In the first game, Michigan State eliminated Wisconsin 1-0. MSU (10-6-1) advances to face top seed Indiana. Wisconsin's season ends at 9-10 as 1995 continues to look like one of the greatest flukes in American soccer history. Northwestern-Penn State is going on right now, and is scoreless at the half. Here's a low-end matchtracker of sorts. http://www.mgoblue.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=16175
80th minute, still 0-0. When the two teams played in the reg. season, PSU tied the game with TWO goals in the final 45 seconds, so I'm not about to predict what can happen in this one.
Thanks for the update. That ought to clinch an NCAA bid for the Wildcats (13-4-2). PSU (10-4-7) should get in, too, but only 10 wins may hurt them.
I agree Penn State should get in based on this: * 10 wins * 6th place in a 7 team league * 7 ties, not wins, TIES * Can't make their league tourny semi * The name PENN STATE rings nice with the NCAA Committee * Barry was a former NSCAA pres * All 4 of their losses come in 'the league' * Only 2 of the other 6 teams in the league are ranked (IU, NU) But hey, they are PENN STATE, they should get in and might as well play the 48th team in the tourny in the first round AT PENN STATE. Looking forward to the Nittany Lions getting ushered into the Home Depot Center.
Hey! Save the invective for UVA. Seriously, they've never been on my overseeded list (and I have one!). BRF
Ohio State and host Michigan are scoreless in the 25th minute. http://www.mgoblue.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=16176
Couple of minutes into the second half, still 0-0. Gotta scoot to a meeting - stoopid work! - but will be back in a bit and will update if no one else has.
Yes, 20th in the latest poll. Is it just me, or has this primitve "Matchtracker" thing been stuck on 29 minutes for the last half hour?
97th minute, Knox Cameron wins it for Michigan, off an assist from Ryan Sterba. The Wolverines (10-6-4) advance to face Northwestern, who upset UM in the first round last year and beat them in OT in the regular season this year. Ohio State finishes 10-6-2 and has to hope for an at-large bid.
Guess that knee is healthy, eh, Fid! That sound you heard - no, not that one; that was Fid screaming - was Cameron's stock going way up with MLS coaches. Showing he his healthy AND has his scoring touch back will put Cameron back into the first round, maybe even first overall.
So OSU bombs out of the Big TeLevSeven Tournament, and probably just fumbled an NCAA bid at the same time. I'm no big Buckeyes fan, but it's awfully tough to beat a quality side two games in a row. I think the pairing system should accomodate for that possibility. As for Cameron, everybody said he looked awful the last couple weeks. I can't believe he got 100% overnight. But hitting an OT winner is tough to argue with.
If Michigan State upsets Indiana, OSU is screwed as that will give the Spartans an at-large bid - if they don't win it all. The other three semi-finalists are likely in, even Michigan, since they played a pretty tough schedule. The Big Ten will likely get four bids and OSU should edge out Michigan State, if the Spartans lose to Indiana. I think Penn State loses out. Too many other good at-large teams with more than 10 wins.
Anyone see the UM-OSU game? How well did Knox play? I was at the previous Michigan vs. OSU game (last Saturday) and Cameron was almost a non-factor. In fact the whole Michigan offense was uninspired. I was surprised as hell to see him on the field though. I didn't think he'd make it back for UM. I suspect he is still regaining his form and match fitness. The guy's a tank, too! I had forgotten how big he was. If he regains his form, Ithink he'll be fine in MLS.
I think the Big 10 gets 4 bids if Penn State were one, but not if they all come out of the Great Lakes region without something else happening. With 4 Big 10 bids (Say IU, Northwestern, Michigan and OSU), there's still Kentucky (11 wins w/ one over OSU, and a 1-1 tie with IU), probably Oakland as the Mid Con winner, the MAC winner (Akron or WMU), the Horizon winner (likely Butler or UW-M), and likely Dayton as the A-10 winner. That's 9 teams under a very likely set of conditions, and I can't ever recall that many teams from that region getting in. And if Akron happens to lose to WMU, they'd still have 12 wins, including one over Ohio State and couldn't be counted out for an at-large. Dayton and Oakland need to lose their tournaments, and Akron needs to win the MAC as a minimum to get Ohio State in, IMO.
