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Midwest Conference 2009
Midwest Conference 2008
Carroll Escapes with a Tie
(10/31/09)
The Green Knights of St. Norbert may have played the final game on their home
turf, coming in to help them say good bye were the undefeated Carroll University
Pioneers. The match had been billed as the best the Midwest Conference has had
to offer in the 2009 season.
The rivalry runs much deeper than just two talented Wisconsin teams or even two
conference rivals. The majority of both teams could tell you stories of playing
with and against their opposition through club play, indoor or from pick-up
games. Furthering the rivalry; both schools take players from the other school’s
respective areas: St. Norbert has seven players within 40 minutes of Carroll and
Carroll has ten players within the same distance of St. Norbert.
Coming into the match Kim Deal did interviews with St. Norberts’ Ben Vanden
Avond and Carroll’s Craig Carlson. Both showed a certain amount of admiration
for the other and their school and more importantly, both picked their
respective schools to win.
As the game started St. Norbert immediately took control, moving the ball around
their midfield and into Carroll’s defense without much opposition. Two crosses
were sent across Stanislaw Miaskowski’s goal area, neither of which found their
mark on the other side. As the game progressed through the first half Carroll
steadily gained back some possession and their share of shots but the Green
Knights were clearly dominating the field.
Vanden Avond seemed to take the game personal. Every time the ball found his
foot he would took it at the nearest defender forcing them into a decision.
Sometimes, he would keep it but more often he would release the ball advancing
forward seemingly at will. Norbert’s precision passing and countless shots
through the first half could not have sat well with the struggling Pioneers. On
one occasion, in the 25th minute, Senior All-Conference forward Adam Sanchez
pulled the ball out of the air, firing a shot from 30 yards away. Catching
Miaskowski off guard, Carroll’s goalkeeper could barely get his hands up before
the ball dropped in behind him striking the cross bar with a ring that could
have been heard from the far end of the parking lot. To Miaskowski’s surprise,
as he turned around the ball had ricocheted off the ground right into waiting
arms.
Although the shot was clearly a wakeup call, there was not much change in
Carroll’s style of play. They continued to struggle in retaining possession,
especially in their attacking third where they were missing both senior forwards
Marc Heitpas and Andy Prentice. Despite attacking toward one of the muddiest
penalty areas I have ever seen, St. Norbert defenders rarely had to worry about
a Carroll attack since most of their attacks were stymied before they could even
cross midfield. As the first half came to a close; St. Norbert held a 9-1
advantage in shots and nearly a 70-30 advantage in possession.
Entering the second half both teams knew that one goal would probably win the
match. With the field being in the condition it was, it was almost as impossible
to attack as it was to defend. One well placed ball could split a virtually
immobile defense making for an easy shot on an equally immobile goal keeper.
Continuing their domination, St. Norbert had a shot from 25 yards out on an
angle where again the ball hit the cross bar near the upper 90 of the goal.
Minutes later another shot caromed off Miaskowski directly to the feet of
Sanchez where the net was almost too wide open and Sanchez shot it wildly into
the trees beyond the field. Continuing the barrage, Carroll encountered a five
minute span where no one could get a clear or a clean tackle. Shots were coming
from all angles with Miaskowski getting hand on virtually everything. One
particular save took Miaskowski across his net getting little more than a finger
to deflect the shot off of the post where it bounced back into the 18 yard area.
Another shot was taken but blocked by full back Danny Pender, again the ball
bounced through the 18 to the original shooter with an almost open goal. As the
shot was placed down the middle of the net, Justin Ziegler came through on a
slide that looked more like a hockey bock than a soccer tackle, taking the ball
off of the end line where it was finally cleared by Pender.
As regulation came to a close Carroll knew they had narrowly escaped their first
conference loss in two years by the skin of their teeth. While St. Norbert could
not believe all 17 of their shots had been either denied or narrowly missed
their mark.
Opening the first overtime, St. Norbert won the toss and elected to send a
soaking Carroll defense back into their mud pit. Continuing the barrage, St.
Norbert earned three more shots, all of which missed their mark. Both overtimes
came and went without much to note aside from the frustration of the Green
Knights. Knowing that they had little time to stick it to their greatest rivals,
St. Norbert could not find the net.
As the second overtime ended there was a sense of relief on the Carroll sideline
and an indescribable anger on the other. Fortunately for St. Norbert, if they
beat Grinnell in the conference tournament and if Carroll wins their match
against Beloit, they will meet again. This time with an NCAA tournament berth at
stake.
Recap:
Grinnell/Ripon
By noworries
Early in the game, Ripon's forward has a one-on-one with the goalie, when the
goalie comes out and takes out the forward. Ripons forward was still able to get
a weak shot off and scores. The Ref states no goal, gives Grinnell’s goalie a
Red card for not playing the ball and awards RC a penalty kick. Grinnell saves
the PK.
