UAA 2019

[blue_jays]

Calvin taken to OT three times this year - at home; has played two teams with a winning record. Chicago's 5 road games YTD (2 home) were against substantial opponents.  I did see some of Calvin's victory over ONU - can attack as we've seen in the past. Have conceded 8 goals against lesser competition - conceded 9 goals in all of the regular season last year. No doubt they will be up for this game but they are not the defensive team of the past.

Fair enough, and upon further reflection they also did lose a lot of offensive production last year. I guess I didn't realize how much of the scoring load Witte, McCaw, et al carried. Even so, I didn't ever really consider Calvin to be a "defensive" team, although Vegter was an absolute stud and his loss can't be understated.

As for Chicago, the win against Loras on Friday night was impressive, but it seemed like a smash-and-grab based on the shot count — Chicago's recap even described it as "opportunistic" finishing. Defensively they have been solid, and I do think Katsimpalis could be as good as Bonin was in net, and the GAA of 0.75 speaks to that.

What I think prompted this observation, though, is that these early-season Chicago results remind me of the 2015 season, when — having fallen ass-backwards into the UAA title the previous year (going 5-0-2 in conference yet 6-5 out of conference) they started 2015 5-0 and seemed ready to be anointed repeat UAA champions — but I felt that the results were relatively unconvincing. In the sixth game, they got smacked 4-0 at home by Loras. That was really when the dam burst: they won just two of their next seven and they almost missed the NCAA tournament (a 3-2 2OT win against WashU from 2-0 down in the last game of the season likely proved crucial in their selection). They were a young team at that point — actually I do think in terms of sheer talent (Koh, Lopez, etc. were freshmen) they were more talented than Brandeis, who won the UAA that year, but Brandeis was more experienced and ground out sixteen one-goal wins. A reverse from the previous year when the Judges went 17-2 in the regular season versus Chicago's 11-5-2 but Chicago won the conference. Moreover, Chicago matured a lot following that year (the first of 3 consecutive conference titles). However, I don't think this team is as strong as any of the teams 2015 to present, and definitely not offensively.

Moreover, Calvin throttled Chicago 4-1 last year in that NCAA game, and that could have been five or six, they were that dominant. Chicago's 1-0 win at Calvin earlier that year seemed a million miles away from that, the Maroons got absolutely ripped apart. That still weighs pretty heavily on the mind, although admittedly neither team is 100% the same. Moreover, Chicago's leading scorer thus far has three goals and they have scored a total of 10 goals in 7 games — worth noting that Chicago has played a tougher slate; still, not exactly awe-inspiring offensive production, and the four ties speak to that. Put all those factors with Calvin playing at home, and I have a tough time seeing anything other than a Calvin win.

Could Chicago win? Absolutely. Moreover, I am well aware that no two years are the same. Still, can't get by my hunch. I guess it's up to the Maroons to prove me wrong.

If by "ass backwards" you meant "dominated defensively". In 2014, UChicago gave up 1 goal in 7 conference games, and made the second round of NCAAs. Bonin's save percentage that year was .840.

[blooter442]

If by "ass backwards" you meant "dominated defensively". In 2014, UChicago gave up 1 goal in 7 conference games, and made the second round of NCAAs. Bonin's save percentage that year was .840.

They were stingy defensively in conference, I'll give you that, and Bonin was a good choice for UAA RoY, but not sure I would call it dominating defensively — I'd use that label for Tufts conceding two goals in the whole of 2017 playing an SoS well north of .600 (while being sure to note that Chicago's SoS has been top three in the country the past several years). Anyway, to me, dominating defensively would mean that Chicago was equally strong in that area in non-conference games —  I certainly don't think losing five non-conference games was in the plan. That being said, you have to hand it to them for pulling it together when it mattered.

As for tonight's game, seem to be a relatively even contest, with Calvin's quick start (and a couple of big moments going for the hosts) proving the difference.

[WUPHF]

Washington University needed 104 minute to get the 1-0 win over crosstown rival Webster.  The Bears were yet again in the right place at the right time.  The Webster GK bobbed the ball and Makio Yamamoto capitalized. 

