So what 1 game is everyone looking forward to seeing this coming fall?

National Championship rematch, for Messiah Homecoming.

York vs. Messiah repeat. Expect another great one, but don't expect it to be the d3kicks.com game of the week...

My guess is that UWO and UWW will both be in the hunt for a post season bid and as always the season finale will be a battle. I don�t know much about the UWW recruits (other than what I read here). Sounds like there are some lofty expectations or maybe there�s a lot riding on those new players panning out. Always a risk banking on players that haven�t been to practice yet, national team or not, over 20 or not. One proven player on your pitch is worth 2 �I think their good� on someone else�s pitch.

UWO will be on the young side with a large group of starting underclass men. The back line will be experienced and formidable with the goalie in year 3 of starting. The wings and Mid center will be experienced and fast. Both wings will be back, #1 and #4 in team points last year. What is needed will be a possessing finishing forward that has good vision and can also pass for an assist. I don�t see UWO giving much up in the way of goals and if the scoring clicks then UWO will be a force to be reckoned with. Time will tell.


I know the several of the returning UWO players are working hard in the off season. 3 of last years freshman played on the U19 State Cup Champion team and are undefeated in pool play at the MRL Regionals this week, although they have a tough game today against the Kansas City Legends, the winner advances to the semi finals. 2 of the UWO players are responsible from 3 out of 5 goals and assists on the other 2. 2 other of the freshman played on the state cup runner-up and some upperclassman are playing out of state. The chemistry should ratchet up a couple of clicks as only one starter was lost, there will be some new blood with the recruits and I have heard about some nice forwards, however one can�t build up to much in the way of expectations until these new players get into camp and prove there worth and ability to adapt to a new environment and team.

So look for UWO to contend for post season play.

GAC's weekend at SNC and UWO will be a fun one. But, they have much bigger games throughout the season (any MIAC game).

The most entertaining game of the season will be GAC vs. UC-Sant Cruz at GAC October 19th. Hopefully there will be a live video webcast of this game.

I am also looking forward to the UWO-UWW game. Depending how the season goes for these two teams, this game could be HUGE, last game of the regular season, maybe for a spot in the tournament. Big rivalry under any circumstances. Both teams will be fairly young, but should both be fairly experienced by the last game of the year.

Throw in the fact that last year game was a 0-0 tie, the spring game was a 1-1 tie, should make for an intense tight game.

Not really West, not really Central but in the cornbelt St.John's of MIAC must be on everyone's wish list. They will meet Wartburg in Waverly, Ia Oct 13 and somehow they convinced Loras to travel to Waverly to play them the next day Oct 14th. They'll also play Central College of the IIAC Sept 6th.

Loras has given itself a stiff challenge this year facing U/Chicago and Wheaton on the first weekend of play. And they'll meet St.Norbert a couple weeks later, as well as conference rivals Central and Wartburg during the year.

LuvD3,

I don't know about you, but I cannot understand UWO's schedule. They seem to be missing some key opponents (Dominican & North Park specifically). They have the softest schedule I have seen from them in almost a decade... Clarke, Marian, Carroll, Lawrence, Superior, IWU, Wisc. Luth., all of these teams are about as weak as can be found in the central region. Maybe UWO put a soft schedule together because they lack confidence coming off of last year, or they do not have the recruiting class they hoped for. I have heard they got completely outplayed in the North Park and Dominican matches last fall, and I heard they did not deserve the draw with UWW last fall.

To my understanding UWW got 3 of the top graduating forwards in the state with one of them turning down a UWM scholarship, so I am curious about the nice forwards you have heard that are going to UWO? I also believe the UWW GK that has shutout UWO that last 2 years will be in his 5th year this fall for UWW.

Should be an interesting year in WI D3 soccer!

mr. knowitall,

don't be fooled by St. Norbert's fortunate run of the past 2 seasons... they will field a significantly depleted team this fall. loras having them on the schedule will not be much of a test for loras. SNC will struggle to win their conference this year... if snc wins their conference it will certainly not say much for the rest of the teams in their conference.

D3guru,

I saw that you wrote St. Norbert had a fortunate run the past 2 seasons. They've been to the NCAA tournament the past 5 years. Thats not "Fortunate." People don't like them for a number of reasons, including their head coach probably most of all. But they do win and you cannot take that away from them. Every year people say that St. Norbert will not win because they lost some players, and yet they are always in the NCAA tournament.

If not St. Norbert for conference, than who is your pick?

