MAC now has two teams in the Great Lakes Regional rankings with of course Akron at #1 and NIU finally gets in at #10. NIU needs to defeat Western Michigan on Wednesday and Hartwick to lose to Akron on the 7th in order to secure a #2 seed in the confernce tourney. Probably a good time of year for NIU to be recognized in the Great Lakes Region...........can't hurt .
So much for having to beat Western Michigan and Hartwick losing, NIU loses to WMU 2-1 at home. NIU led in the first half 1-0 out shooting WMU 16-3. The second half was a different story, NIU came out of the intermission a different team.....FLATTTTTTTT ! WMU came out working hard and made NIU pay. The tying goal by Sulemana Baba(this kid is a great player) was a gift on a deflected ball, coming down in front of him, but the go ahead goal was the result of hard work. NIU will now go into the MAC tourney as the # 4 seed and will get Akron as their first opponent. NIU has likely blown whatever chance they had for a NCAA bid with this loss.
Akron squeeks by Michigan State 2-1 on a 3rd minute goal by Bunbury and a late PK by Gavin. The Spartans had a second half goal called back by offside. Several periods when Akron looked quite vulnerable defensively. Hartwick on Saturday to close it out.
Akron penalty was dubious to say the least, as was the offside call on the MSU goal that was called back. State and Akron player got tangled chasing a ball out wide. Both went down and the referee pointed to the spot. Akron are very good but looked beatable tonight, Gavin and Burnbury are great players and Cope and Givens did a great job shutting Teal down after his first goal.
I was close enough to see the MSU player's arm wrapped around the back and onto the shoulder of the Akron player. Dumb, dumb, dumb move. You never put yourself in that position, especially in a non-dangerous part of the area. Not as dubious as you think. Didn't have a view of this.
I asked my son who had a good view from the Akron bench on the offside call. He said this was an "over and back" situation where the MSU player was off side, came back for the ball, then took his shot. The way the flag went up extremely early tends to bear this out. The flag was up well before the shot was taken. I also had a good view of the foul that lead to the PK. It was just as Timon says. Speas was carrying the ball toward the right post with the defender on his left shoulder and his arm around Speas' waist. They both went down in a heap and were it not for the arm around Speas it probably would not have been a legitimate foul.
I meant to ask if anyone else saw RSL coach Jason Kreis at the Akron-MSU game last night. I just caught a quick glimpse as the crowd was coming in and tried to spot him later but never did. It was either Kreis or someone that looked a lot like him. I suppose he could have taken the opportunity to see some of the Akron players since RSL is in Columbus for the second round of the MLS division playoffs tonight.
Apparently, he wasn't that far from where I stood. Another Crew fan at the match stood right next to him in the 2nd half. First round, a.k.a. Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, 2nd leg. /pedantry
forget the MAC looks like we won the Big Ten last night [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T3ChOWSLmc"]YouTube- AK-ROWDIES "I believe were Big Ten Champs" Chant for Akron[/ame]
ha ha the kid has jokes lol doesn't matter how you spell it we still went 5-0 (6-0 if you want to count Wisconsin in the preseason) against the Big Ten.
Akron, Ampaipitakwong in 7th minute. Great strike off a restart, ball off crossbar then keeper and in. Hartwick, Pratico in 31st minute. Header off throw in from 15 yards. Hartwick, Cunningham in 38th minute. Nice turn and volley from about 15 yards. Akron falls behind for the first time all year. Man, is that some stat. Hope the second half is as good as the first!
The upset bid appears to be fizzling out. Chris Korb tied it for Akron in the 72nd and Anthony Ampiapatkwong (if I got that spelled right it's a mirracle) put the Zips up in the 84th. Also, Hartwick's Michael Cunningham has been tossed. Still, these are the most goals Akron has given up this year and, I believe, the first time this season they've trailed so Hartwick has definitely given them all they can handle.
Game finishes at 3-2 in favor of Akron. Stats point to a somewhat lopsided game in Akron's favor, but I'm glad to see my school givng them a run. Hopefully we'll see a rematch in the MAC final.
So, you a believer yet Kev. I do believe that Hartwick gave them a bit of a "startle". I think this is great, it will make the MAC Tourney all that more interesting to watch. Just wish that I could have been there to watch the match, sounds like it was intense.
Words were exchanged by both teams after the match. The straight red after the game got tied up at 2-2... gotta say I didn't really see it on the Akron webcast so I can't comment. Based on the glancing view I got of the play, I think the send off was justified. I wish I could see a replay of the third goal for Akron. Could have been offsides, but I'm not certain about that. Close, and not like it matters much at this point. It was a battle for sure, but you have to hand it to Akron for battling hard and coming through in the second half. I would LOVE another crack at them though next weekend!
They may get another crack at them in the tourney. NIU has to open the tourney against Akron and I promise you it will likely be the same kind of match. If NIU doesn't beat Akron in the tourney I'm sure the match will serve to soften them up some for the next opponent. Akron and NIU matches are always very tough physical matches. The last one ended up 1-0 in Akrons favor. NIU is a big, physical fast team and I think that it will be a very physical match. The refs can make a big difference in these matches, I just hope they draw some goods ones. Akron is learning that they are going to have to bring there "A" game for the tourney. I give them all the credit for coming back and winning it, thats what makes championship teams champions....finding a way to win. I would like to see NIU beat them, but I would also like to see Hartwick play them again.....if they do it will be a "donnybrook".
Is it your aim to subtly suggest an Akron defeat before every game so that eventually you can be right? Like a stopped clock?