31 shots, 14 corners and countless well played offensive sequences.

[MaturinNYC]

And here we are, the UAA 2019 kicks off this weekend!  Last chance to get your picks in people – and while there have been some eyebrow raising results so far in the non-conference games, the UAA guarantees action every time.  Since this is all for fun, and since Buck O. can't be the only guy here doing number-crunching research, I awarded 3 points for each accurate prediction based on current standings (i.e. based soley on win % and as reported on the UAASports.info site) – and here's the early pre-conference leaderboard:   

CURRENT (ranked by team win % - all teams 0-0-0 in UAA): 
Top 3: Rochester, WashU, Chicago
Mid 3: Brandeis, Emory, Case   
Last 2: Carnegie, NYU   

Buck O.:    18 PTS
Top three:  Case, Chicago, WashU
Second three:  Deis, Emory, Rochester
Last two:  CMU, NYU

RollDeisRoll     15 PTS
Top 3: Rochester, Chicago, Deis (a bit biased, but who cares)
Mid 3: NYU, Case, Wash U
Bottom (but still competitive): Emory, Carnegie

Dr.Walk-On*    12 PTS
Top 3: Case, NYU, UR
Mid 3 : Brandeis, Chicago, Emory*
Bottom 2: Carnegie, WashU

MaturinNYC:    9 PTS
Top 3:   CWRU, NYU, ROC
Mid 3:   BRA, CHI, WAS
Lower 2:  CAR, EMR

*Dr.Walk-On originally had 3 teams in bottom tier, so I moved his Emory pick up a rung and got him 3 pts., as a favor to a recent grad - last one though... ;-)

No surprise that BuckO – a keen observer of the league – has so far proven the most accurate, but can he keep the lead over 28 games?  Will the recent grads RollDeisRoll & Dr.Walk-On prove that their knowledge and insights prevail?  Will I get out of the cellar at all?  We'll know more after Carnegie Mellon & Brandeis get things rolling, Saturday at 1:30pm.  Good luck all (except when you're playing my team ;-)!

[WUPHF]

Washington University defeated Greenville 3-0.

Greenville had 5-6 counters that were absolutely scary but had little else to offer. 

[Mr.Right]

Big game tonight for Brandeis. They sit at 4-2-3 but are 1-1-3 in their last 5 games against decent but not top competition in New England. The win was against Mitchell and it does seem that Margolis found the need in the off season to pick up another easy game to go along with its yearly Mass Maritime beatdown. That possibly could show the lack of confidence he had in the upcoming season.I have not seen them play yet this year but I saw them enough last year to get a grasp of what's going on. I see a lot of the same pieces on the roster from last year with Walter, Burch, Hennessey, Gans etc etc.. I do not see Nardizzi, quit? Transfer? I thought he was a decent enough player but not what Brandeis needed or was expecting. He was remarkably lazy compared to Brandeis strikers of the past and not a tough kid at all. He did score 6 goals but I didn't really rate him as a finisher. Brandeis was soft last year but still have plenty of skill and talent on this roster but its spine had to get more physical. Not sure if Brandeis is having these same problems or new ones.

Brandeis has dominated this matchup going clean basically this whole decade as they are 7-0-1 v MIT in their last 8 games. Interestingly, the one year MIT got a draw was against Brandeis most talented team this decade in 2015. MIT is 4-0-4 and probably plodding along so could be a good matchup

[OldNed]

Big game tonight for Brandeis. They sit at 4-2-3 but are 1-1-3 in their last 5 games against decent but not top competition in New England. The win was against Mitchell and it does seem that Margolis found the need in the off season to pick up another easy game to go along with its yearly Mass Maritime beatdown. That possibly could show the lack of confidence he had in the upcoming season.I have not seen them play yet this year but I saw them enough last year to get a grasp of what's going on. I see a lot of the same pieces on the roster from last year with Walter, Burch, Hennessey, Gans etc etc.. I do not see Nardizzi, quit? Transfer? I thought he was a decent enough player but not what Brandeis needed or was expecting. He was remarkably lazy compared to Brandeis strikers of the past and not a tough kid at all. He did score 6 goals but I didn't really rate him as a finisher. Brandeis was soft last year but still have plenty of skill and talent on this roster but its spine had to get more physical. Not sure if Brandeis is having these same problems or new ones.