Later in the game, once again Ripon gets a step on Grinnell's defender and is
proceeding for another one-on-one with the goalie, when taken down by GR. Ref
makes no call, awards a goal kick (?). RC had position on the goalie and I
believe would have scored easily.
Late in game with RC up 2-1, Referee awards GR a PK when GR#7 takes a fall on a
header. RC player wins header with a very clean jump, straight-up with little
contact, but Ref. bites on the fall and a grunt from the GR player (I give GR
kudos for the attempt, thus getting the call). This was another terrible,
terrible call by this center official who should not have ever been fooled by
this.
Late in the game, tied 2-2 I believe (could have been game winner); RC is
awarded a free kick from about 35 yards out. The ball sails over the
outstretched hand of the goalie, glances off the underside of the crossbar,
hitting the back of the net. Side judge calls it good goal. Referee, who was at
40yrd area, takes goal away. I think he stated interference; however, no one was
within 4 feet of the goalie.
Match started out well, with RC having a real good game. It appeared (?-any RC
people help me) that RC played with a 4th defender who was Marking GR#7 and GR#10.
I enjoyed watching the match-up between RC's defender #19 and GR's forward #7. I
feel that RC's coach did a good job with this decision. I think that GR thought
that they could get behind RC's defense with GR#7 speed. RC was not only able to
take the speed away but smart D-Play by #19 did not allow crosses or inside
runs. It neutralized GR's offensive push and allowed the defense to play
outstanding (good job RC - D), without too many bodies in the defensive third.
Midway through the second half, RC leads 2-0, controlled much of the game and
would have scored a few more, had it not been for the outstanding play by GR's
goalies.
However, all changed when RC's coach decided to switch to play a "not-to-lose"
type game/formation and made questionable substitutions to his starting defense.
I have to give my "hats-off" to the Ripon players for stepping-up their game and
out playing the better team (to that point). I feel without the bad officiating
you would have possibly been headed to the MWC Tourny.
Interview with Shane Taylor
- Illinois College (By Kim Deal)
Kim Deal: This is your
fourth season as the coach of Illinois College, how would you
say the team's progress has been?
Shan Taylor:
I think the team
has progressed very well. We have had good retention and that
often leads to success.
KD: Tomorrow may be the
biggest game in your program's history. Do your players see the
importance of tomorrow's game and what it means to your
program? ST: I am
sure they do.
KD: You have ten players
with multiple goals. Is that a result of your formation, your
practices? How do you get so many people involved in your
attack?ST: We have
some depth this year. This has led to several guys netting
goals. It is an advantage to have multiple players ready to step
up and score.
KD: For people who have not
had a chance to watch you play this season, how do you generate
your attack? Do you have a specific way of attacking that you
prefer?
ST: We are fairly
direct with our attack. We like to throw numbers forward
and make the other team chase. If the other team is chasing us,
we are doing our job offensively and they are not attacking us.
KD: What would you say
the biggest win of the season has been to this point?
ST: I think every
conference win for this program is a big win. There have not
been many over the past 18 years.
KD: Last question! Can
you give us a prediction for tomorrow's game?
ST:
I don't have a prediction on
the outcome. But I know our team will be confident and prepared
when the whistle blows. We have been looking forward to this
game and situation for a long time.
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Interview with Coach Jeff Bernhardt of Knox College
Kim Deal: This is your first year as head coach for the Knox
Prairie Fire, after having coached the Quad Cities United Premier Soccer
Club for the last four years. On top of that, you were the coach of the
Pleasant Valley High School JV coach. What are the things you are
enjoying most about your new roll and what kind of culture are you
brining to your new team?
Jeff Bernhardt: Thus far I am very much enjoying my first year as
head coach, I have brought a new attitude and a new focus to the team
that they haven't seen in a long time. Even though we have had a rough
start, I am still seeing much improvement from game to game.
KD: You have had a tough schedule to start your season. How do
you think this will help your team get ready for conference play?
JB: He have had a rough start at the begining of the season, however
I knew coming in it would take time for the team to get used to me and
vice versa. The last few games we have been really starting to gell and
we have started playing the way I know they can play. Once conference
starts I think we will surprise a lot of people, we have some key
players coming back from injuries and once we get them back in full
swing plus our deep bench I think we will be right in the mix.
KD: Lawrence Povoas led last year’s squad in goals (7), shots
(47) and shots on goal (28), while shooting a respectable 15%. Have you
seen Povoas take strides to increase those numbers and in particular,
get his shooting percentage higher? Is he your unquestioned team leader?
