https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2836990&postcount=3 Tie-breaker scenarios posted here.
I think our two toughest PDL matches of the season were against the Invaders and the Bucks. It all shakes out tomorrow. Both teams made the playoffs last year and Indiana seems to be on a mission. It all shakes out tomorrow, then the biggest question will be where will the games be played.
I talked to Kyle Karns before the Edge match, and he told me a number of things about the playoffs: 1) that the Duggans are not too keen on hosting the first playoff round. They weren't happy with the numbers they saw last year. 2) that Chicago is not interested, as they have been field hopping all season and don't have a real home right now 3) Both Ft Wayne and Indiana are interested in hosting the first round, assuming things go well for them tomorrow night. 4) No one, not Chicago, Ft Wayne, Indiana, nor our Bucks want to go to Boulder. I don't know if Boulder wants to host or not. 5) The Duggans ARE interested in hosting the semifinal round, assuming the Bucks make it that far. 6) apparently there are more than two rounds to the playoffs this year. I thought there were two rounds last year. Am I wrong? What is the structure this season?
CFR did put a bid in to host the first round as did every team except the Bucks. Final choice on monday after the final results of all games. Most likely scenario is that Boulder will come to the midwest and compete at either FW, Invaders or CFR. Same format as last year, Conference Championship then followed by semi-final and final games.
The Boulder v. Menace game this Friday was moved to friggin' Cheyenne, Wyoming due to "field Problems", they (Boulder) definitely shouldn't be hosting. Isn't it odd the #1 and #2 in the "Heartland Division" haven't even played each other this season (Chicago and Boulder)? I know its how the PDL works, but... And I would have liked to SEE the Chicago Fire Reserves play, but they only played one game (at home) against the Menace, I want us to get our arses kicked at our home dammit! Good luck everyone in the playoffs!
And didn't CFR play the Wisconsin Rebels something like four times? Maybe we should get Wisconsin to replace Columbus next season. Bucks won 2-1 tonight at Toledo. Jacob Peterson wasn't with the squad, and it showed. Anybody know yet what happened with Indy-FW? Neither the PDL site nor the teams' sites have any info.
The Bucks won 2-1 in Toledo and will play Boulder in the first playoff game. Chicago plays Ft. Wayne in the other semifinal. The site won't be determined until Monday. Ft. Wayne beat Indiana 4-3 in what must have been a wild game, so the Bucks finish first in the division again. I saw the Fire Reserves this year when they came to play the Bucks. The Bucks outplayed them for long stretches but got burned on three great counterattacks and lost 3-1. In fact, the Bucks away form has been much better than what they have showed at Hurley this year, which also plays into the decision not to host the first round of the playoffs. Of course, cost is another major factor when the turnout was as low as last year.
The first goal was a pure counter, the next two had a lot to do with Stephen Armstrong's exit due to a knee reinjury and subsequent insertion of Tommy Stark who managed to get whistled for 3 fouls in 9 minutes, the last one bad enough to deserve a straight red. CFR was most methodical in their domination after the red card. With a truly full roster I'd really like the Bucks' chances to get thru next weekend. As it is I'd make the Bucks small faves over Boulder based on comparative scores, but I'd make them definite dogs to CFR assuming they meet.
As a Bucks fan I obviously can't compare JoJo's performance to previous seasons, but I'm qualified to judge what I've seen this season on its own. He's a hell of a player. He has by far the best first touch of anyone on the Bucks' roster. He really prefers the ball at his feet and is generally uncomfortable in the air. Jo probably would have had a couple more goals on the year if he hadn't played the last several games on the left side. Coach Gemmill(sp?) made some substantive formation/lineup changes roughly at the midpoint. Instead of the flat 4-4-2 he basically went to a 4-2-2-2, with Jo & Stephan David playing very wide AM's. At first Stephan was used on the left and Jo on the right, but David was very poor on the left so for the good of the team they switched sides. Now Jo can develop a play just fine on the left, but get him near goal and problems start to show. It is plain to see that if Jo is on the right side, whether inside or on the flank he is one of the top mids in the PDL. I would really prefer to see both Jo and Stephan on the right side. Let's meander here a bit: I have almost no feel this season for what the future prospects of the Bucks' stars look like, including Jo, except for Jacob Peterson. What are Jo's goals? From what I read he is almost 24, yet this fall he will be a sophmore? Does he simply want to make his home here, or does he have ambitions to play in MLS someday? And how do scouts view a 24 year old college sophmore? Kevin Taylor will get plenty of attention, and well he should. Without having seen the rest of the league it still would not surprise me if he didn't have the best season of any PDL defender. But I'm not sure how much upside he has. His judgement is fantastic, but I'm not sure he has the wheels to stay professional forwards. I don't know that I'm qualified to judge Knox Cameron, but I'm skeptical of his future prospects.