Brandeis has dominated this matchup going clean basically this whole decade as they are 7-0-1 v MIT in their last 8 games. Interestingly, the one year MIT got a draw was against Brandeis most talented team this decade in 2015. MIT is 4-0-4 and probably plodding along so could be a good matchup

Nardizzi transferred to Framingham State, where I believe he's playing with his brother.

[Ommadawn]

Nardizzi transferred to Framingham State, where I believe he's playing with his brother.

Yep, he's playing with his two younger brothers, but appears to be hurt at the moment, as he did not play in yesterday's game against Springfield.

[blooter442]

Brandeis gets out of UAA opening day with a 2-0 win. Two goals in the first 7 minutes of the second half. Brandeis was objectively the stronger team and won most of the 50/50s and second balls. They seem to be really focusing on pressing given their relative lack of size and to be fair they seem to do it well. Panson finally seems to be getting stuck in — someone opined to me that he is "small" but the kid is 6', that is not small particularly in this team. He played a nice game, as did DeNight when he came on and Burch at RB looked really good on both sides of the ball. I also like FY Norris, who scored the first goal. Irwin was solid — he has looked so much better the last 7 or so games than he did all of last season. Think him getting the starting job without being platooned with Cohen (whom I don't think is playing this year) did a world of good for his confidence. Carnegie has some nice players and kept it tidy with passing but did not have any real penetration except for one shot cleared off the line at 0-0. In keeping with the last few meetings between these teams it was comparatively a bit ill-tempered but no major flash points (unlike 2017 where there was a melee at the final whistle). With all the parity this year Brandeis looks able to crack the top 25 but Carnegie seems to be below their normal standards so that may be a red herring. Still, 6-2-3 means they've almost matched last year's win total while keeping the losses down. Still think they could have avoided the Wheaton/etc. ties but based on today like what I see in terms of work rate and potential.

[WUPHF]

Chicago over Emory 5-0. Wow!

[blue_jays]

Chicago over Emory 5-0. Wow!

Emory took a page from the Elmhurst book: they put everyone behind the ball the whole first half and hoped for the best. It almost worked, right until UChicago scored a corner kick right before halftime. Then, just like Elmhurst, Emory pressed and opened themselves up, and the Maroons burned em to cinders in the second half. UC doesn't have a Lopez or Koh that strikes fear in your heart, but they are still opportunistic and dangerous. Give em an inch, they'll take a mile. Also, Ruark's triple juke and back heel pass in his 1v1 might be assist of the year.

[WUPHF]

Thanks for that update on the Chicago-Emory game and the heads-up on that Kyle Ruark assist.

Thankfully the Chicago SID posted it on Twitter. Definitely something to see: https://twitter.com/i/status/1180574542613360640

Also, checking in on the Case Western Reserve-NYU game and the Spartans trail 2-0.

[rolldeisroll]

Once again, the Carnegie Mellon coach did not shake everyone's hands in the line yesterday. He got about halfway through the Brandeis players and just turned around and walked to his bench. That's now the third year in a row he's done that. He got chirped by some recent Brandeis alumni in the beer tent as he was walking away as they saw the whole thing, and they dealt with it when they were playing

[blue_jays]

Once again, the Carnegie Mellon coach did not shake everyone's hands in the line yesterday. He got about halfway through the Brandeis players and just turned around and walked to his bench. That's now the third year in a row he's done that. He got chirped by some recent Brandeis alumni in the beer tent as he was walking away as they saw the whole thing, and they dealt with it when they were playing

Par for the course for that guy, surprised he even went in the line ... he's a real peach and has proven it throughout his career...

[WUPHF]

Washington University gets the 1-0 win at home over Rochester. Only got to watches 20 minutes or so online. I love this team.