2015 Great Lakes Region

[Domino1195]

DePauw is very much a defend-and-counter team as far as I can tell.  And that's been very, very effective in the past against OWU, and against other teams this year.  They did beat both Kenyon and Loras.

OWU made a few adjustments to their normal style of play in both games that made DePauw's strategy ineffective.  So unless OWU made a defensive mistake or DePauw had a piece of great individual skill - not coincidentally that's how they scored their goals in the first matchup - DePauw wasn't going to create much going forward.

"Stay Connected" - if I had a nickel for every time I heard a coach yell this I'd have a lot of nickels.  Staying connected is a shared responsibility.  What I've seen too many times at the collegiate level is the ball getting pushed to the front line and they "take off" - heads down - no awareness of their team shape or support.  Gonzalez did that a few times last night.  I know he's a bright kid - very skillful - but 1 v 4 are really bad odds, especially against a team like OWU.  Compare to Shaefer, who received the ball - pushed forward - saw poor numbers: waits.  Step on the ball and wait.  It takes less than 3-4 seconds for the lines to reconnect.

Kids are still learning how to see the field at this age, and what I've heard from many coaches is that "vision" - seeing the game - isn't necessarily a gift every player has.  Coaching can help - you limit player options when they find themselves in particular game situations - and you practice "decision making".  I also am surprised at how little film study goes on.  The best teacher is watching your performance - seeing what you did well and what needs improvement.

[Mr.Right]

Stepping on the ball and waiting is NOT the ANSWER. That is ruining your own counter attack by letting the defense get back and set up. The issue is not that he is 1v 4 the issue is he does not have enough guys working hard to push forward to help him on the counter.

[Mr.Right]

Alot of film study goes on. Some kids just do not respond to visual learning. Some kids do not want to be told they are not doing something right. Kids these days need constant pampering, attention and coddling. Think of a coach as a decently paid baby sitter for 2 hours a day.

[Domino1195]

Stepping on the ball and waiting is NOT the ANSWER. That is ruining your own counter attack by letting the defense get back and set up. The issue is not that he is 1v 4 the issue is he does not have enough guys working hard to push forward to help him on the counter.

Keep the counter going when you have equivalent/decent numbers: 2v3, 3v3, 3v4.  But the ball carrier has to have the awareness to know when the counter is running into numbers. Yes you can fault the middies for not keeping up on a single play, but when this pattern repeats intself throughout the game - somebody has to adjust.

OWU started the second half with 7 men back.  They let DPU have a little of the ball in their half and dared them to break OWU down.  They did well for 15 minutes but didn't get off any dangerous chances.  DPU tired or lost the will - not sure which - maybe both?  But OWU was back, with numbers, all second half.  Then they dropped Lee along side Barnes (interesting to see Barnes at CB) with 15 minutes (or so)  to go.  Credit OWU for showing how to protect a lead.  Maybe they can teach Mourinho??

[PaulNewman]

DePauw is very much a defend-and-counter team as far as I can tell.  And that's been very, very effective in the past against OWU, and against other teams this year.  They did beat both Kenyon and Loras.

OWU made a few adjustments to their normal style of play in both games that made DePauw's strategy ineffective.  So unless OWU made a defensive mistake or DePauw had a piece of great individual skill - not coincidentally that's how they scored their goals in the first matchup - DePauw wasn't going to create much going forward.

I know how DePauw beat Kenyon.  They were extremely fortunate on a bounce on an OT corner in a game they were dominated, albeit with fairly poor field conditions.  The win over Loras is more impressive to me and more of a head-scratcher.  I'm guessing they got an early goal off a counter and then Loras pressed the rest of the game and finally gave up another one late.