Funny how SNC all of the sudden got 5 NCAA bids once the NCAA mandated that all conferences be represented with an "AQ" bid... prior to that they did not get into the post-season. Their conference is a joke. I can say that it is a joke because no one in the entire MWC has been able to beat them in the last 5 years. I would watch out for Carroll College this year as they finished strong last year and return many. I have no idea who will win the MWC... I just know that SNC's talent pool (which has been very average from a "top D3" perspective) has been significantly diminished over the past 2 seasons and it is not easy to constantly replace players at a school like that.

As I said, if one of the other teams in that conference cannot win it and get into the NCAA this fall that will once again solidify my statement of how weak that conference truly is.

While I agree that the MWC is certainly not among the top conferences in D3, you can't take that away from SNC, who has had a consistent top 50 (nationally) team in D3 for the last 5 years.

They have won the MWC year in and year out because yes, it is a weak conference, but also because they have a good program that produces great athletes, and decent soccer players. Remember, SNC has played well against some tough out of conference teams over the past 5 or so years (UWO, UWW, Chicago, Dominican) to name a few. Also, SNC will be the favorite this year in the MWC, but, I do agree that SNC will have a lot tougher time this year because they lost a very significant portion of their talent(bernardy, bonifas...). This could be the year that a Carroll, Beloit or LU takes the conference, but I wouldn't expect a deep playoff run for any of those teams.

Mwolin,

I think you might have been misled by what you heard. The UWO vs Dominican and North Park were very good matches with I believe the North Park goalie make a couple of �saves of the year�, they were spectacular.

The 2 top forwards in the state are not going to UWW; Thierman is playing at Notre Dame and Crombie at Green bay. The UWO forward recruits are coming from out of state, I don�t know their names nor the state, it�s just something I�ve heard.

Last years UWO-UWW game was a great game, scoring chances on both sides.

UWO last year; 8-6-4 with a very tough schedule, and starting 5 freshmen. 20th something straight winning season, coach and program earned its 300th victory. Battled Wheaton and Aurora to a tie. Had 14 different players score goals, a team record and 13 of those players will be back. This year UWO has a minimum of 6 players that played in the USYS U19 and U18 regionals this past week, with the U19�s going as far as the finals before losing to the Chicago Magic (all D1 players). This speaks to the ability and tactical knowledge that these players will bring to the team. For a club team to qualify for the regionals they must either win their state cup or win the regional premier league, neither is an easy task. The U19 teams are nearly all populated with NCAA players, the U18 are almost all college bound. So player ability is quite high, the style and speed that the regional games are played at rivals NCAA soccer.

I agree the UWO schedule is soft but only when compared to last years schedule, which had to be one of the toughest in the nation. UWO always plays the other UW state schools as does UWW, so I don�t think that little pot shot is just. I don�t see UWW playing UW Madison or UW Green Bay, even if it�s as exhibition it still a challenge. By the way I noticed UWW schedule is not really much stronger than UWO. Here�s what I see as weak in the UWW schedule�.


Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament
Finlandia, (they won exactly one game last year)
Lakeland
St Mary�s
Luther
Ripon
Platteville
Superior
St Thomas

Lastly you�re right D3 soccer in Wisconsin is going to be very entertaining this year.

St.Thomas...weak?...what St.Thomas are you talking about? Surely, not St.Thomas of MIAC with 10W 5L 3T record.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2007 07:44PM by mr.knowitall.

Speaking of weak schedules, UW-Platteville has significantly upgraded their schedule. They ran out to a 10-0 record to start last year, got ranked, then imploded when the competition came at them going 4-5 the rest of the year.

They'll meet those 5 teams they lost to again this year and face Dominican, Millikin, Wheaton, Wartburg and Luther(who will be better) as well.

So, new coach this year and no more soft schedules. Keeping the loss total to 5 this year will be a great job. Good luck UWP!

Knowitall
'your right St Thomas was a stretch.

sorry

Luv D3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mwolin,
>
> I think you might have been misled by what you
> heard. The UWO vs Dominican and North Park were
> very good matches with I believe the North Park
> goalie make a couple of �saves of the year�, they

I was talking about Dominican vs. St. Norbert, and Chicago vs. St. Norbert. Both of those games I was at. The point I was making is that SNC can play against some of the best teams in the country.

mwolin,

another silly comment about SNC's top 50 national ranking. rankings in D3 are a total joke. they simply reflect the "equitable representation" that the NCAA imposed 5 years ago with the conference "AQ's" you cannot possibly rank nationally (and it is impossible to do so regionally as well) in D3 so if you are buying into the rankings you are uninformed. you can rank 1 thing... and that is that Messiah is the best team in the country, that is it!

Mwolin, I agree, and would also say that of UWO and UWW.

