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[PaulNewman]

Kenyon highlights from yesterday....for goal start around 1:05...Gerardo ("NCAC Maradona" lol) Maritnez wins ball in OWU half, slices through midfield and frosh Duratovic does the rest.


https://youtu.be/Bo3BBApxsFk

[PaulNewman]

Results in a few key GL matches...

Denison gets a result they needed with a nice win at home over Wabash 1-0.  Good step towards making the NCAC playoffs. 

And Wilmington, wow.  I may not be able to look myself in the mirror if I don't rank them next week.  Win 3-1 away at ONU, an ONU team that really needed a good win and is well-tested by good teams.  Seems like Wilmington won pretty comfortably.

Same for Otterbein, who, although ranked now for several weeks running, I think some like me expected to falter.  Otterbein and JCU draw 0-0 at Otterbein.

The OAC definitely seems to have eclipsed the NCAC as the more interesting league.

[PaulNewman]

Speaking of GK adventures, towards the end of  this Kenyon clip below Wooster GK appears to fall into net with ball crossing line.  Ref looked to his AR who waved it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Jl41jeTEk

[futbol_watcher]

Watched it in .25 speed @1:04. Ball almost certainly is over the line as it appears to be behind the post. The AR would have no way of knowing if it went in as their view would be blocked by the goalkeepers legs.

[PaulNewman]

Watched it in .25 speed @1:04. Ball almost certainly is over the line as it appears to be behind the post. The AR would have no way of knowing if it went in as their view would be blocked by the goalkeepers legs.

Agreed.  Ball definitely went over but AR was blocked.  Ref needed to make the call, maybe saw a goal, wanted to confirm with AR who couldn't so no goal.  Didn't matter much for this one but certainly would be unfortunate in a tighter game or tournament game.

[PaulNewman]

Update...

Rose-Hulman (RHIT) took commanding control of the HCAC with a narrow 1-0 win this week over perennial challenger Hanover.  Hanover was regionally ranked and RHIT wasn't, but that is likely to flip unless RHIT's SoS is even worse than I think (since Hanover's was only borderline around .529).  Neither is likely to snare a Pool C so the HCAC tourney will be almost certainly be determinative for both.

The often less heralded OAC has been one of more interesting conferences in the country in 2021.  There appears to be a clear top 4 with Otterbein, John Carroll, Capital, and fresh face Wilmington.  Otterbein and JCU both are 5-0-1, with the draws against each other.  Schedule-wise, Ottrerbein would appear to have a slight advantage with Muskingum, ONU, and Capital left while JCU has Marietta, Heidelberg, and Wilmington.  Capital at 4-1-1 is staring at a gauntlet...ONU, Wilmington, Otterbein.  And Wilmington at 3-1-2 closes with Baldwin-Wallace, Capital, and John Carroll.  One would think Otterbein and JCU are near-locks for Pool C bids if needed.  Capital, although regionally ranked, seems like a longshot for Pool C, and Wilmington despite their stellar season so far didn't even get a regional ranking which strongly suggests the Quakers need to win the OAC tourney.  Even Mt. Union got ranked, despite sitting at 1-4-1 in-conference.

Kenyon with the H2H advantage over OWU has a pretty firm stranglehold on the NCAC regular season crown and home field for the NCAC tourney, only needing a win at home today vs Hiram and then another vs either Oberlin or DePauw.  The latter two are on the road, but I doubt those games will involve a playoff spot for the Yeoman or Tigers.  No one is going to catch OWU in 2nd place, as OWU already has the H2Hs with Denison and Wabash.  And 3rd place is right there for Denison to grab as the Big Red own the H2H against 4th place Wabash.  Denison has three very winnable games left, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bianco wins COY for the NCAC over Brown if Denison reaches 7-2 in-conference.  And who knows, if Denison can pull off a semifinal win over OWU (or Kenyon) then maybe the Big Red can sneak into Pool C contention.  Denison notably was regionally ranked this week and Wabash wasn't, and I'm sure that was all about SoS more so than the H2H.

[PaulNewman]

Sixth straight regular season NCAC title for Kenyon.

Denison finishes a strong third after a draw with Wooster today and will take on OWU in a NCAC semi

Wabash nailed down the 4th spot with a draw at home versus a game Oberlin squad who didn't quit midweek versus Kenyon after being down 2-0 and later 3-1 and came close to pulling off an upset in Crawfordsville.  Wabash will travel to Gambier next week for the other NCAC semi.

Wilmington at JCU coming soon tonight at 7:30.

[PaulNewman]

Quick diversion to NCAC women's semi played today in Gambier because of men's game tomorrow.  Wooster after 0-0 match prevails in PKs 10-9, with all makes until 10th round miss for Kenyon.  Not rare to go to extra rounds but 9 and a half rounds without a miss is fairly rare.

[PaulNewman]

Wilmington was up 3-1 with 12 minutes left and Capital has leveled.  Tied game off a free kick from a good 35-40 yards out and Wilmington GK did not move even an inch...as though he was sure the ball was going well wide.

[midwest]

Just checked in on OWU-Denison NCAC tournament semi final, 0-0 with 7 min left, and Denison scores in what looks like a chip over the GK. 5 min left, and Denison leads 1-0.

Update, well that's a new twist -- Denison beat OWU 1-0 and will face Kenyon in NCAC tournament finals.

[PaulNewman]

Congrats, midwest.  That's a big one.

[midwest]

My player has graduated, but I'm happy for the boys and for Coach Bianco. Now they get to play Kenyon . . . again.

[PaulNewman]

My player has graduated, but I'm happy for the boys and for Coach Bianco. Now they get to play Kenyon . . . again.

Right...my kid's senior season was 2014!  And regardless of Kenyon Denison may have just earned a Pool C.

[PaulNewman]

Two good ones in GL region today.

First, Denison at Kenyon.  I was praising Denison coach Bianco when he was at CWRU and as predicted he already has had a major impact at Denison.  IMO should be in consideration for both NCAC and national COY.  I'm sure part of my praise is related to sharp memories that come from sharp pain.  In 2018 Kenyon was 18-1-3.  The single loss was to CWRU in the regular season.  Then the Lords drew CWRU in the Sweet 16 on that ugly field and fell in PKs 5-4.  Kenyon would have had a real shot at taking out Calvin, which CWRU imo did not, but whatever...  Trauma and memory have a very incestuous, insidious relationship.  I was there a full 8 years ago when Kenyon last lost to OWU when the Lords were 18-1-2 going into yet another Sweet 16 match.  The success since then vs OWU has been nice but 2014 is still what I remember most.  I usually don't even think about 2018 when musing over Kenyon's best seasons but that shows just how easy it is to overlook phenomenal success if a program doesn't fully break through...16-5-3; 18-2-2; 19-2-1; 20-3; 16-3-3; 18-1-3; 19-2-2.....and now again 15-1-1.  14 losses in 8 years (7 seasons)..has got to be top 3 or better nationally over that time.

And second, Otterbein at John Carroll.  Very even match with two very experienced, mature teams that no one will want to face in the tournament.

As an aside, this is the first year in a long time that both CMU and CWRU have not been in the at-large picture.

[midwest]

Denison up 1-0 against Kenyon at the half in the NCAC finals. Bianco certainly has made a difference and is putting the program on a new trajectory.

Updated -- that's game, Denison beats Kenyon 1-0 to win the NCAC championship.