W2
Finlandia   0-2   0   3-5   0.375   0-1   2-4   1-0   L3

Superior ended up beating Platteville 3-1 after going down a goal early. While Platteville, a game before, tied Wartburg. Oshkosh tied a stumbling Loras team, lost to North Park, and destroyed both Concordia Wisconsin and Carroll. Whitewater lost to Carthage 4-3 in overtime, and then beat Augustana and North Central a day after one another. Oshkosh and Whitewater seem to get things finally going and Superior is staying strong. Looking forward to this Superior Oshkosh battle this weekend.

D3 Scout · September 30, 2014, 11:12:20 AM

I would hardly say that Loras is "stumbling". At 8-1-1, Loras has gone through a tough non-conference and once again seems like the "Top Dog" in the region.

A sweep of the CCIW teams would have been impressive this last week for UWW, but falling short to Carthage is hopefully not a theme for the rest of the season. UWW could add to their resume over their next 6 games as they play St. Norbert, Chicago, UW Superior and North Park. To be a tournament contender they will have to go at least 2-1-1 if not 3-1.

UWS plays UWO this weekend and then plays St. Olaf a week later. Two wins will get people talking about this team.

UWO needs to not lose another matchup or get a lot help to be a contender. They have beat up on lesser competition but have not delivered in their big games 0-2-1 (GAC, Loras, NP).

UWP still has Wheaton, Loras and Luther all on their schedule. Only positive for them is that all these matches are at home. Good luck UWP, may the odds be ever in your favor

Puerco Espin · September 30, 2014, 01:01:58 PM

To be fair, despite the 8-1-1 record, Loras has not been up to par compared to their previous seasons.

Through 10 games, Loras has only managed three shutouts and has allowed 13 goals. For reference, in 2013, Loras allowed 15 goals total, with five of those 13 coming in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, Loras allowed 11 goals, with three coming in the NCAA Tournament.

I'm 100 percent sure at this point what has been the reason for the dropoff in the defense. As a fan, I should be happy with the 8-1-1 record, but am having a hard time adjusting to the fact that they are giving up a lot of goals.

casualfan · September 30, 2014, 01:05:36 PM

Like Puerco stated, an 8-1-1 record is impressive but the way that the Duhawks have gone about that is not Loras-like. Too many goals given up to this point which does not translate well going into conference play. Luther has looked stout in defense as usual and Wartburg able to score at will. We'll see how the Duhawks can turn it around defensively.

I'm just beginning to think that the WIAC has 3 pretty good teams without a top dog that can compete with the region's best teams. Superior, Oshkosh, and Whitewater can all beat teams that they should, but each have failed to get a signature win. Yes, Oshkosh got a tie at Loras which is a decent result. But aside from that, all 3 squads have yet to win a big game. I don't imagine more than one team making the NCAA tournament. And to be honest, that one team will probably have a first round exit.

As of now, it's hard to pick a front runner but I'll go with UW-Superior right now because of their two remaining conference games are at home against UWO and UWW.

dontshootthegoose · November 04, 2014, 09:36:57 PM

Conference Tournament starts tomorrow

Predictions

UWO - Platteville 3-1

UWW- Superior 2-1

WarhawkFan · November 05, 2014, 12:37:36 AM

Can't see Platteville, who is missing leading points getter Mbodje due to 5 yellows, and starting GK due to a red vs UWW, getting anything going against UWO. 3-0 sounds more like it unless they get a cheap goal once UWO puts their subs in. Also predicting a fight in this game. A frustrating season for UWP culminating in a potentially embarrassing loss away could get the better some UWP players, or should UWP keep it close a desperate UWO team could get a bit chippy. Either way should be a physical battle.

2-1 sounds like a good score line for UWW/UWS but that will all depend on which Superior team shows up: the beginning of the year Superior or the slumping 4 straight losses (one against Lawrence University) Superior. Regardless of current form though, Superior is sure to get up for this game as it's their last chance to salvage anything from this season.

casualfan · November 05, 2014, 10:00:48 AM

Good points Warhawk Fan, I didn't realize Mbodje Sarr received his 5th yellow. That will be a tough loss along with Sibik. They'll be lucky to create any chances, and extremely lucky to not give one up. Could get ugly. 4-0 UWO.

It's likely that we'll see the Superior that always gives UWW trouble. They get up for big games, and they'll fight you til the end. UWW has potential to win this handily, but a low scoring affair is more likely. I'll go with 1-0 UWW, but I could see it going the other way with the same scoreline. Set pieces will be the determining factor as it has been most of the season for UWW.