Great win on the road tonight at WSU to top the conference table! How about that Texan connection to score the winner? ;)
Definitely a big win for the team!
If Detroit hangs on for a tie against Milwaukee, they'll stay in first place after today, too.
They've been playing some good soccer. Thanks for starting the thread.
according to the hl twitter, oral roberts scored 3 unanswered to win 3-2 today at brown field :(
Three in like 35 minutes, apparently.
Doesn't give you confidence, exactly. But, the most important games are the league ones. Still top of the table!
Ohio State this weekend. So far this season, we're 1-0 against the Big Ten.
A quality tie this afternoon. And a draw as well. As 0-0 draws go, it was was quite enjoyable. Funny to see the field in the light of day!
Ohio State's been regionally ranked since the beginning of the season; sort of a top-level Horizon League caliber? UIC's ranked ahead of them at the moment.
Valpo often had the better of the play, and had a number of decent opportunities, but couldn't find the back of the net. Solid goalkeeping, and enough defense and midfield play, kept them with another clean sheet.
I never watch Valpo's defense and say "Ooh - that's good." Maybe goalkeeping occasionally. But, they're leading the league in "goals against average", shutouts, etc. and will tie a team single season shutout record with the next. So, they're doing something right.
They haven't found a consistent scorer. But, do manage medium-consistent offensive pressure. Enough, along with the defense, to make them somewhat dangerous.
It'll be very interesting to see how they fare against the rest of the League. They're now the only team unbeaten in conference play. The rest comes fast and furious - five games in two weeks, starting Saturday.
The game was made especially amusing by the free vuvuzelas. They should have handed these things out at the beginning of the season! You can listen for them at
Valpo Crusaders (MSOCC) vs. Ohio St. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MND-a8gL4zM#ws)
I'll be curious to see if they made a difference for the players. Certainly good fun for the fans! My kids loved them too.
A good win over IPFW in the wet the other night, 2-0. I was watching in the dry, via HLN. The video quality was decent - the commentary, from VU students I gather, was... of mixed quality and professionalism.
The heart of the season begins Saturday, at Brown field, hosting Milwaukee.
Quote from: agibson on October 20, 2011, 12:35:43 PM
A good win over IPFW in the wet the other night, 2-0. I was watching in the dry, via HLN. The video quality was decent - the commentary, from VU students I gather, was... of mixed quality and professionalism.
The heart of the season begins Saturday, at Brown field, hosting Milwaukee.
This was a good win, but your description of the announcing is a bit generous. The following from "Awful Announcing":
"If you dare, you are about to view the worst three minutes of soccer play-by-play in recorded history from this Valparaiso vs IPFW game. There's so many gems in here that it's hard to pick a favorite."
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2011-articles/october/valpo-soccer-announcers-get-an-qaq-for-awful-announcing.html (http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2011-articles/october/valpo-soccer-announcers-get-an-qaq-for-awful-announcing.html)
Hilarious! I'm greatly amused that the call got such wide attention. It's the first Valpo soccer game I'd watched on HLN, so I wasn't sure if it was typical, or not.
I really did mean mixed. I mean, obviously, it was mostly super casual. Sort of, two guys sitting around in their dorm room kibbitzing style. So, in that sense, there was no effort at professionalism. But, it was sort of fun that these guys were clearly connected with the program (one or both were reserves? or injured players? or seemed to have some connection). And, when they bothered to talk about the game, they sometimes exhibited a bit of interesting analysis, and even some decent play-by-play. Better than I could do, say, in those respects.
But, yeah, an F for professionalism. But, they obviously weren't even trying for a polished, professional, broadcast.
I was watching that match, and the guys calling the game seemed to suffer from a weird case of ADD. They were comically struggling with the word 'Kokomo', and anytime the ball was near IPFW's box they were giddy with anticipation, then their goal calls were like high schoolers watching Telemundo or Univision coverage of the game. It was like watching the McKenzie(sp?) brothers from 'SCTV' and Strange Brew calling a goal, like they were just trying out their best scream....
Boo. The video link has been removed.
Nice win against Milwaukee to remain at the top of the standings with a game or two in hand against those behind us! This team has the potential to get us our first HL regular season championship, as the close games we lost last year, we are winning this year.
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 23, 2011, 08:01:44 AM
Boo. The video link has been removed.
Was there ever a video link for this game? It was on the radio (and should have had streaming audio?), but at least in the day or two before the game there was no video link.
Was clear from Milwaukee's pre-game notes too.
Big win! Also, from the Milwaukee notes, they were on something like a thirteen-game "at least one goal scored" streak dating back to last season. "No more" says Zobeck and the Crusader defense. Milwaukee led most of the offensive categories (goals, assists, shots per game) so far this season, but Valpo shut them out.
And this with Zobeck coming off being named "Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Month" with his 3.96 GPA in mechanical engineering.
Zobeck/Valpo have already broken their single-season shutout record, with hopefully at least five or six games left to play. They have a shot at entering the Horizon League recordbook
for single season numbers in shutouts (a good chance; need two more) and even goals against average.
Those last two are really team awards. This season, Valpo's way ahead in number of shutouts, and goals against average. All while Valpo's dead _last_ in saves. (Zobeck was only tested once last night.) Zobeck is fourth, among goalkeepers, in save percentage - so he's no slouch by himself, either.
