With two new coaches in the league for 2009, what's the outlook shaping up to be? Akron, NIU, Buffalo and Hartwick seem to be way ahead of the other three, what does everyone else think? Hopefully the other three will be able to improve in 2009, no reason why this can be a league where all 7 teams are quality top to bottom! Be nice to see two or three teams in the NCAA's in the future.
I expect that Akron will continue to challenge to be a top-10 team. If they get a few breaks, they could be in college cup.
Be careful what you ask for......Western Michigan will be interesting with new coach Stu Riddle. They actually had a decent side last year, but not much discipline, I think the product of a coach that wasn't much for sideline manners himself, pretty rough on refs. Buffalo lost 8 seniors, but always seems to show up pretty solid, they still have a helluva keeper in Shuttleworth. Buffalo is going to need a solid group of recruits and a bunch of underclassmen to step up. I think FAU was ok at times last year, they were having a rough time figuring out how to play midwest style soccer. 5-6 games on the road in a new conference is a tough way to start a season. NIU has lost some very key seniors in team MVP Drew Jeskey at mid, Joe Zimka at keeper, Steve Kolzow wide, and Brian Abdallah. Keeper Chris Tidwell is going to have to play catch up after missing the whole season after ankle surgery. Kepper prospect Mat Lampson transferred to Ohio State and JC Aikenhead to Butler. They also have a good keeper recruit in Godsey from the Fire Academy. Drew Jeskey is gonna be tough to replace, I think he was the best kept secret in the country at mid....MVP even while missing 7 matches. There are some very good underclassmen that will have to prove their worth.Some that were already given a chance and they watched instead of played. They should be strong on top with Brad horton, Ben Thomas, and John Tyma. Then of course Akron is Akron, the parade will keep marching on with another top recruiting class. The biggy to me is David Meves, a good one coming in to replace Evan Bush. I think they will be a better balanced side without Zakuani , more players will get involved in the offense. BGSU...new coach ? Hartwick, always close, might surprise ? I'm tired....more later...
Right now, that has to be the perception out there. Akron is the only team in the MAC that seems to have any pedigree. Porter is a world-class recruiter, not to mention being a very good coach. The other teams in the conference are playing catch-up, and frankly, they're not even on the same lap as Akron. If anything, it's a detriment to Akron's RPI to be in the mix with the likes of the others.
I can't really argue that point at all. It's really tough to make gains on a team like Akron with the headstart they have. When Caleb took over there he had a good group to start with and then hit the ground running and never looked back. NIU has nipped at their heals a few times, but never seems to gain ground. I think NIU may have done better if they hadn't lost Ian Clerihew to St Johns a couple years ago, he was a great recruiter. Once a side establishes that "winning feeling" in the program as Akron has it's tough for anyone else to top it. New coaches at BGSU and WMU may help to bolster the conference.
And to be clear, I'm hardly knocking the other programs; most do the best they can with the resources given.
UB picked up Derkacz from Penn State. Local kid, was very good for us at Queen City, had a rough year at PSU this past season (but I think everyone had a rough year at PSU)
NIU and Valpo played today to a 3-3 draw at a windy and snow blown freezing Dekalb today. Part of NIU's "Coaches Clinic" program They played in the 65 yd x 65 yd fieldhouse. Typical off season ...not fit....see what ya got type soccer from both sides, but some interesting stuff. NIU had a couple of new guys in that looked pretty good, no idea who they were....but fun to watch.
Proud to announce !..... NIU Keeper Joe Zimka was honored this past week to be voted into the "Top 50 NIU Athletes" of all time at Northern Illinois University. Nice to see a soccer player get recognition in a group that primarily consists of past football, basketball players and coaches.
NIU 2009-10 SCHEDULE AUG 20 NOTRE DAME @ NIU AUG 26 DEPAUL @NIU SEPT 1 BRADLEY @ NIU SEPT 4 NORTH CAROLINA SEPT 6 UNCG SEPT 11 TULSA @ NIU SEPT 13 OAKLAND @ NIU SEPT 18 FAFAYETTE SEPT 20 SOUTH CAROLINA SEPT 25 OREGON STATE SEPT 26 SEATTLE OCT 3 HARTWICK OCT 7 NORTHWESTERN @ NIU OCT 11 BUFFALO @NIU OCT 17 AKRON OCT 20 MILWAUKEE OCT 25 FAU OCT 28 WISCONSIN OCT 31 BOWLING GREEN NOV 4 WESTERN MICHIGAN @NIU NOV 13 MAC SEMIS NOV 15 MAC CHAMPIONSHIP TULSA, DEPAUL, NOTRE DAME, AND NORTH CAROLINA IN THE FIRST SIX MATCHES, NIU SHOULD KNOW QUICKLY HOW GOOD THEY ARE...OR NOT I'm betting that they are going to be ok this year and surprise a few people
First match of the year for NIU vs Notre Dame today at 5pm in Dekalb, Il. I'm curious to see what new wrinkles first year head coach Eric Luzzi has instituted for NIU. I'd like to see them come out with two up top instead of Steve Simmons old "defense first" system.
I plan on going if the weather cooperates, I don't much feel like sitting out there in the predicted severe rain and thunderstorms. I watched them train a little bit and I think they may surprise some people. The key is whether or not Luzzi can put an offense together that will score more goals. Simmons always seemed to be satisfied with taking the lead and hanging on for dear life. They have some very good people up top with Brad Horton, Ben Thomas, and Johnny Tyma. I think the mid is going to be their achilles heal, losing Drew Jeskey, Steve Kolzow, and others to graduation is big at mid and the back line. With the loss of Zimka in goal they are going to have to find a solid replacement to fill his shoes and they're big...he wears a size 14. Notre Dame is a tough first match, but it will be a good barometer as to whether they can play.... or not.
These rankings sort of tell the story. http://themacdaily.com/index.php?p=1_80 Akron is on top, there are three teams fighting for second place and three teams trying not to finish last.... Akron is amazing though.
NIU lost to Bradley 1-2, goals by Cutshaw and Bigelow for the Braves and Josh Karsten scored for NIU. NIU outshot Bradley 22 to 9......need to finish ! NIU goes to North Carolina to play NC and UNCGB this weekend.
NIU tied #2 UNC Friday night in Chapel Hill. Sophomore defender Tim King scored in the 21st minute for NIU. Freshman Jordan Godsey played between the pipes and recorded 6 saves of which 4 big saves came in the two overtimes. Michael Farfan scored for UNC in the 61st minute.
Ben Thomas and Brad Bahr rounded out the scoring for NIU. UNC and NIU ended the tournament 1-0-1, but UNC had a 5-1 goal differential to NIU's 5-2, so UNC took the tournament. Great weekend for the Huskies!
Akron opens the season by beating SMU 1-0 and beating #14 Tulsa 2-0. Once again, it's Akron's conference to lose. And also, like usual, NIU is a distant second. They still make me nervous every year, though.