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College Soccer Professor: Home Field Advantage?
UCLA might need to take a refresher course.
Dec 1, 2009 2:54:24 PM
By J.R. Eskilson
In my many years of watching college soccer, I have seen the grand spectrum of extraordinary occurrences from brawls on the field to fist-fights over halftime prizes. I thought I had seen it all. . .until Sunday. When I traveled to Westwood to watch the UCLA-UCSB Delirious December third round game, I expected a UCSB dominant crowd; I did not expect the vast majority of crowd to be pro-Gauchos.
I have never seen an away team take over a stadium in the manner that UCSB took charge of UCLA’s home, Drake Stadium. You would think that UCLA would want to protect their turf considering home teams won 75% of the games in the third round, but the Gaucho support was just too strong for a PAC-10 team that values men’s soccer behind many other sports.
The extent of the traveling supporters dominance was illustrated when the stadium began a “UC” “SB” cheer across the two sides of the stands. Anytime UCLA’s small supporters section began to cheer for their squad, the throngs of Gaucho Locos responded with “we can’t hear you.” It was a sight to marvel at, a spectacle that left a few MLS scouts in attendance with a smirk on their face. Maybe they should have been taking a look at UCSB head coach Tim vom Steeg instead of some of the UCLA players. Obviously, he knows how to draw a crowd to his games unlike a few MLS clubs.
The neutral fan in attendance felt a disbelief that a team would cheaply give away home field advantage. My father later reminded me that the scene was similar to watching a USA-Mexico game in Los Angeles. The “home” side being dwarfed in support to the point that it actually seems like an away game. At the end of the night, UCLA would have the last laugh thanks to a game winning combination by Kyle Nakazawa and Ryan Hollingshead.
However, there were plenty of positives for the traveling Gaucho side and the NCAA as a whole. If UCSB is able to make the Final Four next year, 2010 College Cup will be a showcase of the most passionate college sports fans in the country.
Yes, that is calling out basketball and football and saying they cannot come close to matching the Gaucho Locos if they have their home side in a National Championship game at Harder Stadium.
But this year is not over, and there are plenty of great teams left in this tournament. So let’s delve into the Exclusive Eight:
Akron-Tulsa
4 P.M. (ET) December 5th
At least one team in the Final Four will not be from the ACC. Akron are heavy favorites heading into this fixture. They have dominated every opponent they have faced this season. Tulsa thoroughly outplayed Northwestern even though the score-line did not reflect it. The problem for Tulsa is that facing Akron is the same as any club facing Barcelona last year. You can do everything according to the plan, but it just seems like they are unbeatable. They are one of the very few teams in college soccer that play the beautiful game and it is refreshing to see that style rewarded.
North Carolina-Drake
6 P.M. (ET) December 4th
How about that 6-4 Drake victory over Boston College? Only one Drake goal was scored from the foot of a player, that is absolutely incredible. I guess defending set-pieces was not a huge priority for B.C. heading (pun intended) into the game. Drake is going to have to tighten up the defense to shut down the Tar Heels attack. This is the school’s first trip to the post-season, so even being this deep in the tourney is incredible. Drake faithful are probably just hoping the clock has not struck midnight on Cinderella.
North Carolina will not give up the soft goals that Boston College conceded. They are disciplined defensively and with their height (6’2, 5’11, 5’11) in the back, it will be a bit more difficult to net six goals off set pieces. Alex Dixon’s pace up top will still be the best weapon for UNC. He should be able to generate some chances against a porous Drake defense. If he makes the most of those chances, that is another story.
Virginia-Maryland
7 P.M. (ET) December 4th
They have already met twice this season, the rendezvous in league play resulted in 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. In the sequel, Tony Tchani scored the lone goal in the 85th minute to give Virginia the win. (Hit my Tchani quota for the week.) It is always difficult to face the same team three times in a season. Both teams were led by inspired keepers in the last round with Maryland’s Zach MacMath saving a penalty kick. Virginia’s Diego Restrepo had a few crucial saves of his own against Portland to keep his shutout streak alive. (Fairly sure talking about a shutout streak is like talking about a perfect game in the sixth inning, sorry about that Cavalier fans.) Still expect a low scoring game between the two sides, do not be surprised if this one goes to penalty kicks.
Wake Forest-UCLA
7 P.M. (ET) December 5th
The gem of this round. UCLA took the lead against UCSB in the first half. In the second half, they just sat back and tried to defend. I am not entirely sure why they took up this tactic because if it were not for Brian Perk making two legendary saves, they would not be here. They need to play a ninety minute game against Wake Forest, not a forty five minute one. The Bruins have already gone on the road and defeated an ACC team earlier this year (Maryland), so the task is do-able. However, that game was at the beginning of the season and the weather back East is very cold now. Side note: UCLA’s coaching staff was dressed in full snow jackets on Sunday when the temperature was still in the sixties. The high in Winston-Salem for Friday: 48 degrees. Good luck with that one, Bruins.
Wake Forest, on the other hand, will need to defend without giving up set pieces. UCLA have many weapons that can punish them for mistakes. They will lean on the feet on Corben Bone to create some offense against a questionable UCLA defense.
Quarterfinal predictions:
Akron over Tulsa: Can’t stop a Juggernaut.
North Carolina over Drake: Time to head home from the Ball.
Maryland over Virginia: Third time is a charm.
Wake Forest over UCLA: Cold weather.
