SIUE wins 1-0 over Rutgers in the early game at Creighton's tournament - http://www.siuecougars.com/sports/m-soccer/2012-13/releases/201208318lfqzo
There is a reason home teams get almost half a goal more on Massey calculations and you are looking at a good example. If this same play happened in Ohio instead of Nebraska you would likely have a goal. For example, not one visiting West team was called for less fouls in their trips to the Midwest and East today. New Mexico got a red and Stanford was called for 2 PKs.
Then they need to start bringing in the entire ref crews from out of town instead of just flying in the CRs.
Charlotte - 1 UAB - 1 2OT UAB Keeper Kept them in game with 10 saves. Charlotte with advantage in shots 26-9 and corners 14-1. Box Score: http://www.charlotte49ers.com//pdf8/921465.pdf?SPSID=589219&SPID=72433&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=23200
other results from yesterday in the Big West: Georgetown 1, Cal State Northridge 0 Sac State 2, San Diego 1 (OT) - recap says there were 38 called fouls and 7 yellow cards issued Air Force 0, UC Davis 0 Cornell 2, Cal State Fullerton 1 UC Riverside 2, Detroit 1 UC Irvine 2, Long Island 0
I was at the game--not in line to see the OT offside call, so I won't get into that. I can say the whole ref crew had a rough game throughout the night. Calls were inconsistent, and you could tell players were frustrated (by their words as well as body language). Both sides have legitimate complaints about bad calls and non-calls--the OT offside, Ribeiro pulled down inside the box, Akron's GK could have been sent off early (and twice later--I hope he learns to control his temper better)--all of which would have radically changed the game. This game was the fastest paced college game I've seen--by which I mean both speed of play with quick movement of the ball as well as some young men on both teams who can fly. I bet the CR and the ARs were exhausted at night's end. I would like to have had a well-called match, but I am sure that both Akron and Creighton have suffered even worse officiating. Sadly I don't think any collegiate ref crew would have had a great night--and that is not meant to defend last night's officials. To move away from officiating--and it would be a shame to focus on the officials instead of the players--a few other observations: * Both teams are not fully game fit. Players for both sides were cramping a lot before end of regulation. It may not have shown on TV, but several players away from the ball were stretching out calves, rubbing hamstrings, etc., from about 70 minutes on. I think you'd see less on this on a cooler night and/or later in season. (By the way, to give some credit to the refs--they ran their butts off for 110 minutes. May not have worked well, but they worked hard.) * Akron looks a little more cohesive than Creighton right now, but neither team is firing on all cylinders. Creighton has a lot of new Creighton players--about half who played were not on last year's team. I would love to see these two teams meet up in the tournament when they have both found their rhythm--and you'd have to think both have a chance to go far this year. * Two of the Akron players really impressed me: #9 is a handful, a good mix of speed and power. His touch failed him a few times--don't know if that is out of the ordinary for him or not--but he reacts so quickly you might not even notice it. The right back (with the hair) cuts passing lanes and gets around players shielding the ball extremely well, and he gets into the attack nicely. Both guys have room to improve, and I would love to see them as they get even better. [Note: I'm not saying they were Akron's best players, just that something about each caught my attention.] * I don't recall seeing a college game with so many in-game adjustments, especially with relatively few substitutions. I don't know how apparent it was on TV, but the subtle formation shifts in the midfield, changes in attack to get certain players involved, defensive adjustments, etc. Even if the coaches did not specifically call for a shift (i.e., the players recognized and did something), I give both staffs a lot of credit.
Not sure that anyone cares, but...UVA 2-1 over Cal. Whoo's young back line was breached repeatedly, but Cal finished poorly. UCLA on tap tonight. If these young guys stick around, George might actually have a relevant team in the next several years
Maryland 6, California 0. That isn't a misprint. UCLA 1, Virginia 0 in OT. UVa now 0-2 in OT this year.
Not surprising UVA is 0-2 in overtime given how young the squad is this year. That may improve later in the season.
Akron with a 2-1 win over a surprisingly good SIUE squad. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see them in the post season.
UC Riverside picked up a pair of wins over the weekend. 2-1 over Detroit-Mercy and 4-0 over Long Island. I dunno how good they are but 4-0 is 4-0. With UNLV, North Florida and Nebraska-Omaha up next they could be undefeated heading into the Bakersfield game and the BW conference. So is UC Riverside for real?
I have run out of places to look for video highlights of this game. All I can find is a post-game interview with the coach. Any suggestions?
I don't know whether Riverside is for real or not, but it will be very hard to overcome the impact of their schedule on the RPI. Games like LIU Brooklyn and Nebraska-Omaha are devastating to your ranking, even though you almost always win. What's funny is that with the RPI's crackpot formula, those same games end up helping the other teams in the Big West. The conference is no longer arguably the best in the nation like it was last fall, but at least it's looking like it'll have a decent shot at two bids.