And a reason why there should not be conference-related cutoffs in NCAA invites. Akron finished 4th of 6 in the MAC regular season, and Maryland 5th of 9 in the B1G. (Of course Akron did win the MAC tournament to secure the auto-bid.)
I wasn't overly impressed with either side last night. Both had moments of brilliance interspersed with soccer that was mediocre. On the first PK, sure the play was dangerous but I feel as if Biros did not initially know that Bergmann was there. It definitely wasn't intentional and through a few replays I had a difficult time seeing if contact was made to the face. I assume that it was. What are you going to do, though? With it being in the box and a foul it is what it is. The play by Lundt that led to the second PK was really a judgmental lapse on his part. He made a great save on the PK and redeemed himself. What I had a hard time understanding was that once Maryland was up 1-0, they seemed to be forcing things and giving it away. I'm really quite surprised that Akron didn't end up scoring, even when they were down a man from the questionable DOGSO. Overall it was an entertaining game but I expected better for a final.
Maryland was just defensively special for quite some time this season. That won the game for them, obviously, and for the whole tournament. Heck, if Pines was healthy they may have won the B1G tournament too. On the first penalty, the only way that's a penalty is IF there was contact. It no longer is a "dangerous play." It's a foul. I never saw any contact, the several times I watched it back though. Not arguing one way or the other, or saying Penso was wrong, just what it appeared to me. The DOGSO was not questionable to me. Easy call. Right call. Akron would have wanted the same call if they were on the receiving end of the foul.
No one else in the world is asked to play a final 42 hours after winning a game in a semi-final. The NCAA still thinks they are playing basketball. Need to have a Thursday-Sunday setup or a one off game for the final.
At least they got a day off. The D3 semifinals and finals were on back-to-back days. Count your blessings.
It's not unusual for D3 teams to have games scheduled on consecutive days. Saves on travel expenses, even for big-money D3 schools like Middlebury -- http://athletics.middlebury.edu/sports/msoc/2018-19/schedule
It didn't help. Of course, if you're going to talk about how games are scheduled more closely together here than any other place in the world, you also have to mention the substitution rules in college soccer, which are also more liberal than in any other place in the world, and which partly mitigate the impact of playing games with such a short break in between. It wasn't as though most of the players on the field in the D3 final had played the full 90 two days in a row. Still, I'd rather leave more time between games.
It also minimizes the amount of class time missed, which is probably more important for Midd and the other NESCAC schools.
If the NCAA reads this, is it possible to get the finals on a non-paid stream and use advertisers. The championship games became irrelevant using ESPNU. That is a premium channel these days, and unless you are willing to pay or on your own cable network with access, it is too difficult to watch. So much for the importance of it. Put it on ESPN.
The NCAA could care less about College Soccer then almost any other sport. In the middle of the busiest sports time of the year with NFL, college football, college and pro basketball, and NHL...
While the NCAA certainly doesn't care much about college soccer, the NCAA might care as much for soccer as several other NCAA sports, e.g., fencing.
If soccer didn't lose so much money for NCAA (and its member schools), then there'd be more emphasis toward it. The sport is a top-5 losing sport for the NCAA. Why would they "care" about it more? Why should they care about development when schools lose so much and it loses tons for NCAA?
Think Anson Dorrance makes a great point here.... you reap what you sow... https://www.prosoccerusa.com/nwsl/u...ncreased-investment-in-womens-college-soccer/
It would be very interesting if the North Carolina athletic department accepted his challenge. Could/would soccer become a revenue producer with proper promotion?
No. Soccer is nowhere close to being a revenue producer in college athletics. And, it won't be for the foreseeable future. Many programs don't even charge admission. If they did, they'd see less attendance -- which could mean less concessions or merchandise sales. Could also mean less eyes for sponsors. The first step towards "revenue producing" is cutting budgets. That won't happen because everyone is trying to outspend everyone else. There's no reason why players need 5 jackets, 6 pairs of boots, steak dinners, luxurious locker rooms, team lounges, etc. Sure, it's nice. Yes, it helps recruiting. Everything costs money and there's little coming in -- from fans, sponsors, media, and even donors.
These are the two sports I played. Soccer is much rougher and more physically taxing than Basketball. This is known.
Absolutely! It's even a bigger difference: the "average" soccer pitch is around 110 yards or 330 feet by 75 yards or 225 feet, for a total of 74,250 square feet. A regulation court is 94 feet by 50 feet, or 4700 square feet, so a typical soccer pitch is 15.79 times larger than a regulation basketball court.