Big Dance

[Hopkins92]

OK, maybe just watching the Flying Dutchmen's barn get burned.

2-0 OWU with 11 minutes left.

Holy wow are they nasty on the counter. Hector Gomez with a special goal there to pretty much put it away. 1 v. 4/5 depending on your math.

[blue_jays]

That second OWU goal was an absolute howler for the Hope defense. Not even going full speed, he dribbles past 6 players going in a straight line, with nary a one challenging him, and beats the keeper going to far post on the ground. OOF

[Hopkins92]

OWU somehow found another gear, especially after the 1st goal.  The guys up top are running their behinds off.   And the left back that scored the 1st goal imo might be OWU's best player....and I don't think he even made HM on the NCAC team, and that's with OWU having a bunch of players making all-conference.  The 2nd goal scorer, Gomez, was named midfielder of year in NCAC.

Addedum:  My bad, Huelsman did make 2nd team NCAC.

Huelsman's goal is ESPN Top 10 level, no? Just an absolute rocket.

[Hopkins92]

That second OWU goal was an absolute howler for the Hope defense. Not even going full speed, he dribbles past 6 players going in a straight line, with nary a one challenging him, and beats the keeper going to far post on the ground. OOF

That was absolutely brutal. I have no idea what the LB was doing there... push him to the touchline. GK didn't really have much to do there, he was dead-to-rights.

There was an OWU pylon making a random run, but there were 6 Hope defenders back on that play.

Dagger

[Gregory Sager]

OWU somehow found another gear, especially after the 1st goal.  The guys up top are running their behinds off.   And the left back that scored the 1st goal imo might be OWU's best player....and I don't think he even made HM on the NCAC team, and that's with OWU having a bunch of players making all-conference.  The 2nd goal scorer, Gomez, was named midfielder of year in NCAC.

Addedum:  My bad, Huelsman did make 2nd team NCAC.

He came pretty close to getting a second card in the waning seconds after helping to break up a last-gasp Hope attack in front of the left post. He was yelling something in the direction of the CR, who started stepping toward him, and he was lucky he had a teammate intervene and push him away until his head cooled.

[PaulNewman]

OWU somehow found another gear, especially after the 1st goal.  The guys up top are running their behinds off.   And the left back that scored the 1st goal imo might be OWU's best player....and I don't think he even made HM on the NCAC team, and that's with OWU having a bunch of players making all-conference.  The 2nd goal scorer, Gomez, was named midfielder of year in NCAC.

Addedum:  My bad, Huelsman did make 2nd team NCAC.

He came pretty close to getting a second card in the waning seconds after helping to break up a last-gasp Hope attack in front of the left post. He was yelling something in the direction of the CR, who started stepping toward him, and he was lucky he had a teammate intervene and push him away until his head cooled.

Was that Huelsman?  I wondered what the heck he was doing.  He was very fortunate a teammate rushed him and very lucky that the ref didn't give him a 2nd yellow and knock him out of the Chicago game.  I'm sure Jay Martin is livid with him.  He's also very valuable because he can throw the ball on a rope 30 yards into the box on throw-ins.

[PaulNewman]

There have been mentions about how good of a 2nd round battle Messiah versus Oneonta would be (except that Babson isn't impressed), but Chicago-OWU should be every bit the match of Messiah-Oneonta...or better.  I'm sure Jay Martin has taken a peek at the pod below them and knows a win over Chicago could the Battling Bishops to the Elite 8 at a minimum.  And they already know they can beat Calvin.

Congrats ncac_dad.  Your son kept OWU in the game with his play and competitive spirit when they were struggling.

[Hopkins92]

There have been mentions about how good of a 2nd round battle Messiah versus Oneonta would be (except that Babson isn't impressed), but Chicago-OWU should be every bit the match of Messiah-Oneonta...or better.  I'm sure Jay Martin has taken a peek at the pod below them and knows a win over Chicago could the Battling Bishops to the Elite 8 at a minimum.  And they already know they can beat Calvin.

Congrats ncac_dad.  Your son kept OWU in the game with his play and competitive spirit when they were struggling.

I don't have the depth of knowledge that some of you possess, but I also come in with a very objective view (not that you guys aren't, I'm just saying I'm seeing a lot of these teams for the first time ever.)

Gonna absolutely agree the the Chi-OWU game is appointment viewing. OWU was EXTREMELY impressive with their game plan. Lightning counterstrike, which after watching Chicago today... They might struggle with that style.

Love this tournament!