It was a good game last night. I showed up at half time - and it looked pretty tense. Tied at zero. Both teams came out very aggressively, and it was obviously physical, and chippy. A pushing match or two. It looked like it might get ugly - but thankfully scoring a goal (and then another) defused the tension a bit.
One of my favorite types of goals! It shows that my angle wasn't so good from the stands. I saw a possibly slightly looping shot, that looked like it might go over, that then rebounded solidly off the cross bar. Then, I saw Kevin Miller go in for a great rebound - I thought he probably headed it in. From the game report, it sounds like he took the shot off the crossbar, and then followed his own shot in (with his foot?). Anyhow, a great goal, from Physics and Astronomy's own.
With half their Horizon League season behind them, Valpo's looking good - but there's a lot yet to be seen. They already have results against the other two teams sitting at ten points (Wright State who needed an additional game to get ten points, and Cleveland State who needed two).
Loyola, who Valpo takes on next, on the road, might be the easiest looking of the remaining games. UIC and Butler have struggled in Horizon League play, but have both been regionally ranked this season. And Green Bay's just behind us in the league table, at 9 points.
Some of the players seem to have a chip on their shoulders about missing the HL tournament last year. And, they're talking about the NCAA's. Could be good!
Quote from: agibson on October 23, 2011, 02:40:00 PM
Quote from: milanmiracle on October 23, 2011, 08:01:44 AM
Boo. The video link has been removed.
Was there ever a video link for this game? It was on the radio (and should have had streaming audio?), but at least in the day or two before the game there was no video link.
Was clear from Milwaukee's pre-game notes too.
He was referring to the video posted in the Awful Announcing link.
This year's men's soccer team has a level of confidence that is refreshing. I spoke to one of the prominent players on the team, and he told me the team felt insulted by those on campus who congratulated them just for playing Ohio State to a tie. He said the players expect only to be congratulated for victories, whether the opponent is Ohio State or any other team.
Quote from: valpo04 on October 23, 2011, 02:46:26 PM
He was referring to the video posted in the Awful Announcing link.
Ah, right. Yeah, reportedly that disappeared pretty quickly.
Quote from: valpopal on October 23, 2011, 02:48:37 PM
This year's men's soccer team has a level of confidence that is refreshing. I spoke to one of the prominent players on the team, and he told me the team felt insulted by those on campus who congratulated them just for playing Ohio State to a tie. He said the players expect only to be congratulated for victories, whether the opponent is Ohio State or any other team.
Interesting! I guess it's good to have a driven attitude like that.
But, I thought it _was_ a decent result. A hard fought match against a tough opponent, producing a fair result. I didn't hesitate to congratulate players about it. 1-0-1 against the Big 10's not so bad - even in soccer.
Quote from: agibson on October 23, 2011, 03:58:51 PM
Quote from: valpopal on October 23, 2011, 02:48:37 PM
This year's men's soccer team has a level of confidence that is refreshing. I spoke to one of the prominent players on the team, and he told me the team felt insulted by those on campus who congratulated them just for playing Ohio State to a tie. He said the players expect only to be congratulated for victories, whether the opponent is Ohio State or any other team.
Interesting! I guess it's good to have a driven attitude like that.
But, I thought it _was_ a decent result. A hard fought match against a tough opponent, producing a fair result. I didn't hesitate to congratulate players about it. 1-0-1 against the Big 10's not so bad - even in soccer.
It was a good result on its face. The players are disappointed because they had a few really good chances and felt they played much better than to receive just a tie. Avery's post-game quotes online said as much following the contest.
I'll have to look back at the Ohio State post-game report. I may never have read it.
It just occurred to me that the first men's basketball exhibition is directly opposite the Valpo-UIC soccer game, perhaps the biggest of the season to that point. Tough! At least they're physically proximate, I suppose one could even move back and forth a bit...
To add to his scholar-athlete award, Zobeck becomes the first Crusader this season to pick up the Horizon League Men's Soccer Player of the Week recognition.
http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/valpos-zobeck-records-mens-soccer-player-of-the-week-honor.html (http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/valpos-zobeck-records-mens-soccer-player-of-the-week-honor.html)
http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11123/zobeck-earns-horizon-league-weekly-accolade/ (http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11123/zobeck-earns-horizon-league-weekly-accolade/)
Quote
Zobeck did all that was asked of him in the two matches, notching a save in both while directing a stout Valparaiso defensive effort. With his eighth shutout of the year on Saturday, Zobeck set a new Valparaiso single-season record.
VU wins again tonight, 1-0. Still undefeated (with one tie) in conference play and still on top of the league. We have a decent chance now to grab our first-ever Horizon league title, in any sport. Paul
The men's soccer team just defeated Loyola, 1-0. The goal came in the second half, scored by sophomore Charles Barden. The win keeps the Crusaders undefeated in HL play. They are now 4-0-1 in the league, and 8-5-3 overall. Let's Go Crusaders! We could be hosting the semis and championship game for the conference tourney, if we can keep this going. We have three more conference games remaining.
Doing well and keep it up!
Very good of Aaron Leavitt (assistant SID) to add a live chat for a game that was otherwise rather inaccessible remotely (no video, no audio).
