2017 Season - National Perspective

[Mr.Right]

Messiah gets one back...60th minute 1-1

[4samuy]

I've seen Messiah on a few occassions this year, but tonight is the first time I've watched for an extended period.  Very impressed with their ability to keep the ball on a string and possess. Seem very structured and cohesive,  but I do question whether or not they have a "difference maker" on the offensive end.  Some one who has the technical skills, creativeness and pace to be dangerous and affect opposing teams game plans. They may have and I could be missing it.

[4samuy]

As soon as I post, a left footed strike by Kirby Robbins.  Is he the guy?

[Mr.Right]

This game getting stretched with about 13 minutes left...End to End by both sides

[Mr.Right]

As soon as I post, a little footed strike by Kirby Robbins.  Is he the guy?

I am no Messiah expert I just decided to tune in tonight to see how they would play after a tough game at Lycoming. They have plenty of skill and creativity IMO but seem to be lacking a clear finisher...Like Chicago's Lopez with his head..

[Mr.Right]

WOW...LVC clanks one off the post...tons of drama still left in this one

[Mr.Right]

1-1 LVC at Messiah heading to OT...GK for LVC playing very well

[Mr.Right]

Messiah wins it in the 105th minute 2-1 over LVC...Tough loss for LVC as you could say they deserved a draw but maybe they will see them again in the conference tournament

[rudy]

I think Messiah really missed Plaza tonight. Not sure if he will miss more games but he controls the center of the field. Hopefully he will be back soon.

[Falconer]

I think Messiah really missed Plaza tonight. Not sure if he will miss more games but he controls the center of the field. Hopefully he will be back soon.

For certain. When was he injured? How?

[rudy]

I think Messiah really missed Plaza tonight. Not sure if he will miss more games but he controls the center of the field. Hopefully he will be back soon.

For certain. When was he injured? How?

Don't know. Just noticed he didn't play tonight. He has had nagging injury I think last year and this year. Maybe just needs a rest hopefully.

[PaulNewman]

Horrendous own goal by CWRU gives North Park the win 3-2.

Kudos to CWRU's Coach Bianco (via OWU) for playing the nation's toughest schedule.  And CWRU must be the best school in the country that hardly anyone ever talks about.

[blooter442]

Horrendous own goal by CWRU gives North Park the win 3-2.

Kudos to CWRU's Coach Bianco (via OWU) for playing the nation's toughest schedule.  And CWRU must be the best school in the country that hardly anyone ever talks about.

I don't know if luck is the right word, but Case has had some brutal fortunes in the last few years. Eight one-goal losses last year, losing back-to-back away games in OT (including one in 2OT) on the final UAA weekend two years ago after being in the running for the conference title for most of the season, and now losing today in that manner after almost upsetting Chicago on the road last weekend. As for the school itself, it -- at least on the East Coast -- doesn't have a lot of fanfare, but it's a very good school.

[Gregory Sager]

Not the sharpest win of the season for NPU, but the Vikings will take it. That would've been a long five and a half hours on the busride home for them if they had faltered.

Now they can start to concentrate on Wednesday night. The Park needs to take care of business at home when the Vikings host North Central, which is currently 5-1-0 in CCIW play to NPU's 5-0-1, with one match apiece left after that. In other words, NPU can sew up the conference title and home-pitch advantage in the tourney by beating the Cardinals on Wednesday.

[Dubuquer]

One team that has really fallen off the national radar after their near-miss in 2015 is Loras (for good reason!)  They struggled last year and didn't even make the NCAAs.  And this year they struggled even more and were 4-5 at one point, having lost 3 in a row.  They came home from an embarrassing 3-1 loss to Nebraska Wesleyan, having not brought many of their top players (for having broken team rules following a loss to crosstown rival Dubuque).  Since then they have won 7 in a row and have looked like a different team.  While they will have to win the Iowa Conference tournament to get into the NCAAs if they do that they could be dangerous.

It's pretty well known that Loras has played a very direct style of soccer in the past and, while successful, that style has taken its share of criticism here.  This team is not that same one-trick pony.  This is my 10th year living in Dubuque and following Loras and I've never seen a Duhawk team with the level of individual skill from top to bottom that this one has.  They can string together passes in tight spaces and take opposing players on and making them look silly. In one 30 second sequence today defenders were nutmegged 3 times.  They are very young with a lot of first-years and sophomores starting and, in traditional Rothert fashion, play 25+ guys in a given game.  It seems to me that, in addition to some egregious defensive lapses, some of their early struggles this year might have been due to not knowing who they were: were they the direct-playing team of the past or were they going to be the more creative team that their personnel allowed for?  Even my non-soccer-aficionado wife is enjoying watching the team this year after getting frustrated with last year's kickball. 

Watching today's game against St Scholastica I noticed the Duhawks even had a couple quick re-starts, one of which led directly to a goal.  In the past they've never done that; every free-kick would get sent straight into the box.  Anyway, this got me thinking, are there teams out there that have been known to make significant changes in their playing styles from year to year (not due to a coaching change)?