2012 College Cup

Discussion in 'College & Amateur Soccer' started by Hararea, Dec 4, 2012.

  1. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    All games on ESPNU and ESPN3

    5 pm Friday, Maryland - Georgetown
    7:30 pm Friday, Creighton - Indiana
    2 pm Sunday, the final

    How many weapons does Maryland have? Well, thus far in the tournament, eleven different Terps have registered a goal or an assist, Mullins, Jane, Pace, Raley, Eticha, Metzger, Leikvang, Cyrus, Edwards, Woodberry, and Kemp. If we go back to the ACC final, we can add Ambrose and Tshuma to the list, and we still haven't gotten around to mentioning Stertzer.

    With the Cup being two games in three days, Maryland's depth is an even bigger advantage than usual, especially when compared to the shallower benches of Indiana and Creighton. That's no guarantee, of course, but you've got to consider the Terrapins big favorites to win it all.
     
  2. xpowerout

    xpowerout Member

    Nov 17, 2010
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Apparently this was posted earlier, but remains interesting: Georgetown, Indiana, and Creighton have all scored 39 goals this year. Maryland has scored 60.

    Per game averages:
    GF -- UMD 2.61, IU 1.77, CU 1.70, G'Town 1.62
    GA -- IU 0.82, CU/G'town 0.83, UMD 0.96

    It looks like the contenders are going to have to punch well above their offensive weight or do something stunning on defense to slow the Terps down.
     
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  3. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    Their stat lines are all similar to Wake Forest's, which scored 40 goals, allowed 19, and is the only team to beat Maryland. I also think they're all capable of playing Maryland the way Wake did that day, keeping possession and forcing the Terps to work the ball upfield patiently. On the other hand, if they give up the ball to Maryland cheaply, the Terps will push forward in waves and wear them out.

    And obviously, Maryland's opponents need to seize on their chances to score. Brown still must be kicking itself for not going up 2-0 on Maryland back in round two. Another stat on Maryland is that it hasn't been shut out all year. Its two ties were 2-2, and its loss was 4-2. Which all goes to show that you can't afford to merely protect a lead against them. You need more.

    The tendency in these final four games is to play very conservatively, and sometimes that's also the right approach. This year it doesn't seem like sitting back is the right approach for anyone. Hopefully that makes for entertaining soccer.
     
  4. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Some Final Four historical trivia and stats...

    Elmar Bolowich is seeking to become the second coach to win D-I men’s soccer titles at two different schools. (Bob Guelker - Saint Louis and SIU-Edwardsville.)

    Indiana is seeking to become the first program to win D-I national titles with three different head coaches. (Jerry Yeagley and Mike Freitag.) Suffice to say, they'd be the first father-and-son combo to win national titles in men's soccer. I don't know how many times, if ever, this has been done in other NCAA sports.

    With a third national title, Sasho Cirovski would move into college soccer royalty, joining Sigi Schmid (3), Harry Keough, Bruce Arena and Steve Negoesco (5 each, though one of USF’s was stripped), Jerry Yeagley and Bob Guelker (6).

    Maryland is also looking to join Saint Louis, San Francisco, Indiana, UCLA and Virginia as programs that have won national titles in three different decades.

    Georgetown is looking to become the first program to win a national title in their first trip to the Final Four since St. John’s in 1996 and Wisconsin the year before. Not counting Saint Louis winning the first NCAA title, the only other programs to win a national title in their first Final Four are San Francisco (66) and Santa Clara (89).

    I mentioned this in the QF thread, but Creighton is looking to avoid being the only program to make 5 Final Fours and not have a national title. Every other program to make at least 5 final fours has a national title, though UCLA didn’t win their first till their 6th Final Four. Michigan State and Clemson won their first national titles in their 5th trip to the Final Four.

    If Indiana wins they will have gone 8 years between national titles. Six programs have had longer gaps between national titles: Maryland 68-05; Connecticut 81 to 2000; Virginia 94 to 09; Indiana 88 to 98; North Carolina 01 to 11 and San Francisco 66 to 75. However, all of those programs had multiple trips to the Final Four between their national titles while this is IU’s first trip to the Final Four since their 04 national title.

    Creighton will be looking to become just the 4th school since 1981 that is outside the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Pac-whatever to win a D-I men’s soccer national championship. (Santa Clara – co-champs in 89, UC Santa Barbara in 06 and Akron two years ago.)

    Prior to Connecticut winning a national title in 81, the only national titles won by those conferences were Michigan State’s co-national titles in 67 and 68, the second of which was shared with Maryland.