A win in their next game, against UIC, guarantees them a top four finish (in the tournament, and not traveling in the play-in round), with two games to play.
Even a draw guarantees them a tournament spot (again, with two games to play).
And, in fact, maybe they've already clinched a tournament spot. I'm not sure how the tiebreakers work. It looks like the worst they can do is a tie for 6th with UIC (who they've yet to play), or a three-way tie for 5th with Butler and Wright State (and Valpo's already beat Wright State). But, anyway, it better not come to that.
If memory serves, the tournament format is 6 teams (of 9 that compete in soccer). With #3 hosting 6, and 4 hosting 5 in the first round. And then the remaining teams traveling to the number one seed for the balance of the tournament.
Could be big time!
Valpo's only allowed two shots on goal in the last three games, combined. They've not given up a goal in the last four games (another 20 minutes or so to set the team record for consecutive minutes with no goals allowed).
If I'm reading the standings correctly, the worst we could do is lose out, have Butler win out, and tie for 6th with the Bulldogs gaining the head-to-head tiebreaker in that scenario. So I don't think we've clinched yet, but we are very close.
Butler plays Detroit Saturday afternoon and Valpo plays UIC Saturday evening. If VU draws or wins or BU draws or loses, the Crusader are in the tournament... again this is all assuming that I am correct ;D
Here are the scores from last night's HL soccer matches:
Valpo 1, Loyola 0
Green Bay 3, Detroit 1
UIC 2, Wright St. 0
Cleveland St. 2, Butler 1
In non-conference action:
Wisconsin 2, UW-Milwaukee 0
Quote from: KL31NY on October 27, 2011, 12:58:01 PM
If I'm reading the standings correctly, the worst we could do is lose out, have Butler win out, and tie for 6th with the Bulldogs gaining the head-to-head tiebreaker in that scenario. So I don't think we've clinched yet, but we are very close.
I agree that the worst we can do is tie for a tournament spot, but I think it's a little more complicated than your analysis. And, I think my earlier analysis was slightly off also.
If Valpo loses out they stay at 13 points. Detroit and Loyola can't make it there, leaving only seven teams. Butler would need to win out to get to 13 points, and for Valpo to possibly miss the tournament.
If Butler wins out, they need to beat Wright State. Then, the best Wright State can do is beat Green Bay, and tie Valpo and Butler at 13.
But, UIC and Milwaukee still need to make it to, or pass, 13 points or Valpo's in the tournament.
Milwaukee needs two wins (winning out) to achieve that: beating UIC, and bringing themselves to 14 points.
Then, the best UIC can do is to get to 13 points.
Which would leave us with Valpo, Butler, Wright State, and UIC all at 13 (otherwise Valpo's in the tournament for sure). So, a four-way tie for 4th.
Green Bay would be at 15, Milwaukee at 14. But, I guess Cleveland State could stay at 13 (or go to 14, or 16). So, it could be a five-way tie for third.
The outcome of this mess probably requires a detailed knowledge of the tiebreakers. I don't see them online.
And, any other outcome seems to guarantee Valpo a tournament spot.
So, needlesss to say, Valpo's almost certainly in the tournament. And, maybe it's even a mathematical certainty.
What do we need to do to win the regular season title? The heck with trying to just get into the tourney! ;D
Two wins (with games against UIC, Butler, Green Bay remaining) and Valpo hosts the conference tournament, number one seed, free and clear.
A win, a draw, and a loss against either UIC or Butler (i.e. the draw or the win against Green Bay), gets them the first seed in the clear.
In general, a win, a draw, and a loss gets Valpo first or second, without any ties.
One more win, even with two losses, gets Valpo at least a share of 2nd place. But maybe only a fourth seed, depending on tie breakers.
A draw, and two losses, still gets Valpo into the tournament - maybe even three losses does.
And, of course, they can get by with less than this with a little help from Green Bay, or others.
I agree with what vu72 said...let's just win the conference title, then we don't have to worry about what needs to be done to get into the conference tourney. The more time we spend trying to decipher the tiebreakers and standings, the less it takes from us cheering the men's soccer team to the conference title.
I figure it's more fuel for the fires of fandom. But, yes, by all means, let's win out.
So which will it BB with Hillsdale or Soccer with UIC for all the marbles on Saturday?
Quote from: VUfan on October 27, 2011, 06:50:14 PM
So which will it BB with Hillsdale or Soccer with UIC for all the marbles on Saturday?
Well, for some unknown reason, the men's game appears to not be on the internet either video or radio. ??? Very odd. The soccer game will have audio saw I will listen to the soccer game while watching the blog for the basketball game.
I sure hope this is the last game not on video. :(
Yeah, I sort of got used to having all home games on video. I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if last year's exhibitions were also no-video.
The Butler soccer game will have video, I believe. And all tournament games.
For me, it's soccer saturday night. With maybe a few minutes of basketball at half time. All this assuming I can get out of the kids' Halloween party in time!
Looking at the break-down of the standings, and the seeding scenarios is a little like playing fantasy sports: it creates odd cheering patterns.
If Butler managed to lose to Detroit, it would put us in the tournament even before the UIC game starts. But, Butler's up 2-0 at the half. So, probably we need to do it ourselves!