Good memory on the Armstrong situation from the CFR game. Gemmell made a few questionable moves in that one. The big one was leaving Armstrong in after he clearly could not continue being effective in the first half. The rest went from there. The Bucks have a great chance against Boulder as they have the longest travel time to get to Ft. Wayne. I can't imagine that is a direct flight. CFR has to be the favorite, but the margin of their recent wins has been decreasing from the early season routs. During the past couple weeks, their games have been fairly low scoring. As for individuals on the Bucks, Peterson is easily the best prospect for a future pro career. He does everything at pace and has by far the highest work rate on the team. His positioning is solid and his techinical ability well above average. The coaching he has had at IU (U-17 national team, too) and prior has definitely sunk in. Cameron just doesn't look like a soccer player. In my opinion, he lacks fitness and/or the dedication to pursue it on a full time basis. He has appeared to shed a few pounds over the summer, but looked visibly overweight in May. This is a big year for him at U-M. He has to be ready and perform to have any hope of a pro career. I have become less of a Kevin Taylor fan this summer than last. For a sweeper or central defender, he is caught out of position frequently. Several goals against the Bucks have been the result of poor plays or just a lack of concentration on his part. His touch and distribution are not consistent enough to merit a long look at the MLS level. I agree with the lack of wheels part, too. He may catch on in the A-League. For a tall player, has not been a threat on any set pieces this year, but can defend them reasonably well. Kabwe has been excellent. Good pace, control, and work rate. He does not finish well, so that is an area for improvement. Simon Omekanda has all the talent in the world, but lacks the mental part of the game. If he ever put it together, he could be a top player in the PDL until he latches on in a higher league. Stephane David is the same, but in contrast to the 4-2-2-2 the Bucks play, he seems to work better when deployed in a central position. Both goalkeepers have sufficient ability, but are not really superior. I can't see either moving up. They will probably go the way of past Bucks keepers like Alan Placek and Eric Pogue.
Prediction: Gemmell will not be coach next year. I saw and heard some things Saturday night that suggest there is some friction between the players and the coach. You mean Boulder would likely fly and not ride a bus? I've heard the refrain whispered amongst the UM fans attending Bucks games each of the past 2 seasons: Knox weighs less during the college season. He better. Most of his goals have come on the road, so I was curious to see his performance at Toledo on Saturday. He was very active early; imaginative and quite sharp. He laid off a nice ball for Doug Rice's goal(and then celebrated as though *he* scored, no props to Dougie) and he made superb passes to both Turpin and Kabwe early that should have led to primo scoring attempts that both miffed badly. But then he tailed off markedly as the half marched on. The Bucks opened the half with 3 dangerous opportunities on the first 3 minutes and I don't think Cameron had a role in any of them. I gotta say I disagree here. The Bucks' D has given up a measly 16 goals; who should get the credit? Certainly not the goalkeeping which was better last year. Not Ryan Rzepka, who is slower than he was last year. Holbein is a nice player, and so is Craft, but I'd trade both for last year's Jason Perry. There isn't anybody left to give credit to. Of the 8 home goals given up, I think only a couple could really be blamed on him. The OT goal given up off the header was his fault, that's for sure.
I gotta revise my remarks a bit; I agree completely about KT's distribution. Not consistent, too slow, etc. The most curious development over the past month or so has been the development of Ryan McMahen. He made his first appearance in a Bucks uniform about a month ago, playing mid on the left for an entire half. Looked awful to me. Since then he has played I think exclusively as a sub. His position has been either as an AM or forward. And when he is on the field, ball movement up top seems to improve. Passes hit cutters on time and in stride. Interplay between midfield and front line improves. McMahen wasn't credited with an assist Saturday on David's game winning goal. But it was a 3-man play all the way and McMahen was at least as responsible as Ombiji for the goal. Ryan made a nice pass early in the play and his run to the 18 off the ball helped give David the space necessary to get his shot off. This wasn't the first time either; the home OT goal in the makeup game vs Cleveland saved the season, and McMahen set that up with a perfectly timed and paced ball to a cutting Ombiji. The best Ombiji has looked all season is with McMahen on the field. The best Stephan David looked all night Saturday was with Ryan on the field. Ryan himself is nothing special physically. His ball skills are nothing to shout about. To be blunt; I think he is slow. But too often(though not always) offensive flow has improved when McMahen comes in. I'd like to see what he can do with a guy like Peterson on the field at the same time.
