|
|
College Soccer Professor: Second Round Rewind
Big Ten domination
Nov 22, 2010 7:20:00 PM
By J.R. Eskilson
The story of the second round was the Big Ten destroying opponents. All five Big Ten teams in the second round won their games. In comparison, no other conference has more than two teams in the third round.
Probably the most shocking of the Big Ten victories was Michigan State’s 1-0 win over Butler. Butler entered the game as one of two undefeated teams in the country (Louisville being the other). Michigan State didn’t enter the post-season on a high note, earning only one point out of their last five games. However, they were given a boost of confidence with the return of a few players from injury.
One of those players returning from injury was the hero of the game, Jeff Ricondo. The senior midfielder had missed the last seven games for the Spartans, but that rust didn’t show when the ball fell to him with just over five minutes on the clock. Ricondo hit a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
The out-stretched arms of Fabian Knopfler, Butler's keeper, weren't enough to keep it out of the net. Michigan State made it count thanks to a strong performance from their own keeper, Avery Steinlage. Steinlage only registered four saves, but he picked off a handful of crosses and long thrown-ins to limit the Bulldogs’ chances.
In the other Big Ten teams' second round games, Indiana smoked Tulsa, 5-1. Behind a two-goal, two-assist outing from Will Bruin, the Hoosiers cruised to victory and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
Ohio State joined the Hoosiers and Spartans in the third round thanks to the sublime play of Matt Lampson. The goalkeeper saved a penalty kick in the first half and then blocked a point-blank shot in the second. The first half penalty kick save was a turning point in the game.
Prior to the block, Providence had controlled the game and generated the more positive play. Following the diving one-handed block (and a Providence shot which pinged off the woodwork), the Buckeyes became the more dangerous side. Two second-half goals from the Ohio State attack held off an up-and-coming Friars squad.
Penn State joined the trio in the third round due to a superb effort from junior forward Corey Hertzog. Hertzog notched a hat trick and tormented the Old Dominion defense.
On his final goal of the game, he received the ball at midfield, then turned and faced his defender. With the ODU defender already on his heels, Hertzog went at him with pace. A subtle cut-back to the inside crossed up the ODU defender, who was forced to foul Hertzog before falling to the ground. Hertzog converted the penalty kick to cap off a brilliant performance.
The last team to join the Big Ten parade in the Sweet Sixteen was Michigan. The Wolverines needed overtime to take down UCF in Ann Arbor, with Latif Alashe notching the game-winner in the first overtime session. Alashe tipped a Hamoody Saad free kick over UCF keeper, Shawn Doyle, to give the Wolverines a trip into the third round for the third time in program history.
Probably the most shocking of the Big Ten victories was Michigan State’s 1-0 win over Butler. Butler entered the game as one of two undefeated teams in the country (Louisville being the other). Michigan State didn’t enter the post-season on a high note, earning only one point out of their last five games. However, they were given a boost of confidence with the return of a few players from injury.
One of those players returning from injury was the hero of the game, Jeff Ricondo. The senior midfielder had missed the last seven games for the Spartans, but that rust didn’t show when the ball fell to him with just over five minutes on the clock. Ricondo hit a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
The out-stretched arms of Fabian Knopfler, Butler's keeper, weren't enough to keep it out of the net. Michigan State made it count thanks to a strong performance from their own keeper, Avery Steinlage. Steinlage only registered four saves, but he picked off a handful of crosses and long thrown-ins to limit the Bulldogs’ chances.
In the other Big Ten teams' second round games, Indiana smoked Tulsa, 5-1. Behind a two-goal, two-assist outing from Will Bruin, the Hoosiers cruised to victory and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
Ohio State joined the Hoosiers and Spartans in the third round thanks to the sublime play of Matt Lampson. The goalkeeper saved a penalty kick in the first half and then blocked a point-blank shot in the second. The first half penalty kick save was a turning point in the game.
Prior to the block, Providence had controlled the game and generated the more positive play. Following the diving one-handed block (and a Providence shot which pinged off the woodwork), the Buckeyes became the more dangerous side. Two second-half goals from the Ohio State attack held off an up-and-coming Friars squad.