Whoops! I misread the tweet!
WSU won 2-1!
Valpo's tied 0 0 at end of regulation. A win guarantees at least a share of the HL title!
A chilly evening at Brown field. Next time: hat and gloves.
Valpo - your Horizon League soccer champions!*
*guaranteed at least a share of 1st
FANTASTIC! GREAT NIGHT FOR VALPO :thewave:
Great first title, congrats men's soccer!!! Reading the box score, we won on an 80 yard free kick that skipped over the GK???? Wow, I would like to see how that looked!
The crowd inside the ARC got pretty excited when the announcement was made as we were filing out! Way to go Soccer!
Quote from: valpotx on October 29, 2011, 09:47:20 PM
Great first title, congrats men's soccer!!! Reading the box score, we won on an 80 yard free kick that skipped over the GK???? Wow, I would like to see how that looked!
Was running the radio broadcast for WVUR. Our announcer made it sound like someone from either team got a head on it for a misdirection. Talking with him afterwards, he said that the players were bunched so close near the header that it was near impossible to tell who tipped it. I think that, or possibly if it was identified as a UIC touch, is why Smith gets the goal on the free kick.
Congrats to the team and congrats to Smith. First career goal gives Valpo its first HL title. Great timing!
Quote from: KL31NY on October 29, 2011, 10:44:55 PM
Quote from: valpotx on October 29, 2011, 09:47:20 PM
Great first title, congrats men's soccer!!! Reading the box score, we won on an 80 yard free kick that skipped over the GK???? Wow, I would like to see how that looked!
Was running the radio broadcast for WVUR. Our announcer made it sound like someone from either team got a head on it for a misdirection. Talking with him afterwards, he said that the players were bunched so close near the header that it was near impossible to tell who tipped it. I think that, or possibly if it was identified as a UIC touch, is why Smith gets the goal on the free kick.
I'd like to see the video! From the stand it was sort of: free kick, scrum, .... hesitation... ball's in the back of the net! Hurray! No announcement, at the soccer game, about clinching the HL - but a few of the fans seemed to have it figured out. And, apparently, Coach Avery let the players know right after the game.
Chatting with one of the reserves, who might have been field level... he saw about as much as I did.
Chatting with one of the players who was in the scrum: apparently Chad Sult almost got a piece of the free kick. The goalie thought he was going to and.... came out for it? The ball sailed (bounced?) into the net.
Was a bit mysterious from the stand, and I'd love to see the video. I also didn't think it was as far back as 80 yards. I thought it was at about midfield (e.g. the 50 yard line), so about 60 yards out. Anyhow, very long!
Go Valpo!
So, of course, Valpo's seeding scenarios are now a lot simpler. I assume we hold the tie-breaker over Wright State, since we won head-to-head. We tied with Cleveland State, and I'm not sure what the second tie-breaker is.
If Cleveland State fails to beat bottom-of-the-table Detroit, Valpo holds the conference championship without contest.
If Cleveland State beats Detroit, Valpo needs some kind of result (a win or a draw) against one of its last two opponents: Butler or Green Bay. Or, we need to hold the tie-breaker over Cleveland State (maybe we already do - who knows?).
2nd-6th place are still a real mess.
It would be good to host the tournament (the semi-finals, the finals), for sure. But, probably equally important is to carry some momentum into that tournament. The team definitely wants to go to the NCAA's. Valpo's got a ton of momentum right now - let's add two it with two more results (Wednesday hosting Butler, Saturday at Green Bay) to close the season.
I believe for most sports in the HL that the second tie-breaker is "Best Result." Using VU-CSU as an example, if they tie for first, they next go to the third place team, the highest team remaining after the tie, and see who had a better result against them between the Crusaders and Vikings.
The big issue is that roughly half of the conference can finish in 3rd under this scenario, and there might be a tie or two, so it's too big a headache right now to figure it out. Best to wait after Wednesday, if we even need this discussion by then.
The media coverage of the men's soccer team's accomplishments has been... mixed. In a local market with a strong coverage of high school soccer (and strong high school sports coverage, generally).
On Sunday, I think the Times skipped the story entirely (but did carry few-sentences capsules for soccer games from Calumet College, etc.). The Post Trib seems to have run the AP few-sentence capsule.
This morning the Times did run a nice piece, starting on front page of Sports, on the men's and women's teams, celebrating the men, and preparing for the women's post-season match-up tomorrow
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/article_38705930-9a88-5450-a6fd-4944f9bcf878.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/college/valparaiso-university/article_38705930-9a88-5450-a6fd-4944f9bcf878.html)
(Thanks!)
The Post Tribune, by contrast... ran a nice piece on women's bowling successful (and historic) weekend
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/8512676-419/vu-wins-first-bowling-tourney-in-program-history.html (http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/8512676-419/vu-wins-first-bowling-tourney-in-program-history.html)
(Congrats to them! And, I gather, the Post Trib has a significant history of bowling coverage. Fair enough. Hopefully they'll also pick it up on the soccer.)