Big Ten Results Michigan State 1, Wisconsin 0 Northwestern 1, Penn State 0 (OT) Michigan 1, Ohio State 0 (OT) I only caught the end of the first game. Apparently Michigan State dominated throughout the game, but Wisconsin was playing slightly better at the end. Neither team showed much speed late in the game. Penn State was punchless, Northwestern finally put them out of their misery in the first minute of overtime. Northwestern's Kevin Earnest, listed as a midfielder, essentially played right forward and was very good. No one stood out for Penn State. Penn State's defense was especially tentative. Michigan outplayed Ohio State in the first half, although Ohio State got more of the shots and corners. In the second half neither team could get much going. Ohio State's Justin Cook was a dangerous forward, and hit some hard shots. He is definitely MLS-draftable. Fortunately for Michigan, most of his shots were off target, some way off. He had his opportunities to end the game in regulation, including missing an open net, but couldn't get it done. It wasn't like he was missing gimmes, though. He was always pressured defensively. Michigan's Trai Blanks was excellent but Mychal Turpin underperformed. The formation from both teams was unbalanced. Ohio State essentially played without a left forward and Michigan played without a right defender, especially when Kevin Hall was on the field. Knox Cameron started and played center midfielder in the first half, sometimes moving to forward. OSU's Kyle Veris, listed as a forward in the program, played D and had the size to match up on Cameron in the box. Knox got a lot of touches and did very well with his short passing game. He wasn't anything special overall, but he was by far the largest player in the tournament. As I said about him in the last game, he looks healthy. He isn't dragging himself around the field. But he isn't running hard, either. I do believe he sat out most of the second half, and didn't come on until there were about 8 minutes remaining. He stayed higher at end of the game and into the overtime, and buried his chance on a nice through ball to the left of the goal from Ryan Sterba, a grounder past Ray Burse for the game winner. It wasn't a one touch, but it was a nice finish. Overall, I'd hardly say Cameron was stunning. Most of his long passes were off, and he dribbled a shot in the first half. But overall he helped his team today. Michigan State now gets a rested Indiana on one day's rest. Good luck. Ohio State got a much better tournament schedule than they did. Ricardo Salazar is the Head Official for the tournament which includes Michael Kennedy, Abiodun Okulaja (who did the OSU-Mich game), and Terry Vaughn. Northwestern hosts next year's tournament. Had Michigan lost, I'm sure their season would have been over. OSU will get into the NCAA based on their conference record. The winner of Michigan-Northwestern tomorrow is probably on the bubble, the loser is likely out. Penn State might very well get in based on their overall record, but they looked weak in two games at Michigan Soccer Field and their Big Ten record was poor, I would vote no. Penn State got beat and outplayed by a bubble team in the tournament and had a 1-3-2 Big Ten record. See ya. If Michigan State beats Indiana, MSU would still have to beat the UM-Northwestern winner to get an NCAA bid, I would think. If Michigan State does win the tournament, as I said before, it wouldn't be a great loss if Penn State didn't make it. I'm kinda hoping I don't have to sit through two scoreless ties in the 40 degree weather tomorrow.
Great summary, PV! Hope to see you there. Stop by the Indiana tailgate -- I'll be the one in the red <> We'll set you up w/ some brats. BRF
Kyle made the move to the backline midway through the season and I think in the long run it's going to pay off for him. As a forward who transferred from the MAC to OSU he had good speed and tremendous size, as a defender he has excellent speed and ungodly size that is hard for a forward to beat. I think as he learns to read the game froma defensive point of view in the off-season and next year, you could easily see him drafted as a defender in the later rounds of the MLS draft. He has the size and potential to be a pretty decent MLS central defender if he learns the position.
At the half, MSU 1, IU 1. McMahen (u) for the Spartans. Yates (Ambersley) for the Hoosiers. If anyone went to this game, can you post your reaction/comments after you arrive back home?