Ugh. I'll be going into a shell again until May. Bucks lose 3-2, giving up all 3 goals in the 2nd half. No word yet on scorers, etc.
I hear the second goal for Boulder was a PK and that only an unbeleivable save by the Boulder goalie at the 90th minute kept the result at 3-2. I'm not at the game, but a reliable source says that the Bucks had no luck in the second half.
After looking at the lineup, it appears that maybe the Bucks were lucky to lose by only one -- no Knox Cameron and no Jacob Peterson tonight. Hohlbein must have been having some real problems in his D to get replaced by Nate Norman in the 74th minute. After what I saw last weekend at Toledo, Coach Gemmill would rather shoot Norman than play him.
Well, I guess we can rule the world next season. A PDL championship would be the last thing the Bucks need to make the USL Hall of Fame. They have everything else: divisional titles aplenty, Open Cup wins, going all the way to the PDL final.... If they stick around for two more years (the USL HoF has a "10-year Club" honor), they would then have enough after the title.
Is everyone shell-shocked? What a rough way to end the year. Is it safe to say that the Bucks are soccer's version of the Atlanta Braves? But we love 'em don't we? Go Bucks! Just wait till next year...
Watching that title game was painful. I'm more convinced than ever that a full Bucks roster would have won it all. Still don't know what was up with Peterson and Cameron.
It seemed to me that the whole was less than the sum of the parts for the Bucks this season. Individually, they had top-class players but the results just weren't there.
The Menace killed all hopes last year, it seems as though the fan base has given up? Or, maybe they just open this thread and re-read it this season as the same thing will happen to them this year. The road to the PDL Championship will STILL go through Des Moines.
Now we will see how the Bucks make it in the playoffs. They have been playing their best footy of the year. They've finally shaken off those spells where they play well, but never find the goal. They've dismissed the funk of losing twice 4:1 to the Columbus Crew. Bucks-over-Boulder is do-able. But I would have more confidence in Bucks-over-Menace than Bucks-over-Chicago. The Rapids Reserve went 2-1 against Des Moines. But a 5:2 beating in their last matchup? And it was 5:1 before Des Moines scored a late goal when it was well out of reach. I would go with Boulder if they met Des Moines in the final. But I try not to get too excited by the Bucks scoring 9 goals over the weekend, and 14 in their last 4 games. Maybe a better view of their current form is that they found a way to get a tying goal in stoppage time against K'zoo. So if I had to make a prediction for the weekend, I would say that Chicago squeeks by Michigan in the conference final.
The Bucks are the PDL's answer to the Atlanta Braves...but keep in mind...the Braves won at least ONE title out of their decade+ of consistent winning. Maybe this is their year... Optimistically yours.... Olujosh
I still stand by my previous post.......it is difficult to go off of weekly results. There are too many factors involved. You cite the very poor performance we had vs. Boulder in the last go around, but there are a few things you didn't take into consideration. Here they are: 1) 3 games in 5 days (including a big win a man down in Minn v. the Thunder) BEFORE the loss to Boulder, 2) 3rd string GK playing after an uncommon poor performance by our starter, 3) Boulder is a quality side that should not be overlooked, 4) it took 93+ minutes for the Wizards to put us away in the USOC game, 4) most starters have had two weeks to rest up for your game, 5) we need another star on our kits to make things look even . I personally hope that you can dispose of Boulder so we don't have to see them again-- plus IF we must get knocked out by someone, we DON'T want it to be by those knuckleheads in Boulder. Word of advice, if you bring a traveling party to DSM-- sit on the bench side of the stadium behind the Boulder bench and chant at the coaches. They are a lot of fun and will flip you the bird if you get on them! Ahhhh, good times! Heck, we may sit behind them and chant either with you or in your place just to make them mad again? Look forward to seeing you at the game!