[PaulNewman]

There have been mentions about how good of a 2nd round battle Messiah versus Oneonta would be (except that Babson isn't impressed), but Chicago-OWU should be every bit the match of Messiah-Oneonta...or better.  I'm sure Jay Martin has taken a peek at the pod below them and knows a win over Chicago could the Battling Bishops to the Elite 8 at a minimum.  And they already know they can beat Calvin.

Congrats ncac_dad.  Your son kept OWU in the game with his play and competitive spirit when they were struggling.

I don't have the depth of knowledge that some of you possess, but I also come in with a very objective view (not that you guys aren't, I'm just saying I'm seeing a lot of these teams for the first time ever.)

Gonna absolutely agree the the Chi-OWU game is appointment viewing. OWU was EXTREMELY impressive with their game plan. Lightning counterstrike, which after watching Chicago today... They might struggle with that style.

Love this tournament!

You've been a great addition.  I think your dynamic right now is what keeps the site going.  You are in that sweet spot of your team being right there for a couple of years, you know they are one of the best teams on the country, and you know they've got a shot.  And because your team is good and "in the discussion" it makes everything more interesting, like getting a feel for all these other programs.  Nothing better.  And that's when us crazy posters do the extra stuff like you did today, posting all the links.

[Hopkins92]

There have been mentions about how good of a 2nd round battle Messiah versus Oneonta would be (except that Babson isn't impressed), but Chicago-OWU should be every bit the match of Messiah-Oneonta...or better.  I'm sure Jay Martin has taken a peek at the pod below them and knows a win over Chicago could the Battling Bishops to the Elite 8 at a minimum.  And they already know they can beat Calvin.

Congrats ncac_dad.  Your son kept OWU in the game with his play and competitive spirit when they were struggling.

I don't have the depth of knowledge that some of you possess, but I also come in with a very objective view (not that you guys aren't, I'm just saying I'm seeing a lot of these teams for the first time ever.)

Gonna absolutely agree the the Chi-OWU game is appointment viewing. OWU was EXTREMELY impressive with their game plan. Lightning counterstrike, which after watching Chicago today... They might struggle with that style.

Love this tournament!

You've been a great addition.  I think your dynamic right now is what keeps the site going.  You are in that sweet spot of your team being right there for a couple of years, you know they are one of the best teams on the country, and you know they've got a shot.  And because your team is good and "in the discussion" it makes everything more interesting, like getting a feel for all these other programs.  Nothing better.  And that's when us crazy posters do the extra stuff like you did today, posting all the links.

Part of what drives me is that Hop went to the finals in 94 (check my handle). I wont go deep into it, now, but that is INSANE for Hopkins in terms of the resources they put into soccer.

I have a very unique D1 vs. D3 life experience, so I love watching these games with a bunch of filters.

[gbpuckfan]

St Norbert wins the shootout to win an otherwise scoreless game

[Gregory Sager]

St Norbert wins the shootout to win an otherwise scoreless game

That had already been posted on this page four hours ago.

And St. Norbert didn't win the game. SNC won the shootout and thus advanced to the next round. The game ended in a tie, and that is reflected in the record of the Green Knights, which is now 16-4-3.

[calvin_grad]

The Calvin - St. Norbert game has been moved to a local high school with a turf field and will be played this afternoon at 3:00.

[PaulNewman]

The Calvin - St. Norbert game has been moved to a local high school with a turf field and will be played this afternoon at 3:00.

I saw that late last night.  Unfortunate.  Can you imagine being all excited for your next NCAA game and hearing that you'd be playing at a local high school?  Why not play the game at Hope or another college with a good turf field?  And what does this say about what they are admitting they allowed to happen yesterday?  Seems like an admission those games should not have been played on Calvin's field. 

Wonder if there were specific complaints from the other teams?  Or Calvin decided the field was unsuitable today but not yesterday?  Or Calvin is trying to stay off the field in hopes of hosting next weekend?  Or all of the above?

[Goknights2017]

The Calvin - St. Norbert game has been moved to a local high school with a turf field and will be played this afternoon at 3:00.

I saw that late last night.  Unfortunate.  Can you imagine being all excited for your next NCAA game and hearing that you'd be playing at a local high school?  Why not play the game at Hope or another college with a good turf field?  And what does this say about what they are admitting they allowed to happen yesterday?  Seems like an admission those games should not have been played on Calvin's field. 

Wonder if there were specific complaints from the other teams?  Or Calvin decided the field was unsuitable today but not yesterday?  Or Calvin is trying to stay off the field in hopes of hosting next weekend?  Or all of the above?

Not sure the answer to those questions. However, the local high school they are playing at has better facilities than most colleges. It may not be set up only for soccer like Hope's is, but it is a very nice facility. No one will be disappointed other than the fact that the game has to be played on turf, which is never as good as natural grass for soccer.