    Since and including 1981, teams from the Big East, ACC, Big Ten and Pac-10/12 have taken 81 of 128 Final Four spots – that’s 63 percent of the Final Four spots despite making up about 12 percent of the teams that play D-I men’s college soccer. (The 12 percent figure varies some because the number of teams in DI and teams in those conferences has not been constant.)


    For the ACC, this is the 12th year in a row, 14th time in the last 16, 24th time in the last 27 years and 27th time in the last 31 years at least one team from the conference has made the Final Four. During this time, the ACC has had 37 teams make the Final Four and won 14 national titles.

    No word on how many road games they had to win along the way. ;)
     
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  5. No shinguards

    No shinguards Member

    Mar 21, 2008
    The Moon
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Impressive bit of knowledge on College Soccer you have stored away....Thanks for sharing this.. I enjoyed reading it...

    As far as my question on Foreign Coaches.. I was just curious as to how many there were, as a percentage, and their winning % as compaerd to non- foreign coaches...
     
  6. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    I have several questions ...

    1) How was the order of the semifinals chosen? More specifically, was (is) the choice (always) random or are other factors at play?

    2) Has the semifinal order mattered historically? I would think with a (imo, too-) short turnaround between the semis and final there would be an advantage to playing the first one (then relaxing and watching the second one). {Incredibly, the (college hockey) Frozen Four used to hold the two semis on different days, with the final invariably (iirc) won by the team with the extra day's rest.}

    3) What is the recent history among the four semifinalists, including scrimmages, spring games, etc.? Can we learn anything from their results against common opponents this year?

    Thanks in advance!
     
  7. Well Duh

    Well Duh Member

    Jul 17, 2008
    Translation:

    Creighton is looking to avoid being the second program to make 5 final fours and not have a national title they will be joining UCLA .

    UCLA finally got it right in their sixth try.
     
  8. Schapes

    Schapes Member

    Aug 20, 2001
    ESPN 3? Really?

    What they have more NFL Live, College Football Finals to show?

    My assumption is basketball. They don't show enough of that?

    Probably some Belmont-Memphis game no one can do without.
     
  9. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    What, specifically, are you complaining about?

    They are showing the games live on a TV channel - ESPN-U - that many people get. And if you don't get it or aren't by your TV, you can watch it on-line live on ESPN3. That's two differnet ways to watch the games live.

    ESPN is a business not a charity. They show what they do on ESPN 1 and 2 because they get better ratings not because of a sense of philanthropy. If and when college soccer got better ratings, I'm sure they'd show it in a more desirable slot.

    Till then, be happy you have what you have.
     
  10. colins1993

    colins1993 Member

    Mar 1, 2001
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Velcome to Amerika
     
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  11. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    63% doesn't seem very good when compared to seeding. I didn't go back beyond the past decade, but in that time period, the four major conferences have combined for 88% of the top-four seeds, and they've obviously gotten plenty of other high seeds, as well. The ACC alone has been given 55% of the top-four seeds. (ACC soccer's motto: "we earned our seed by playing with ourselves.")

    Teams Seeded into Final Four
    2012 - Big East 3 (ND, UConn, G'town), ACC 1 (Md)
    2011 - ACC 2 (UNC, BC), Big East (UConn), MVC (Creighton)
    2010 - ACC 2 (Md, UNC), Big East (Louisville), MAC (Akron)
    2009 - ACC 2 (Va, Wake), MAC (Akron), Big Ten (Ohio St)
    2008 - ACC 2 (Wake, Md), Big East (St Johns), Big Ten (Mich St)
    2007 - ACC 2 (BC, Wake), Big East (UConn), Big Ten (Indiana)
    2006 - ACC 3 (Duke, Va, Wake), CUSA (SMU)
    2005 - ACC 2 (Md, UNC), Big Ten (Indiana), MPSF (New Mexico)
    2004 - ACC 3 (Wake, Md, Va), Big Ten (Indiana)
    2003 - ACC 3 (Md, Wake, UNC), Pac-6 (UCLA)

    On the rare occasions when the committee has awarded a top-four seed to a team from a non-major conference, those teams have acquitted themselves well. Akron made 2 out of 2 final fours when it had a high seed, Creighton went 1 for 1, and New Mexico went 1 for 1. Only SMU missed out, and they had the misfortune of facing eventual national champs UCSB, another strong program from a non-major conference.
     
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  12. Schapes

    Schapes Member

    Aug 20, 2001
    Don't get ESPN3. Get ESPNU. No problem.

