I know that this is the preview that we've all been waiting for. Forget about football. We want men's soccer!
http://themacdaily.com/1_44_Men-s-Soccer-Preview.html
Seriously though, I do hope that everyone enjoys this. Soccer is one of those NCAA sports that really puts the student in student-athlete.
The rise of soccer is directly correlated to the decline of Western Civilization.
the decline of Western.
[/quote]
Then I'm really not worried. In point of fact, I'm in a celebratory mood!
I have to think that Akron's biggest test will be Indiana. It's the night before the two schools play each other in football, so there will be a big visitor's crowd. OSU won't beat Akron, no matter how hard they try.
(07-17-2009 01:40 PM)uakronkid Wrote: [ -> ]I have to think that Akron's biggest test will be Indiana. It's the night before the two schools play each other in football, so there will be a big visitor's crowd. OSU won't beat Akron, no matter how hard they try.
Nobody beats Akron. Every team's biggest game could have been Akron. You guys just have an amazing soccer program. And, in case people don't follow soccer, the little ol' mid-major Zips are the pre-season No. 1 in most polls right now.
The toughest game isn't always the most important one. A big game is one where your team can make significant progress. The only team that can really say that a win over Akron would be important in that light would be NIU. They've been on the brink for a while. For the other teams I think you got the big games right.
(07-17-2009 01:25 PM)psc2009 Wrote: [ -> ]I know that this is the preview that we've all been waiting for. Forget about football. We want men's soccer!
http://themacdaily.com/1_44_Men-s-Soccer-Preview.html
Seriously though, I do hope that everyone enjoys this. Soccer is one of those NCAA sports that really puts the student in student-athlete.
Why the drop by NIU? Was it only because we lost our head coach? We finished second last season and played in a 1-0 OT loss in the MAC Championship game with Akron. We return a lot of players, including 13 of the top 15 offensive players last season. Biggest loss was our goalkepper.
That's part of it. The other part is the schedule. Four MAC games on the road, and a brutal non-conference schedule (especially at UNC). The top four teams are real even and someone had to drop. If they lose at Hartwick and Akron, and get a bad result somewhere else, that would be fourth.
(07-17-2009 02:44 PM)psc2009 Wrote: [ -> ]That's part of it. The other part is the schedule. Four MAC games on the road, and a brutal non-conference schedule (especially at UNC). The top four teams are real even and someone had to drop. If they lose at Hartwick and Akron, and get a bad result somewhere else, that would be fourth.
I thought this was a pre-season ranking based on MAC results. NIU always plays a difficult non-conference schedule but that does not factor into our MAC standings. We play Buffalo, the team you ranked 2nd, at home this year. Though we play four MAC road games only one of them will be difficult (Akron) and one will be semi-difficult (Hartwick). They're a pretty decent soccer school but we shouldn't lose to them. You also don't seem to be realizing that soccer is not a win or lose sport, there are also ties. If NIU loses to Akron and ties Hartwick then wins the other four conference games that will be good enough for 2nd place again.
(07-17-2009 02:19 PM)epasnoopy Wrote: [ -> ] (07-17-2009 01:25 PM)psc2009 Wrote: [ -> ]I know that this is the preview that we've all been waiting for. Forget about football. We want men's soccer!
http://themacdaily.com/1_44_Men-s-Soccer-Preview.html
Seriously though, I do hope that everyone enjoys this. Soccer is one of those NCAA sports that really puts the student in student-athlete.
Why the drop by NIU? Was it only because we lost our head coach? We finished second last season and played in a 1-0 OT loss in the MAC Championship game with Akron. We return a lot of players, including 13 of the top 15 offensive players last season. Biggest loss was our goalkepper.
When I was a freshman, my alma mater's only loss in soccer was to NIU. My alma mater went on to win the Div III national championship that year.
Carry on.
(07-17-2009 03:04 PM)epasnoopy Wrote: [ -> ] (07-17-2009 02:44 PM)psc2009 Wrote: [ -> ]That's part of it. The other part is the schedule. Four MAC games on the road, and a brutal non-conference schedule (especially at UNC). The top four teams are real even and someone had to drop. If they lose at Hartwick and Akron, and get a bad result somewhere else, that would be fourth.
I thought this was a pre-season ranking based on MAC results. NIU always plays a difficult non-conference schedule but that does not factor into our MAC standings. We play Buffalo, the team you ranked 2nd, at home this year. Though we play four MAC road games only one of them will be difficult (Akron) and one will be semi-difficult (Hartwick). They're a pretty decent soccer school but we shouldn't lose to them. You also don't seem to be realizing that soccer is not a win or lose sport, there are also ties. If NIU loses to Akron and ties Hartwick then wins the other four conference games that will be good enough for 2nd place again.
Which is why they play the games. I personally see them as the 4th best team this year, but I don't mind being wrong. Honestly, the reason that us media types put up those rankings is for discussions just like this. Really, the difference between 2nd and 4th this year could be the difference of two or three goals between NIU, Buffalo and Hartwick.
The goal is not to be 5th. There is a huge drop in talent between fourth place and fifth place right now. It's like the difference between Florida and Vanderbilt in SEC football.
I hate this thread. Only because Miami's program was a victim if Title9 and doesn't exist. Too bad. Good luck Akron. You guys are really developing a fantastic program...
(07-19-2009 07:12 PM)kamuohio Wrote: [ -> ]I hate this thread. Only because Miami's program was a victim if Title9 and doesn't exist. Too bad. Good luck Akron. You guys are really developing a fantastic program...
That's a good point that I think deserves more discussion from the MAC heads. Only five true MAC teams have a men's soccer team right now. It's a very cheap sport to run (important in this economy). We need more men's soccer teams in the MAC.