I am very impressed with Martin's adjustments and how he moved players both in and out of the line-up but even more so positionally.  He has every reason to have a more than healthy ego and a very stubborn "we are OWU, we don't adjust for anyone, make them adjust to us" framework, but he is smart enough and competitive enough" to not do that.  You can tell observing him on the sidelines and engaging his players that he is about winning and is going to do whatever he can tactically and with adjustments to do so.  It's easy to take him for granted, but after all he is the winningest coach in ALL divisions of NCAA soccer.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Great Lakes SOS

578   OWU
569   Allegheny
566   CMU
562   Wittenberg
557   DePauw
550   Denison
550   Hiram
545   Oberlin
527   Marietta
526   CWRU
526   Thomas More
526   Wilmington (OH)
522   Heidelberg
521   Capital
518   Wabash
514   Geneva
511   Rose-Hulman
510   Kenyon
509   Anderson (IN)
508   John Carroll
506   Hanover
505   Grove City
504   Waynesburg
502   Bethany (WV)
502   Wooster
498   D'Youville
495   Otterbein
494   Westminster (PA)
490   ONU
490   Wash&Jeff
489   Franklin
479   Earlham
478   Medialle
475   Manchester
474   Muskingkum
472   Baldwin Wallace
472   Berea
472   Transylvania
471   Saint Vincent
466   Mount Aloysius
463   Mt. St. Joseph
462   La Roche
461   Thiel
451   Mount Union
451   PSU-Behrend
451   Pitt-Greensburg
449   Fransican
448   Pitt-Bradford
443   Hilbert
435   Defiance
426   Bluffton
426   PSU-Altoona

[Ryan Harmanis]

Also note that, for the "secret" rankings, CMU (Case), DePauw (OWU), and especially OWU (Kenyon) will get bumps on that SOS metric because of away games against good teams.

[PaulNewman]

Last I checked Ohio Northern up 1-0 on Heidelberg and Cap and JCU tied.

I don't spend a lot of time fretting over other team's misfortunes (just being honest), but if ONU wins they'll be 17-4.  I really like Oberlin and for me Oberlin was/is the 3rd best team in the NCAC, but (and Kenyon benefited A LOT from Oberlin getting ranked) I really have to question ONU not getting that 8th spot.  I know the answer....the SoS, stupid....but still.  ONU is a serious program, only 3 years removed from a championship final appearance, with another coach who knows what he's doing.  I know I'm beating a dead horse, but they went to the trouble of making a trip to New England (no other GL team has gone to NE as far as I know at least in recent years), and in addition to Wheaton and Babson (two NCAA teams last year), they scheduled OWU, Case, and Brockport (Brockport was another interesting choice).  That's FIVE very legit out-of-conference teams.  They somehow are stuck with a SoS of .490.  Just doesn't look or smell like a .490 schedule to me.  I know the OAC is usually a 1 bid conference, but the OAC isn't a joke.  It has a long history and there are some competitive teams. 

I don't expect any changes as I presume D3 soccer is pretty low on the NCAA's list of concerns.

OAC final is ONU vs JCU.  Should be a good one.  JCU now 14-4-1 with a .508 SoS earlier this week.  They played these 6 out-of-conference games all AWAY, and look where it got them -- Puget Sound ($$$), Elmhurst, NC Wesleyan, Methodist, Case, and Geneva.

[Domino1195]

Last I checked Ohio Northern up 1-0 on Heidelberg and Cap and JCU tied.

I don't spend a lot of time fretting over other team's misfortunes (just being honest), but if ONU wins they'll be 17-4.  I really like Oberlin and for me Oberlin was/is the 3rd best team in the NCAC, but (and Kenyon benefited A LOT from Oberlin getting ranked) I really have to question ONU not getting that 8th spot.  I know the answer....the SoS, stupid....but still.  ONU is a serious program, only 3 years removed from a championship final appearance, with another coach who knows what he's doing.  I know I'm beating a dead horse, but they went to the trouble of making a trip to New England (no other GL team has gone to NE as far as I know at least in recent years), and in addition to Wheaton and Babson (two NCAA teams last year), they scheduled OWU, Case, and Brockport (Brockport was another interesting choice).  That's FIVE very legit out-of-conference teams.  They somehow are stuck with a SoS of .490.  Just doesn't look or smell like a .490 schedule to me.  I know the OAC is usually a 1 bid conference, but the OAC isn't a joke.  It has a long history and there are some competitive teams. 