Penn State joined the trio in the third round due to a superb effort from junior forward Corey Hertzog. Hertzog notched a hat trick and tormented the Old Dominion defense.
On his final goal of the game, he received the ball at midfield, then turned and faced his defender. With the ODU defender already on his heels, Hertzog went at him with pace. A subtle cut-back to the inside crossed up the ODU defender, who was forced to foul Hertzog before falling to the ground. Hertzog converted the penalty kick to cap off a brilliant performance.
The last team to join the Big Ten parade in the Sweet Sixteen was Michigan. The Wolverines needed overtime to take down UCF in Ann Arbor, with Latif Alashe notching the game-winner in the first overtime session. Alashe tipped a Hamoody Saad free kick over UCF keeper, Shawn Doyle, to give the Wolverines a trip into the third round for the third time in program history.
Elsewhere, California and UCSB engaged in probably the most passionate fixture of the second round. The action started in the 25th minute when Luis Silva and Servando Carrasco collided going for a 50-50 ball. Silva was shown a red card; Carrasco was awarded a yellow. After the game, Carrasco told calbears.com, “He came in studs up. That's unfortunate. He got a red card.”
The UCSB bench began to lose their cool at this point, arguing that Carrasco had cold-cocked Silva. Carrasco said about the incident, "Yes, I was mad. But it's all part of the game."
UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg told presidiosports.com after the game, “One thing about sports, when you punch somebody you don’t stick around. We were really shocked that the red card was going to Luis (Silva) and the yellow card was going to No. 10 (Carrasco).”
The boiling point had been reached by the UCSB staff, as one of the assistant coaches was asked to leave the stadium by head referee Mike Kampmeinert. Over the course of the next 56 minutes, UCSB coaching staff questioned a few other decisions by the referee crew.
Then, in minute 82, UCSB would grab the lead via a Michael Tetteh strike. They could not make the effort stand, as a hand ball in the box with just over 100 seconds left on the clock would set up a penalty kick for the host. Chris Hunter, a UCSB center-back, responded vehemently that the shot had hit his chest and not his arm. Carrasco stepped up and drilled it home.
That wouldn’t be the end of a drama filled afternoon in Berkley. UCSB responded in the first overtime with a flowing attack to get into the offensive third. A questionable challenge in the Gaucho attacking third spurred on a Golden Bears counter-attack in the dying seconds of the 10 minute period.
Anthony Avalos sent in a cross, which Hector Jimenez defelcted, to Davis Paul. UCSB keeper Sam Hayden had come out on the play to stop Avalos. Paul with an empty net in front of him blasted it home to give the Bears the win with 1.4 seconds left on the clock in overtime.
After the game-winner, UCSB players surrounded the referee crew. According to the game report, extracurricular events between UCSB players and the referees resulted in three red cards shown after the game had finished. Cal will host Brown, who knocked off UCONN in penalty kicks, on Sunday. UCSB will now await word from NCAA about future suspensions.
Other results:
Louisville 3-1 College of Charleston, Dartmouth 2-1 Notre Dame, UCLA 4-1 Sacramento State, SMU 2-2 Creighton (SMU wins 5-3 in PKs), William & Mary 0-0 UMBC (W&M wins 4-3), UNC 0-0 Georgetown (UNC wins 5-4 in PKs), Akron 3-2 West Virginia, South Carolina 1-0 Duke, Maryland 4-0 Penn.
J.R. Eskilson is the youth soccer editor of Goal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NCAAsoccer
Inside Goal.Com
-
RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai
Nicolas Anelka went against the grain when he moved to Shanghai. Now he's finding that coaching and gelling tactically is like swimming against the tide.
-
ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams
Chievo is currently shopping the American midfielder and several Italian clubs have shown interest.
-
ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite
Neymar was brilliant as Brazil easily handled the United States with early World Cup preparations officially underway.
-
LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth
With World Cup qualifying to begin in June, Mexico is using three U.S.-hosted friendlies to build squad depth.
-
McCARTHY: Harrisburg springs its wildest Open Cup upset to date
The City Islanders fought back from three goals down with nine minutes to play and won the game on penalty kicks in a stunning game on a wild night for the U.S. Open Cup.