LuvD3,

I am a huge MIAC fan and MN resident. I know there are lots of quality players in WI, many of whom end up in D3 so I enjoy hearing the WI soccer scuttle. I was not taking a "pot-shot" at UWO's soft 2007 schedule. Not having Dominican and North Park on their schedule could certainly be costly come post-season selection time. Some of the Dominican players told me this summer that their coach tried everything to schedule with UWO but UWO was coming up with all kinds of excuses...?

Thierman is one of the top forwards coming out of WI this year although I have heard that he will likely play left back/mid at ND. I have also been told that Crombie is a quality player but certainly not one of the top attacking players in WI. I heard that there are 4-5 better attacking players coming out of the Milwaukee area alone. I have been told that both Raymonds and Banks (who are committed to UWG will prove to be much better players than Crombie.

Since you brought up UWW's "weak schedule" I went and checked it out...

Looks like their 2nd opponent with Wartburg at the Wisc. Luth. tournament will be strong (NCAA round of 8 and round of 16) the last 3 years. UWO plays Wisc. Luth this year so I don't understand your logic putting that tournament on UWW's weak opponent list? I think you have UWP on UWW's weak list, then you have to put UWO on the list. UWP had a better record last fall, and played UWO very evenly in a 2-1 loss (they had the same shot count). The only difference between the 2 last fall was in their results against UWW. As a MIAC fan I am glad you retracted your statement about St. Thomas, and I have heard that St. Mary's was much imporved last fall with their new coach and should be tougher this year in his second year... so I have to seriously question putting St. Mary's on the weak opponent list. With the rest of your list, it looks like UWO and UWW play common opponents except for Luther who should be a much stronger test than Marian, Clarke, and Lawrence who UWO play? Obviously Finlandia is a weak opponent, that is not on UWO's schedule, but I see that UWW has scheduled 19 matches so you can essentially take that one out. Finally, your comment about pre-season opponents... who really cares about those matches??

In your talk about USYSA regionals you are certainly putting out a great "sales pitch" on UWO's future this fall. However, when I look at their stats from 2006 they only scored 34 goals, they had almost as many yellow/red cards as goals? I have said it earlier on this site what you have as an 18 year old in terms of soccer savy/ability is pretty much what you have through your college career. So I would just expect much of the same from UWO as last year... other than their softer schedule.

Speaking of UW D3, I would watch out for UW-Platteville. Their new coach will tap into the good talent that is currently there and they will be exponentially better in 2007. I believe they will beat UWO (because of their talent, and because it is played at UWP) , they will only lose to UWW because it is at UWW and they will still have the spanking that UWW gave them last year on their mind.

Should be a great year of midwest D3 soccer!

D3guru - I agree that college rankings in general can be quite arbitrary. With so many teams that never play against each other, how can you possibly rank them. That being said, ranking teams is certainly interesting and sparks great discussion.

THAT being said, it is not arbitrary or contrived to say that a program is among the top 50 programs in the country. They have proven themselves against good competition. While conference AQs may seem unfair to quality teams that don't win their conferences, it makes the season a lot more exciting for most of the conferences in d3. If your that good, you should win your confernence (conf. tournament).

D3guru Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mwolin,
>
> another silly comment about SNC's top 50 national
> ranking. rankings in D3 are a total joke. they
> simply reflect the "equitable representation" that
> the NCAA imposed 5 years ago with the conference
> "AQ's" you cannot possibly rank nationally (and
> it is impossible to do so regionally as well) in
> D3 so if you are buying into the rankings you are
> uninformed. you can rank 1 thing... and that is
> that Messiah is the best team in the country, that
> is it!

mwolin,
silly rankings make for silly, useless discussion... and rankings in D3 are silly. both regional and national rankings are ridiculous. some of the regional rankings in "smaller regions" are possible, but the central and the west regional rankings are just as ridiculous as the national rankings...

teams tend to get "ranked" in D3 based more heavily on their winning percentage than on the quality of their competition... so for SNC they have an average of 10 games that they are guaranteed to win every year in their conference. i am sure I could put together a "50 game national schedule" that would prove there are many teams that do not deserve a "top 50 ranking" but they are winning their conference consistently so they get ranked a bit higher. the only team i could probably not do this for is Messiah as they would win and prove their deserved ranking of #1.

D3guru,


You really seem to be hating on SNC. However, they made it to the Sweet 16 of the tournament 3 years ago and the 2nd round last year beating a very good Chicago team. They also had their chances against Dominican. They were one of only a couple of teams to out shoot and out possess Dominican. Give credit where credit is due. Their conference is weak, yes, but their non-conference schedule is tough. I see how you are talking about UWO and UWW. SNC beat UWW and haven't lost to UWO is 3 years (a tie last year). The rankings are a silly, but SNC can only play the teams on its schedule. And, based on past results have beaten those teams on their schedule.