JB: Lawrence is a great leader on the field, hes not the most vocal,
but leads by example. For Knox to be successeful its going to take the
full roster to compete day in and day out. One player cannot carry any
team for the whole year.
KD: Knox allowed 2.78 goals per game in 2008. Is this a major
area of concern?
JB: Giving up one goal is a major concern for me, our mental
toughness and focus just needs to be better.
KD: What kind of formation are you looking to run in 2009? Do
you have a preferred style of attack?
JB: We started the season playing 3-5-2, but with some players coming
off injuries we are going to change the formation a little bit to
accommodate the strengths of those on the field. |
Interview with Coach Lance Gordon of Ripon College
Kim Deal: What do you expect from yourself and your team in
your first year at Ripon?
Lance Gordon: I expect to make some mistakes but I will
learn from them. I was taught early on that you can learn from anybody
at anytime, be they nine or ninety, so it always pays to listen. I
listen to my players, they know more about the conference and the
teams. I think we can definitely do a lot better than we did last year.
KD: With a full week’s worth of practices under your
belt, what are they biggest differences from the Ripon program to the
UW-Fox Valley program you coached for the past two seasons?
LG: Speed of play. I was teaching my players to think about
the second and third pass at Fox. Here I have to get into the fourth
and fifth. Also the dedication of the players. At Fox I got some great
players but they also had other commitments, like work, that you had to
deal with. Here at Ripon the players missing practices and games is the
exception not the norm.
KD: Have any particular players jumped out at you in
terms of talent or leadership that the conference may not yet be aware
of? What players do you expect to have big years in 2009?
LG: The Freshman Wilkins player from Beloit looks like a
very solid player for Tim. I think he has like five or six goals
already before they play Concordia. That is difficult for anyone let
alone a freshman. He will be a force for four years.
KD: Can you give us any insight as to what formation
you like to play, how your teams like to attack or any defensive schemes
you may be working with?
LG: I love the 4-4-2 with a flat four in the back and a
diamond in the middle, but you have to play a formation that fits your
talent. A great soccer coach told me that you have to play the best
formation that fits your talent. I will change my formation as my
talent dictates.
KD: What kind of player is Marco Rhein? Do you see
him being one of the conferences elite goal scorers?
LG: Marco is a leader. He will do whatever is asked of him
with everything he has. He isn't a Hietpas or a Prentice, not many are,
but he can get five to ten goals a year and be a very solid player up
top. If he is paired with a solid partner he can do some damage.
Comment on this Interview
2009 Preseason
Midwest Conference Rankings:
1.) St. Norbert College
Returning 9 starters which include
all 4 from the league’s top defense (3 goals against in conference play;
0.33 per game). They also have returning Adam Sanchez who was tied for
the league lead in goals (10). St. Norbert loses two starters in Ben
Vanden Avond and John Cremer. Neither will be easy to replace with
talent similar to the talent that the Green Knights have had over the
years. However as is almost always true with St. Norbert, there will be
players ready to step in and contribute.
2.) Carroll University
After graduating almost their
entire midfield, aside from Conference Player of the Year Craig Carlson,
Carroll looks to replace 3 All Region players in the same season. To
add to their losses defenders Bram Daelemans (second team
All-Conference) and Nate Lembke-Windler (first team All-Conference) have
also graduated. Despite the heavy losses in the midfield, the Pioneer’s
are returning all but one from their back line, starting goal keeper and
both starting forwards from their 2008 campaign.
It will be interesting to see if
Carroll can maintain their dominance from 2008 despite the heavy
losses. As an outsider looking in, I see their shots per-game dropping
dramatically but their defense stepping up to help the Pioneers to
another conference playoff berth.
3.)Grinnell
College
Trying to build on their 6-2-1
conference record and second round exit from the Midwest Conference
Tournament, Grinnell graduated All-Region player Andrew Walsh and his 23
conference points. Despite the loss of Walsh, the Grinell Pioneers are
returning two other All-North Central Region players in JP Prouty and
Alex Exarhos who scored 3 and 2 goals respectively.
Although Grinnell finished their
conference schedule second in shots, they were still a distant third in
goals scored. If their shooting percentage is not raised in 2009, they
may have to rely more heavily on one of the conference’s best goal
keepers in Ben Schemper and inside defender Andrew Mullins.
4.) Beloit
College
The 2008 Buccaneers had a
difficult time defending shots in 2008, giving up 59 in conference
play. This ranked them third after Monmouth and Knox, two teams that
combined for two conference wins. Nathan Lipps was continually asked to
keep the games close by having to defend countless shots. Thanks to a
late season surge, the Bucs almost snuck into the conference tournament
missing out to an overachieving Lawrence squad.
Look for Beloit, by losing only 2
players, to make a move into the conference top four teams, unless they
continue giving up as many shots as the previous season.
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