1-1 Valpo Butler first HL title! :)
Congrats indeed!!! Now, hopefully on to our first Horizon NCAA slot!! :thewave:
Quote from: vu72 on November 02, 2011, 10:21:24 PM
Congrats indeed!!! Now, hopefully on to our first Horizon NCAA slot!! :thewave:
It was a great match. I didn't catch all of it, but the defense was strong, minus the missed mark on the Butler goal. I hope the team's attitude and togetherness stays very strong. This is quite the switch in attitude from the men's soccer teams we saw at Valpo, isn't it, valpotx?
Congrats on an outright championship! It would be great to get an NCAA bid to boot, but we at least knocked down the first hurdle! Now it is time for our ascension up the conference cup standings, no more second to last or last. Our teams have consistently been middle of the standings in all sports at least, but it is the lack of championships that have made us 9 or 10th in all sports each year since entering.
Definitely an upgrade from when we were in school. I always liked the soccer guys, but they never seemed to be able to do what the Avery coached team has been doing the last few years.
Feels good. Congratulations and continued success in the HL tournament. :thumbsup:
As someone who played soccer for VU many moons ago, I want to extend my congratulations to the lads and coaching staff on a job well done. It is only fitting that MSO should win VU's first HL title since it was MSO that played in VU's first HL conference game ever. Avery has done a tremendous job with this program. Keep it going boys.
A well deserved championship for a great team. They were a blast to watch throughout the season. Let's not stop here!
Congrats from a former Valpo Club player. I played last in 1971 the first year for the Eastgate field.
Quote from: valporun on November 02, 2011, 10:28:19 PM
It was a great match.
It turned into a solid match. Before I get a little critical, I should say, well done to the men's soccer team! A terrific season, still ongoing, and with this game they were able to add one more notch to their belts.
The crowd was very good for this game! Probably the biggest crowd of the year, and definitely the most raucous. I don't know if it was senior day, the team's success, the nice back page Torch feature, or what. But, the students were out in numbers, were loud (passing out the balance of the vuvuzelas helped), were cheering, and were actually watching the game! Definitely new students and faculty in the stands - climb on the bandwagon!
The team was definitely in the mood to celebrate their accomplishments (so far) after the game, and it was great to see them celebrating, and ringing the Victory Bell (it actually does ring!).
As for the game itself, in the first 90 (OK, first 75), I'd say the game was actually a bit boring. Valpo came out fairly aggressively, playing their characteristically solid defense, and to my mind basically dominated regulation. The early goal (connection between two seniors, about 20 minutes in), and their dominant play, made the game feel relatively settled.
Butler just didn't seem dangerous. Even when they scored - it seemed like a bit of a fluke (wait, it's _possible_ for a team to score against Valpo?). Valpo did more than enough to win, in regulation.
Overtime was a bit of a different story. The play was much more balanced, and, in OT, a draw seemed like a fair result. Butler looked much better than their regular-time selves.
So, in that sense, a bit of a disappointing result. But, a result, and all Valpo needed to secure rights to #1. The players, at least immediately after the game, didn't seem to mind the draw at all.
So, it was great to see such a crowd last night. Hopefully we'll see the same or better for the tournament. And great to see the team celebrate. But, a slightly disappointing result. Let's beat Green Bay, and win the tournament!
Speaking of the tournament (we could almost use a new thread!).
The preliminary round is Tuesday. The semi-finals are at Valpo Friday, November 11 with the finals Sunday the 13th. I don't think times have been announced yet. Not sure if they play a consolation game for 3rd place. I believe all games will be on HLN.
Unfortunately, I suspect I'll be on an airplane during the final :( I don't suppose in-air internet is up to HLN?
The guys finish off the regular season today, at Green Bay, kicking off an hour from now.
It looks like this game is completely blacked out: "Live Stats" and nothing more (the athletics staff is committed elsewhere: football and women's basketball, so no chat this time).
http://www.greenbayphoenix.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=22500&KEY= (http://www.greenbayphoenix.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=22500&KEY=)
If you haven't already, be sure to check out this week's team notes http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11154/crusader-men-prepare-for-final-two-regular-season-games/ (http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11154/crusader-men-prepare-for-final-two-regular-season-games/) for details about the Crusaders entering the regional rankings for the first time this season, Antonijevic being named to the National Team of the Week, Valpo's spots in nation-wide statistical categories, the team and Horizon League record books, etc, etc.
For Green Bay the game's still important for seeding, while Valpo has nothing concrete to win or lose. It might be a little tempting to give some of next year's players some game minutes, rest some regulars, etc. But, we do have almost a full week off before our first tournament game. So, I suppose we'll mostly see the usual suspects - unless we go up decisively early.
Green Bay's a tough team, had been on a five-game winning streak, and regionally ranked, before their loss to Wright State. A road win for Valpo would be a good victory, period, and very good for momentum going into the tournament.
Obviously, we need to be able to beat teams like Green Bay in the tournament to make it to the NCAA!
This particular "Live Stats" edition is... unimpressive.
There is an occasionally updated game clock. But, the only entries for a while were two untimed fouls.
OK - there's one - GB corner kick, 10:47.
They do at least have the lineups...
Not the "no shots allowed" defense we had for a stretch of games there: 3 saves already 70 minutes in. But, UWGB's better than the average of the competition we were playing in that stretch. From what little I can tell (looking at a box score, more or less) it looks pretty even. 0-0. Green Bay's had all the corner kicks (three).
To overtime: 0-0.
