So, who knows how the Big Ten tournament seeding works? My prediction of the teams that will make the B1G Tournament: 1. Minnesota 2. Penn State 3. Northwestern 4. Rutgers 5. Michigan 6. Nebraska 7. Wisconsin 8. Ohio State Assuming, of course, that Minnesota (vs MD), Penn State (vs tOSU), and Northwestern (vs IL) all win their final games and that there are no upsets in the other matches. Also, I'm assuming goals scored is the first tie-breaker for top 3.
As usual, the B1G tourney is shaping up to be an unpredictable affair. I will go out on a limb and pick Minnesota or Wisconsin to win it. They have been fairly consistent all year. Penn State without their top players this year has opened things up for everyone but they could still be there in the final. No real clear reason why I favor the schools that are starting to get snow this week, just a hunch. Minn. and UW are solid teams. Rutgers is young in the back, inconsistent, and rely too much on their one striker who has never passed on a shot all season (regardless of circumstance). NW lost their top scorer to injury (BL - not sure if she will be back this year or not) so they have been bunkering down and hanging on - still a good squad and could surprise. OSU is as Jekyll and Hyde as it gets and don't play particularly good defense - do have some Senior leaders up front but not enough talent to win it. Know nothing of Nebraska. Now my ... um ... favorite Maize and Blue Squad. On a good day, they could win the conference. They wont be able to put 3 good days together in a row I'm afraid. Tough group of blue collar kids who play their tails off. Always seem to keep games against good teams close, but rely way too much on long balls down the field to score on the counter. Greg Ryan should get better results, but that is a conversation for another day. Good luck to all of the teams - I know many of them from my kid's club soccer days and root for them all regardless of the team - a little more for the maize and blue however, as I can almost see their field from my condo in A2!
Minnesota has given up one goal in 490 minutes and Maryland hasn't scored in 400 minutes, so hopefully the Gophers will get the offense going again tomorrow to claim their piece of the regular season title. The offense has hit a dry stretch while dealing with the injury of April Bockin...she came back off the bench against Northwestern and could be the difference maker tomorrow night. Tougher match-ups for Penn State and Northwestern, but a 2 or 3 way tie is most likely.
Great striker in Jaycie Johnson, 41 career goals including 10 this season. John Walker's teams have always played very aggressively, keeper comes way out to play sweeper, defenders have no qualms joining the offense and pushing way forward. They're usually pretty good against teams that they over match physically. They struggle with giveaways and defensive inconsistency against teams that they don't dominate...they're similar to Ohio State. I don't see them winning 3 straight against quality competition, but could spring an upset.
Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State all win and share the 2016 Big Ten regular season championship. Minnesota 6 Maryland 0 Penn State 2 Ohio State 0 Northwestern 1 Illinois 0 ot
To answer my own question and for posterity's sake, the first rule for tie-breakers in the B1G is goal differential against conference opponents, according to the conference website.
EDIT: Actually, the first tie-breaker in the B1G is "team earning more combined points in its matches against the other two schools tied for first place." The goal differential is the second tie-breaker used (e.g., to figure Penn State vs Northwestern's final standings).
Congratulations to PSU, MGG, and NW for winning the B10 League. Penn State vs. Rutgers. 2015 rematch in the B10 Tourney. Both teams are down over 50% on winning goals in 2016 for different reasons. Both teams had a very large freshman class for 2016 (PSU 9 vs. RU 12). However PSU lost an additional number of players to the National Team while RU just simply lost eligible players. Going with Coaching pedigree - PSU to win. GG vs. Indiana Gophers should handle Indiana for the win and move on. NorthW vs. Nebraska NW succeeds despite the loss of player scoring they experienced. Very resilient team. A good result for the Huskers but their scoring totals are low reflecting their struggles in the final third. NW to win. M vs. W Two well balanced teams. with strength through their lineups. Tough one to call. Likely go to penalty kicks W to win on Penalties. Prediction: NW and Wisconsin in the Finals Wisconsin Wins B10 Tournament
This is a wacky tourney to predict - every year. I think two lower seeds win in the first round (Wisc.; Nebraska), one lower seed wins a semi-final (Wisc.). I'll go with Wisconsin and Penn State in the final with Penn State taking home the trophy. That being said .... prove me wrong Wolverines. Go Blue!
Rutgers lost U-20 NT GK Casey Murphy and have played RS SR Alana Jimenez in goal who previous to this year played less that 110 minutes combined in her career!
Well, I was completely on board with your 1st round predictions , and was about to REP your post, then I got to your finals prediction.