D3Guru, let me get this straight. Rankings are silly. Conference AQs are also silly. Even saying that a team is among the top 50 is silly. My question for you is, how can you make a tournament field without AQs, and when you can't even pick the best teams based on schedules?

Secondly, rankings are NOT based strictly (or even over-emphatically based) on winning percentage. Yes, every once in a while a UW-Platteville will crack the top 25, but let's not forget about teams like NJCU, Wesleyan (CT), and Plattsburgh state, that made the top 25 despite having several losses.

mwolin,

prior to the current "AQ" selection process there was a great D3 post-season NCAA tounament where the best teams got invited each year... and yes some entire conferences got left home during that selection process. the tournament field was much stronger. we did not see the ridiculous 6-0 types of scores that are now common in the first 2 rounds just so that everyone can be represented.

since the change in post-season selection the rankings reflect and look very similar to the post-season selection. because of this the validity of the rankings has been diminished. D3 is simply too big to figure these rankings with any real validity.

i did not say that rankings are "STRICTLY BASED" winning percentages... winning percentages are a major influence because you cannot get head-to-head results.

jopake,
you obviously have not played a high level of soccer. a team can win a match on a given day (which is what i heard about the SNC/UWW) match last year. I heard that SNC got ridiculously lucky to win that match as they apparently were outclassed in every facet of the match...I also heard that UWW scored all 3 of the goals that day. SNC was probably due since they had not beaten or tied UWW previously.

i am proud of SNC not losing to UWO the past 3 seasons... has UWO been in the last 3 NCAA Tournaments?

i will give SNC credit for being opprotunistic and taking advantage of their post-season invitations. without the "AQ" selection process they might not have received that opportunity as many of their non-conference results would have kept them out of some of those post-seasons just like UWO's tough "non-conference" schedule has kept them out the past couple of years.

D3Guru, I understand that you know that rankings aren't based strictly on winning percentage. What i am saying is that they are less based on wp than you might think. Also, I think you missed my point about AQs. You said that it is impossible to rank teams nationally. What I am saying is that if it is impossible, then how do you choose which ones make the tournament?

Finally, I assure you that with the old system in place, SNC would have made the tourney in each of the past 5 seasons.

Boy it great to be able to debate this stuff again�

After it was noted that the UWO schedule is soft, I thought I�d point out that UWW schedule wasn�t really that different. Both schools are committed to playing the UW state schools, it�s not an option to avoid playing them. When looking at the weak parts of their schedules its really just different teams. Each year one or the other is going to have a slightly tougher schedule, as was UWO�s last year, this year UWW might be slightly tougher, not much though. And by the way, UWO dominated UWP last year, after UWO blew past them and scored at the 2:00 mark and then followed up 30 seconds later with another one off the post the UWP coach went to a target forward and basically sat back and packed in the defense to protect a run up of the score. UWO had an overwhelming advantage in regards to time of possession.

Dominican and North Park coach�s attempts to schedule UWO attests to their opinion of what UWO will be like this year. My sources tell me the Wheaton, Dominican and North Park coaches were very impressed with the UWO players last year.

UWP having a new coach is a step in the right direction, however it will take Enzo awhile to get the program on the right track. I saw his High School team play several times and it was nothing special, of course with a new level of talent that could change.

The preseason games don�t really mean much, but it�s a good measure as to depth and competitiveness.

I think the tactical knowledge of incoming players will augment what�s at UWO now, back to back years of recruiting players from successful regional premier teams will pay off. I think one was a starter on a 4 peat state cup team. The speed, skill, competitiveness and commitment is there, it�s demonstrated. And I don�t think players stall out when reaching college. What I said was that their not proven, meaning until they get away from Mommy and Daddy, adapt to school, face tough competion in practice and for playing time it�s really difficult to determine how they will contribute. The new player willing to learn, focus and work all year will improve each year.

Like I said it should be an entertaining year. And I think D3 play in the upper Midwest is improving every year.

UWP is going to go down in flames this year. They added Dom and everyone else because those teams view UWP as an easy win that will help their strength of schedule.

The UWW recruit who supposedly turned down Madison for Whitewater did it because Madison had used up all of their scholarships this year. They did not have any more money to give out.

I heard that the assistant coach at UWP is the one responsible for such schedule, then resigned.....She left a nice gift to the new coach there....