I don't expect any changes as I presume D3 soccer is pretty low on the NCAA's list of concerns.

OAC final is ONU vs JCU.  Should be a good one.  JCU now 14-4-1 with a .508 SoS earlier this week.  They played these 6 out-of-conference games all AWAY, and look where it got them -- Puget Sound ($$$), Elmhurst, NC Wesleyan, Methodist, Case, and Geneva.

ONU plays more like a NCAC team when they are in control of the game and dictating the tempo and style of game. Their back two lines are a fortress, lots of pressure on the ball when it gets into their defensive third. 

JCU pressures the ball very well also.  JCU prefers to get the ball wide, push it to the corner and whip in crosses.  They have some BIG, solid kids who are excellent at getting on the end of these crosses.  ONU comes at you in more ways - and Horton has the ability to go at defenders and create chances down the middle.  Slight edge to ONU with more options on the attacking side.

This final is decided by which team exerts their will on the game.  JCU did that last night at Capital from the opening whistle.  Credit to Cap to fight back to level the game twice, especially when they were reacting to JCU for much of the evening. 

[PaulNewman]

I don't spend a lot of time fretting over other team's misfortunes (just being honest), but if ONU wins they'll be 17-4.  I really like Oberlin and for me Oberlin was/is the 3rd best team in the NCAC, but (and Kenyon benefited A LOT from Oberlin getting ranked) I really have to question ONU not getting that 8th spot.  I know the answer....the SoS, stupid....but still.  ONU is a serious program, only 3 years removed from a championship final appearance, with another coach who knows what he's doing.  I know I'm beating a dead horse, but they went to the trouble of making a trip to New England (no other GL team has gone to NE as far as I know at least in recent years), and in addition to Wheaton and Babson (two NCAA teams last year), they scheduled OWU, Case, and Brockport (Brockport was another interesting choice).  That's FIVE very legit out-of-conference teams.  They somehow are stuck with a SoS of .490.  Just doesn't look or smell like a .490 schedule to me.  I know the OAC is usually a 1 bid conference, but the OAC isn't a joke.  It has a long history and there are some competitive teams. 

I don't expect any changes as I presume D3 soccer is pretty low on the NCAA's list of concerns.

OAC final is ONU vs JCU.  Should be a good one.  JCU now 14-4-1 with a .508 SoS earlier this week.  They played these 6 out-of-conference games all AWAY, and look where it got them -- Puget Sound ($$$), Elmhurst, NC Wesleyan, Methodist, Case, and Geneva.

One final point about how arbitrariness (and luck) can figure into SoS, which, along with teams earning home field for conference tournaments being penalized for that, I think is a problem.

Schools have no control over their conference schedules and how fortunately or unfortunately they fall.  Consider that (and despite that we're trained to think of big games at home as a good thing) OWU this year got to play DePauw, Denison, Wabash, and Oberlin AWAY, with only Kenyon at home (which even at home was a big net plus playing what is now a 16 win team), and now getting that same 16 win team again with an even bigger bump AWAY tomorrow.  Kenyon had those same four teams at HOME, and only had OWU away, and now a penalized benefit for playing OWU again at home.  Switch those four teams (the other four best records in the conference by far) for OWU and Kenyon, and consider the extra bonus bump OWU is getting for playing Kenyon twice, and my guess is that their relative SoS's come out almost even, or at least much, much closer.

[Ommadawn]

PK by Kenyon saved by OWU keeper.  Still 0-0. 42'

[Ommadawn]

Amolo puts Kenyon up 1-0 early in the second half.

[Ommadawn]

And shortly thereafter, Kenyon header goal puts them up 2-0.

[Ommadawn]

OWU pulls one back with a minute to play.  Kenyon 2-1

[Ommadawn]

And 30 seconds later OWU equalizes!