.... No live stats for OT?
Well, the game's surely over. I wonder what the result was? Dark ages!
I've got nothing. Nothing from the live stats, nothing from either team's web page, nothing from twitter. Maybe facebook?
At this rate, I'll see it first in the newspaper! (Maybe two sentences on page B9, two days from now.)
Green Bay wins in overtime, 1-0.
Too bad, only loss in conference is our last game, let alone on an own goal. We took 2 shots in OT, they technically had 0. Let's win the tourney as well!!
Tough way to pick up your only league loss of the season. But, I can imagine the team was a bit flat.
It turns out, Green Bay's win didn't do them any good in the seedings race. One game yet to finish, but much is clear.
#1 Valpo 5-1-2 (17 points)
#2 Wright State 5-2-1 (16 points) (apparently the first tie-breaker _is_ head-to-head, and they beat CSU)
#3 CSU 5-2-1 (16 points)
#4 Green Bay 5-3-0 (15 points)
After that it's a little unclear, with UIC up 2-1 on Milwaukee, with 15 minutes to play. Let's assume UIC wins.
We'd have
#5 UIC 3-4-1 (10 points)
#6 Loyola 3-5-0 (9 points)
with Butler, Milwaukee, and Detroit missing the tournament.
Milwaukee can swap places with UIC if they win.
If Milwaukee ties UIC, Loyola would have the #5 seed (tie-breaker, win over Milwaukee) and Milwaukee the #6.
So, UIC needs the win, or they're not in the tournament. (Now they're up 3-1 with 7 minutes to play.)
The tournament bracket is up at
http://s3.amazonaws.com/hln/sports/brackets/5/bracket.pdf?1317130475 (http://s3.amazonaws.com/hln/sports/brackets/5/bracket.pdf?1317130475)
but without game times.
Valpo will play the lowest remaining seed after #3 vs #6 and #4 vs #5. Could well be Green Bay again, or UIC. (Or else it's Loyola, or Milwaukee). Valpo can't play Wright State or CSU in the semi-finals.
And apparently the second tie-breaker is, sort of like basketball, "best result moving down ladder". With a draw counting as better than a loss. I'm not exactly how they handle three-way ties, but likely it's the same as basketball.
Coach Avery talked about how he was happy noone got injured, or a card, against Green Bay.
I didn't realize, but there apparently is yellow card accumulation in NCAA soccer. 5 yellow cards gets you a one match suspension (not sure if you get kicked out of the game in progress, probably not?). If that's the case a red card probably causes you to miss the next match, also? (And, of course, to get kicked out of the game in progress.)
And, it sounds like these _do_ carry over to the Horizon League tournament. Not sure about the NCAA.
And, UIC goes final, UIC 3 - Milwaukee 1.
#1 Valpo 5-1-2 (17 points)
#2 Wright State 5-2-1 (16 points) (apparently the first tie-breaker _is_ head-to-head, and they beat CSU)
#3 CSU 5-2-1 (16 points)
#4 Green Bay 5-3-0 (15 points)
#5 UIC 3-4-1 (10 points)
#6 Loyola 3-5-0 (9 points)
Tuesday CSU hosts UIC and Green Bay hosts Loyola. Valpo plays one of Green Bay, UIC, and Loyola on Friday. Wright State plays one of CSU, Green Bay or UIC, also Friday, also at Brown Field. Final next Sunday.
Let's win this thing!
Quote from: swiftmutiny on November 05, 2011, 04:29:26 PM
Green Bay wins in overtime, 1-0.
In the 94th minute.
Have I mentioned that I don't like "golden goal"'s? In NCAA soccer, along with clocks that can be stopped, and games that end exactly on the 90 minute mark (with a countdown!), they have a "golden goal" rule.
In much of soccer, if there's no reason a game _has_ to have a winner (it's not the elimination round of a tournament, etc.) then after 90 minutes the game just ends. Draw.
In NCAA soccer, to add excitement I guess, they add up to two ten minute overtime periods. To any tied game. OK - I sort of get it, let's break the tie by playing more soccer - fine.
But, with the "golden goal" rule it becomes sudden death. 10 minutes isn't a lot of time - so if someone scores in overtime, it's most likely that their opponents wouldn't have time to match. But, why not let them try?
I'm just not used to walk-off homeruns in soccer, except, maybe, in penalty kicks (which is how you settle a game, anywhere, when you _really_ need a winner).
The OT, and the "golden goal" adds a certain brand of excitement. But, for me, also a certain brand of mania. And, it can lead to possibly disheartening moments like an own goal ending the game in the 94th minute.
What's an "own goal"? Did it bounce off one of our guys into the net?
yes painful!!!
You don't get kicked out of a game in progress for yellow card accumulation, unless you receive two yellow cards in one game, which becomes a red card. You just know that you will be missing the next one
Quote from: vu72 on November 06, 2011, 03:14:59 PM
What's an "own goal"? Did it bounce off one of our guys into the net?
But, in the scrum that results in the goal and penalty boxes during a corner kick or free kick, it sometimes happens. A shot bounces off the leg of a defender and goes in, or the balls rattling around the box and happens to go off a defender into the goal.
Obviously not the intent - mostly the defense wants to clear it out, fast!. But, it happens.