Jimenez played excellent for Rutgers this season! You could argue her presence in net over Murphy might have unsettled Rutgers back line; then you have the situation that the two centre backs are new anyhow. If Murphy's absence cost Rutgers a game, what game was it? Rutgers 8 in the box defensive style puts a wall in front of the opposition which is pretty hard to crack. It also puts a lot of pressure on the mid field to transition the ball, regroup and then organize an attack; technical and tactical skills are in demand for this too work or you get a lot of turnovers or route 9 - desperation. Last season's team did much better at that from back to mid to forwards- 19 winning goals, 3rd place finish in the B10. This seasons team was much less efficient - 9 winning goals, 7th place finish in the B10. Rutgers has had trouble finishing games, scoring when they need too. I mixed the later brackets in my finals prediction in my previous post. It will be PSU and WI in the finals. I still have WI winning.
Looks like you should've kept the original prediction. PSU just lost to Rutgers in the first round 2-0. Oh well, I knew we weren't going to go far this season. We were missing too much talent this year.
Minnesota beat Indiana 3-1. Michigan beat Wisconsin in PKs after 0-0 regulation and overtime. Same with Northwestern over Nebraska. Minnesota v. Michigan and Rutgers v. Northwestern in the semifinals this Friday in St. Paul.
Very happy that the Wolverines 'scrapped' their way to another victory! For an athletic and gritty squad that repeatedly plays it long down the field as their 'go to' attacking strategy, who's midfield are really just defenders a bit farther up the pitch, with an okay keeper, they found a way to keep the Badgers in check. Helping the Wolverines cause was the fact that one of the best midfielders in the country (Rose L) didn't touch the ball nearly enough. When she did, it was mostly around mid field. She took on and beat two defending players all night, but couldn't meander thru a crowded center of the field. Why Paula Wilkins (first line of her bio reading "One of the most accomplished college soccer coaches in the country") didn't move her further up in the attack is mind boggling. The field is 70 x 120. She operated in about a 30 wide by 40 long area. Thank you Paula. You gifted us one last night!
Rose Lavelle winning the the B1G Midfielder of the Year without being amongst the conference leaders in goals or assists is a testament to her talent and Paula Wilkins questionable coaching. No reason a player with her offensive prowess should be left out of the attack so often. At 8-4-8, the Badgers are going to be sweating the selection show for the second straight season.
Maybe she's playing Lavelle in the position she needs to master if she's ever going to have a chance to make the National Team.
It's definitely possible that Ellis told her to master the defensive midfield role if she wants a spot on the National Team. Especially since she was in camp before the season started. And she's done a great job in that position. My outsider opinion is that Wisconsin could have remained a strong defensive group and improved on their offensive struggles with her further forward, but I also haven't been to the College Cup like Coach Wilkins. I'm just glad Minnesota probably never has to play against her again...that was a tough 4 years!
Jill Ellis has no authority over college coaches and what positions they play their players at. These coaches are making a living off of their university coaching positions. They have to do what it takes to win. PERIOD. Ellis isn't paying their salaries. The university is.
But, if I'm a coach wanting to recruit top tier players who have WNT aspirations, what do I tell them? "I'll help you learn to play the position that will give you the best chance to make the WNT. And, I have enough connections to the WNT coach to know which position she wants you to prepare for." If word gets around over time that you deliver on what you say, then you get players like Rose Lavelle. The very top coaches are the highest level teachers who care most about their players.
Very true. Coach Dambach (formerly Walsh) said something to that effect in an interview earlier this year. She talked about being true to her students about helping them reach their aspirations.
And the next sentence should be ... "But if our season is on the line and I want to win a game that might help us (us meaning the 25 other kids on this roster who work just as hard as you do wearing the team colors) possibly win the B1G Ten and perhaps get into the NCAA tournament, I will do what is best for THIS team, not the US WNT and play you where it gives THIS team the best opportunity to do so". Playing in a holding position (or as a second central midfielder - playing way too deep) against a team that plays like Michigan does was a wasted effort - unnecessary against this opponent. On the few occasions when she did receive the ball across the midfield stripe, she was incredibly dangerous, including on their lone goal which fully displayed Ms. Lavelle's incredible talents. Either way, thank you Paula for tactically neutralizing one of the best attacking players in the country for Coach Ryan. He didn't have to do much coaching today and certainly didn't have to make any in game adjustments. I am sure he appreciates the gift you handed him - I do!
Sec123 you nailed it. A little research will also show you that this is not how Wisconsin secured Rose. Paula is obligated to make the best decision for Wisconsin and her players success at Wisconsin.