For live updates on the Exclusive Eight games and interesting facts about the teams, follow the College Soccer Professor at twitter.com/NCAAsoccer
In my many years of watching college soccer, I have seen the grand spectrum of extraordinary occurrences from brawls on the field to fist-fights over halftime prizes. I thought I had seen it all. . .until Sunday. When I traveled to Westwood to watch the UCLA-UCSB Delirious December third round game, I expected a UCSB dominant crowd; I did not expect the vast majority of crowd to be pro-Gauchos.
I have never seen an away team take over a stadium in the manner that UCSB took charge of UCLA’s home, Drake Stadium. You would think that UCLA would want to protect their turf considering home teams won 75% of the games in the third round, but the Gaucho support was just too strong for a PAC-10 team that values men’s soccer behind many other sports.
The extent of the traveling supporters dominance was illustrated when the stadium began a “UC” “SB” cheer across the two sides of the stands. Anytime UCLA’s small supporters section began to cheer for their squad, the throngs of Gaucho Locos responded with “we can’t hear you.” It was a sight to marvel at, a spectacle that left a few MLS scouts in attendance with a smirk on their face. Maybe they should have been taking a look at UCSB head coach Tim vom Steeg instead of some of the UCLA players. Obviously, he knows how to draw a crowd to his games unlike a few MLS clubs.
The neutral fan in attendance felt a disbelief that a team would cheaply give away home field advantage. My father later reminded me that the scene was similar to watching a USA-Mexico game in Los Angeles. The “home” side being dwarfed in support to the point that it actually seems like an away game. At the end of the night, UCLA would have the last laugh thanks to a game winning combination by Kyle Nakazawa and Ryan Hollingshead.
However, there were plenty of positives for the traveling Gaucho side and the NCAA as a whole. If UCSB is able to make the Final Four next year, 2010 College Cup will be a showcase of the most passionate college sports fans in the country.
Yes, that is calling out basketball and football and saying they cannot come close to matching the Gaucho Locos if they have their home side in a National Championship game at Harder Stadium.
But this year is not over, and there are plenty of great teams left in this tournament. So let’s delve into the Exclusive Eight:
Akron-Tulsa
4 P.M. (ET) December 5th
At least one team in the Final Four will not be from the ACC. Akron are heavy favorites heading into this fixture. They have dominated every opponent they have faced this season. Tulsa thoroughly outplayed Northwestern even though the score-line did not reflect it. The problem for Tulsa is that facing Akron is the same as any club facing Barcelona last year. You can do everything according to the plan, but it just seems like they are unbeatable. They are one of the very few teams in college soccer that play the beautiful game and it is refreshing to see that style rewarded.
North Carolina-Drake
6 P.M. (ET) December 4th
How about that 6-4 Drake victory over Boston College? Only one Drake goal was scored from the foot of a player, that is absolutely incredible. I guess defending set-pieces was not a huge priority for B.C. heading (pun intended) into the game. Drake is going to have to tighten up the defense to shut down the Tar Heels attack. This is the school’s first trip to the post-season, so even being this deep in the tourney is incredible. Drake faithful are probably just hoping the clock has not struck midnight on Cinderella.
North Carolina will not give up the soft goals that Boston College conceded. They are disciplined defensively and with their height (6’2, 5’11, 5’11) in the back, it will be a bit more difficult to net six goals off set pieces. Alex Dixon’s pace up top will still be the best weapon for UNC. He should be able to generate some chances against a porous Drake defense. If he makes the most of those chances, that is another story.
Virginia-Maryland
7 P.M. (ET) December 4th
They have already met twice this season, the rendezvous in league play resulted in 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. In the sequel, Tony Tchani scored the lone goal in the 85th minute to give Virginia the win. (Hit my Tchani quota for the week.) It is always difficult to face the same team three times in a season. Both teams were led by inspired keepers in the last round with Maryland’s Zach MacMath saving a penalty kick. Virginia’s Diego Restrepo had a few crucial saves of his own against Portland to keep his shutout streak alive. (Fairly sure talking about a shutout streak is like talking about a perfect game in the sixth inning, sorry about that Cavalier fans.) Still expect a low scoring game between the two sides, do not be surprised if this one goes to penalty kicks.
Wake Forest-UCLA
7 P.M. (ET) December 5th
The gem of this round. UCLA took the lead against UCSB in the first half. In the second half, they just sat back and tried to defend. I am not entirely sure why they took up this tactic because if it were not for Brian Perk making two legendary saves, they would not be here. They need to play a ninety minute game against Wake Forest, not a forty five minute one. The Bruins have already gone on the road and defeated an ACC team earlier this year (Maryland), so the task is do-able. However, that game was at the beginning of the season and the weather back East is very cold now. Side note: UCLA’s coaching staff was dressed in full snow jackets on Sunday when the temperature was still in the sixties. The high in Winston-Salem for Friday: 48 degrees. Good luck with that one, Bruins.
Wake Forest, on the other hand, will need to defend without giving up set pieces. UCLA have many weapons that can punish them for mistakes. They will lean on the feet on Corben Bone to create some offense against a questionable UCLA defense.
Quarterfinal predictions:
Akron over Tulsa: Can’t stop a Juggernaut.
North Carolina over Drake: Time to head home from the Ball.
Maryland over Virginia: Third time is a charm.
Wake Forest over UCLA: Cold weather.
For live updates on the Exclusive Eight games and interesting facts about the teams, follow the College Soccer Professor at twitter.com/NCAAsoccer
J.R. Eskilson writes a weekly NCAA column on Tuesday for Goal.com.
For more college soccer news visit Goal.com's Youth Soccer page.
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