Quote from: valpotx on November 06, 2011, 03:52:49 PM
You don't get kicked out of a game in progress for yellow card accumulation, unless you receive two yellow cards in one game, which becomes a red card. You just know that you will be missing the next one
For yellow card accumulation, and for a red card, is the automatic suspension one game?
I believe it is one game, but if the red card is an extremely violent one, the suspension could go under review for more games. The same happens in the pro leagues around the world.
Btw, let's celebrate Butler's futility in not making the conference tourney!! With their low finishes in men's and women's soccer, I do have to admit I am enjoying it a bit too much. I guess their ego-centric comments about easily being selected into the Big East make me root against them even more than usual ;D
According to the league site, we have official pairings and times for the tournament:
First Round - November 8 - Campus Sites
6 CT #6 Loyola vs. #3 Cleveland State
7 CT #5 UIC vs. #4 Green Bay
Semifinals - November 11 - at Valpo
1 CT #3/#4/#5 vs. #2 Wright State
7 CT #4/#5/#6 vs. #1 Valpo
Finals - November 13 - at Valpo
1 CT TBD vs. TBD
Quote from: KL31NY on November 06, 2011, 04:21:30 PM
7 CT #4/#5/#6 vs. #1 Valpo
Not during class - yeah!
Quote
Finals - November 13 - at Valpo
1 CT TBD vs. TBD
Ooh - they're really going to tempt me to watch at least some of the game, and flirt with missing my flight.
Or, maybe, get to the airport a little early and watch at least the end on HLN?
Two notes:
Postseason awards announced today... naturally, we did pretty well: http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11171/crusaders-rake-in-horizon-league-mens-soccer-postseason-honors/ (http://www.valpoathletics.com/msoccer/news/2011-12/11171/crusaders-rake-in-horizon-league-mens-soccer-postseason-honors/)
The semifinals are now 4 and 7 PM CT instead of 1 and 7 PM, which actually makes more sense.
Despite the loss to Green Bay, Valpo remains in the latest regional ranking.
http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/772/NCAADivisionI/men/GreatLakes/Poll11 (http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/772/NCAADivisionI/men/GreatLakes/Poll11)
A couple of weeks ago it was UWGB 9, Wisconsin 10 (UIC receiving votes).
Last week Valpo 9, Wisconsin 10 (UWGB, UIC receiving votes).
Now we've got Wisconsin 8, Valpo 9, UWGB 10, Marquette drops all the way from 8 to "receiving votes" (UIC, Wright State also receiving votes).
Previous Valpo opponents are:
#4 Northwestern (and #25 in nation) who we beat on neutral ground
#5 NIU to whom we lost at their place (receiving one vote in the national poll)
#6 Ohio State who we drew with at our place
and, of course, the Horizon League teams.
Looking forward to Friday!
Loyola 1 CSU 0, Valpo gets Loyola Friday, a good draw!
A belated congrats to the soccer team. From what I have read over the past couple of months, they really played some good defense over the course of the season. Almost as important, the character of this team is very high. Good luck this weekend!
Disappointing not to see anything in the local papers today, ahead of the tournament.
Who needs 'em?
Go Valpo! 7 PM! Beat Loyola!
0-0 at the half. Loyola's looked surprisingly tough. Valpo not at top form tonight? But deserves to win, narrowly, so far.
Cold night at Brown field. Decent crowd, some Loyola, nothing like the Butler game.
2nd OT. Valpo looking more dangerous than Loyola, but may go to PKs.
PKs. Zobeck's good, but this is _not_ comfortable.
Loyola 5-4. In 7 rounds? Not zobecks fault.
Tough end to a fantastic season.
A game we should have won, especially with 21 shots to 4! Good season regardless, but one where we should have been in the championship.
It says something that we exited with a shutout. Reflects the season, in some ways.
I'm far from an authority on soccer. But, it's never been readily apparent how we score goals. We possess the ball a lot, we do put numbers forward. And, sometimes, the ball goes in the back of the net. But, we certainly had no go-to guy. Very few one-on-one goals, very few goals in the run of play. What was it, more than a dozen players with a goal? Looking it up: 14 players sharing 25 goals. Noone with more than 4. Allowing only 14 goals (a Valpo record).
When you make your living winning 1-0 games, sometimes it's going to wind up 0-0 instead. And PK's are noone's idea of comfortable.
21 shots against Loyola, but only 7 on goal. And some of those not very dangerous. We probably did enough that we deserved to win. But, Loyola seemed to be playing above themselves and we... maybe a bit below.
It'll be a different team next year for sure, with the whole back line graduating (both center backs, both fullbacks: the HL defensive player of the year and an all-HL second team player among them). Will be interesting to see if the style of play changes.
It was a heck of a season!
They did win Valpo's first Horizon League regular season title and nobody can take that away from them. These seniors can always cherish that huge accomplishment for Valpo. Congratulations guys!
Sad day for our conference in that a #6 seed (Loyola) will be representing our conference in the NCAA tournament. It would be nice if only the top 4 seeds made the conference tournament in each sport, as instances like this do not help one bit...
Or as in mens basketball should the tournament be seeded with single or double byes given to the 1st and 2nd place teams. That ensures a higher seed (higher than #6 at least) makes the NCAA tourney.