    ESPN3 is not available to everyone.

    If it is not profitable for them to show - why bother?

    Farm it out to Fox Soccer. They don't have anything of consequence Friday night.
     
  13. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    A) They need content for ESPN-U (and ESPN3).

    B) ESPN has a contract with the NCAA that allows them to show the championships of all the sports besides football and men's hoops and they're contractually obligated to show these NCAA championships, at least on some venu

    C) Fox Soccer ain't exactly in every home. I don't know the numbers, but I'd be surprised if FSC was in more homes than ESPNU. It's certainly in fewer hotels! Most hotels I stay in have ESPN U (and new NBC Sports) but I have NEVER stayed in a hotel - and I travel a lot, though less than I used to - that had Fox Soccer.
     
  14. JT

    JT Member

    May 23, 1999
    Bloomington, IN
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    I'm not sure that's true. I think it's blacked out on ESPN3 for much of the country (including Indiana and Omaha, NE).
    See here:
    http://espn.go.com/watchespn/blackout?id=688139

    Is WatchESPN different from ESPN3? They just confused me when they introduced that.
     
  15. Schapes

    Schapes Member

    Aug 20, 2001
    ESPN3 is not a channel. Like I said - they already show international soccer on ESPN3 and act like it is a channel. It is not.

    Maybe the NCAA needs to insist that ESPN show both semi-finals on television, or not at all.

    I know ESPN used to show both semi-finals live.

    ESPNU is ok. I have that.

    ESPN3 is not a channel.
     
  16. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    i can't imagine 2 hours will make that much of a difference, especially with saturday off.
     
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  17. Howard the Drake

    Feb 27, 2010
    They used to be largely the same thing. Now, they're significantly different. WatchESPN is only through certain cable providers. It includes simulcasts (so, if I have a WatchESPN cable provider, I can watch something at work or on my iPad at the airport or whatever). ESPN3 (which until late August, simulcast almost every ESPN/2/3 event) is basically additional content plus simulcasting outside of prime hours (I think it's until 6 PM local time during the week and until noon on weekends). This is streaming-special stuff like cricket, Euroleague basketball, some soccer, etc. They had a few ACC matches on ESPN3 only this year, for example.
     
  18. Howard the Drake

    Feb 27, 2010
    1) The games are on ESPNU. I think they were on ESPN2 in the past. Slight downgrade, probably due to ratings + trying to shift more college content onto ESPNU. They're simulcast on WatchESPN and will be available for replay on ESPN3.

    2) The NCAA doesn't really have much bargaining power. Did you see the MLS Cup viewership? College soccer gets a fraction of that.

    NCAA: "Put the College Cup on ESPN, or we'll take it to Fox Soccer!"

    ESPN: "Sweet. We get better ratings for Metro Atlantic basketball in that time slot anyways."

    3) I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure ESPN just buys a lot of the lesser championships rights from the NCAA in one package. I'm also pretty sure the Fox Soccer game through NSCAA doesn't have a rights fee attached. I don't think there is a huge market for the College Cup (as evidenced by the fact that this was the first time I can recall a non-College Cup match being televised [Indiana-Xavier was on BTN]).
     
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  19. tman1

    tman1 Member

    Jan 27, 2006
    Agree.... If Maryland doesn't stumble against Georgtown (and they shouldn't), they'll roll in the final with their depth. Look for fatigued legs for the opponet at the 60 minute mark in the Sunday game if things go accordingly. As one poster said it awhile back, Maryland's 2nd string would of made the tourny as an entry. Sasho is like a vaccum cleaner on the recruiting trail.

    Tman
     
  20. No shinguards

    No shinguards Member

    Mar 21, 2008
    The Moon
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Tman - will you be at the cup? who will you be rooting for?
     
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  21. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    @iumenssoccer tweeted that the friday games will not be available on espn3. just espnu
     
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  22. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
  23. stphnsn

    stphnsn Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    ok so espn3 is a channel like espn, espn2, and espnu. it's just an online only channel. the games will be available to view online if you have access to watchespn. you can watch the espnu broadcast via watchespn online.
     
  24. Schapes

    Schapes Member

    Aug 20, 2001
    Problem is to watch the games on ESPN3 - you have to have a participating cable provider.

    Are the games on ESPNU? Or ESPN3?
     
  25. jdgaucho

    jdgaucho Member

    Jan 8, 2012
    San Diego
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    our final in '06 was on espn2. I think the Akron-Louisville final in 2010 was also on espn2.
     

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