The thing is, the first and second place teams _did_ get byes. And the #1 seed hosted. And only 6 of 9 teams made the tournament at all. Loyola won their play-in game. Then knocked off the #1 seed at home (even if it took PK's), and then knocked off the #2 seed in OT (and they actually scored a goal this time, in only their second shot-on-goal of the game).
So, the deck was stacked against them. And they still won it all.
Since they lost to us in the regular season, they've won five straight.
Good luck to them, in the NCAA tournament!
I think someone on the previous board mentioned that he expected the first time this format worked against us, that someone was going to make a stink about it. Sure, Valpo was the #1 seed, and got the bye that went with it, plus the right to host the semis and finals, but we didn't do what was needed to win the game, and that's score goals. If we had scored goals during regulation, then we wouldn't have needed two overtimes and penalty kicks. We just didn't take that momentum of winning the HL regular season, and use it to our advantage in the semis. No need to cry over spilled milk because we didn't do what we needed to do.
No one is crying over spilled milk, as I have thought this same thing going back to the Mid-Con days. It's just plain embarrassing to have a team with that seed/record representing your conference in the NCAA tournament. I would be saying the same thing if we were the #6 seed with a 7-11-1 record. Yes, I would be happy to be in the tourney, but would not feel that our conference put forth the best representative to take on better teams.
This even applied to my own sport, in that though it would have been great to be in the NCAA baseball tournament, we were always a #3-#5 seed in the Mid-Con tourney, and if anyone but ORU advanced, it was doing our conference an injustice ($ included).
It's true that Loyola's in with the worst record in the tournament, and with only one other team (Elon 9-10-2) having a losing record.
Bradley's in as an at-large bid, but not seeded (there are 16 seeded teams, who get first round byes; I assume the rest of the pairings are random). They finished third in the Missouri Valley, and were nationally ranked for much of the season.
Oddly, they already beat Loyola once this year: 2-1. Aren't first round re-matches prohibited in the NCAA basketball tournament?
Quote from: agibson on November 14, 2011, 06:46:54 PM
It's true that Loyola's in with the worst record in the tournament, and with only one other team (Elon 9-10-2) having a losing record.
Bradley's in as an at-large bid, but not seeded (there are 16 seeded teams, who get first round byes; I assume the rest of the pairings are random). They finished third in the Missouri Valley, and were nationally ranked for much of the season.
Oddly, they already beat Loyola once this year: 2-1. Aren't first round re-matches prohibited in the NCAA basketball tournament?
First round re-matches can happen for two teams that played each other in the non-conference season, just not between two teams in the same conference.
Loyola falls 2-1, again. I don't see it yet, but I'll be curious to read a game report. Loyola was out shot 20-11. Corner kicks went _10_ to 0. Loyola actually led early, scoring in the 30th minute. They led going into the half. Fouls were 10 to 14, doesn't seem like _too_ many.
But, right _after_ Bradley's first goal a Loyola player gets a yellow card. And another player gets one twenty seconds later. Two more yellows as the game progresses (this is already more than any game Valpo played in this season). And then, with twenty seconds to play, a straight red. And as time expires (or after time?) two more red cards.
Definitely some emotions running hot, I guess. I'll be curious to see if it comes out, what happened.
Bradley's official report doesn't explain the yellows, but does say this about the finish.
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25970&SPID=1513&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205335074&DB_OEM_ID=3400 (http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25970&SPID=1513&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205335074&DB_OEM_ID=3400)
Quote
With Bradley clinging to the 2-1 advantage, the game ended in frenetic fashion. In the game's final minute, Loyola's Justin Koehler took a shot in a crowd that was ultimately saved by Billings for his sixth save of the night. The Ramblers argued for a hand ball by the Braves and senior Erik Warren was red-carded for arguing with the official at 89:39. As the game ended, Koehler and Eric Marofske, also were hit with red cards.
Quote from: crusaderjoe on November 03, 2011, 08:46:53 AM
As someone who played soccer for VU many moons ago, I want to extend my congratulations to the lads and coaching staff on a job well done. It is only fitting that MSO should win VU's first HL title since it was MSO that played in VU's first HL conference game ever. Avery has done a tremendous job with this program. Keep it going boys.
This will be my last post on the forum.
To my MSO brothers, including the coaches, the staff, and also the athletic trainers who so diligently met our medical needs with professionalism and care, wherever you may be, past or present, varsity or club, thank you for the memories. We had some wins, some losses, and some draws. Home games, road trips and neutrals. We had games at Eastgate Field, at Brown Field, on intramural fields, and in the really olden and early days, in the outfield of the baseball diamond, if my younger memory is correct. We proudly wore the brown and gold for our beloved school, win or lose. We were, and still are, and forever will be, the Crusaders.
We had a hell of a varsity run—37 years' worth. And somehow, the program has been reduced from being the active University representative of the world's most beautiful game to just a memory, like an asterisk in a record book, in an instant. Again, this is such a shame, from a number of different avenues and for a number of different reasons.
May God bless all of my brothers. And, may God bless all of you diehard Valpo sports fans on this site too. This site is the heart and soul of VU athletics. I was happy to be a part of it.
I guess I'll shut off the lights on this thread.
Later,
Joe